The Project

The project was a refurbishment of the ground floor and first floor of a multi-storey building within a live university campus. It included part demolition of the existing building and a new build component.

The project was the third stage of the building’s refurbishment and asbestos had been found in the first two stages, in a variety of locations.

The upper floors of the building were to remain in use throughout the project. As a result, there was a high expectation of nervousness and interest when asbestos hazard signs were erected ahead of the works.

From the earlier phases we were aware of the likely levels of concern from building users, so we invested a considerable amount of time on stakeholder communication with the building’s users to fully inform them about what we were doing and how we were managing the asbestos risk.

Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP)

The Contractor engaged a demolition and asbestos removal contractor and provided a detailed and comprehensive Asbestos Removal Control Plan (ARCP) which documented the proposed methodology, procedures and risk mitigations to be put in place in order to carry out the asbestos removal.

The main contractor took full responsibility for the sub-contract works and proactively managed all aspects of the asbestos removal.

Lessons Learned

The key learnings from the exercise were;

• The benefits of an experienced and pro-active contractor who understands and manages asbestos removal.
• Open, honest and detailed communication with stakeholders to explain the process and how risks are being managed and mitigated, together with regular updates on progress.

For more information or a chat about Asbestos removal contact ross.meikle@teamprojects.nz