ABICS = Asbestos Building Inspectors Certification Scheme
All non-domestic premises in Great Britain need to have a plan showing where asbestos is or may be and what condition it is in. In most cases this will need a survey, but surveys can’t be done by just anyone. To make sure they are done properly, the surveyor or building inspector must be competent to do this specialised work.
ABICS, a Certifying Body recognised by UKAS under EN ISO 17024, is the only Scheme to certify individual surveyors who have demonstrated their qualifications and experience to survey premises for asbestos competently and whose names will be available to the public via this website. Although ABICS is careful in testing the knowledge and experience of asbestos surveyors, it cannot guarantee the quality of individual surveys.
HSE guidance (Asbestos: The Survey Guide, HSG264) strongly recommends that if you employ someone to inspect your premises for you, you should use either an individual who has been personally certified by ABICS or a company accredited by UKAS.
Why is ABICS needed?If you breathe in asbestos dust, it can give you very serious diseases, including lung cancer.
Most buildings built before about 1990 are likely to have some asbestos in them – it was used for lagging heating pipes, for wall and roof insulation and in many other applications. Maintenance personnel and others are at risk of fatal disease if the asbestos is not properly managed.
The Health and Safety Executive has had Regulations to control the use of asbestos at work for many years. The regulations have now been extended to require everyone responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises - to find out where the asbestos is (or to assume that materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence otherwise); - to decide the risk of anyone being exposed to asbestos fibres; - to have a written plan to prevent people such as employees and maintenance personnel being exposed.
ABICS aims to help cost-effective application of the regulations by testing the knowledge and experience necessary to find asbestos, and certifying those who meet and continue to meet the necessary standards.
Who runs ABICS?
ABICS is a scheme operated for the British Occupational Hygiene Society [a company limited by guarantee under registered number 2350348, registered charity number 801417]. For many years, BOHS has promoted courses and qualifications in Occupational Hygiene, including the well-known BOHS P402 module on Buildings Surveys and Bulk Sampling for Asbestos.
ABICS is run independently of the training and other operations of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), and is managed by a committee of representatives of professional bodies, the building management and asbestos removal industries, workers' organisations, occupational hygiene consultancies, training organisations and independent experts.