Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Freedom of information
SIM 02/2008/03
Author Unit/Section: Construction Sector
Target Audience: Construction Division Staff and Construction Inspectors
1 Currently work associated with the asbestos licensing regime is recorded by Inspectors on both COIN and on forms produced by the Asbestos Licensing Unit (ALU). This SIM provides clarification about how and when these different recording methods should be used. This SIM also provides advice to construction Inspectors as to how they should record asbestos related work on COIN where required. It should be read in conjunction with the Work Recording OM 2008/05 ‘COIN work recording 2008/09’ and guidance produced by the Asbestos Licensing Unit (ALU).
2 Upon receipt of a new / renewal licence application ALU will create a new Permissioning Case, speciality type ‘Licence-Asbestos’. Linked to this will be an Asbestos Licence Service Order.
3 ALU will allocate the relevant lines of this Service Order to the appropriate Asbestos Licensing Principal Inspector (ALPI). As a result the Service Order will appear on the ALPI’s COIN home page. The ALPI should reassign these where an assessment is to be undertaken by an Inspector acting on their behalf.
4 The ALPI/ Inspector should record all visit details relating to the application assessment process in the notes against the Service Order. The time spent associated with this work should be recorded as a line on the timesheet in accordance with the work recording OM 2008/05. The activity should be ‘inspection’ and the category ‘Asbestos Licensing’.
5 The ASB4 form (licensing report by the Asbestos Principal Inspector) is still required to be completed and should be forwarded to ALU. There is no need to attach a completed ASB4 to the Service Order.
6 All inspections of notifiable asbestos work should be recorded on the revised construction IRF (IRF C) in accordance with SIM 02/2008/02. The time spent and the total number of any notices issued should be recorded against the ‘Asbestos Licensing’ hazard topic category on the IRF Ratings page.
7 Inspection Cases can still be used where appropriate – for example to link together a number of visits to the same site. However, the details, time etc should still be recorded on the IRF C.
8 The ASB6 form (Enforcing Authority Report) is still required to be completed and should be forwarded to ALU along with copies of any correspondence, notices etc. There is no requirement to attach a copy of the ASB6 to the IRF C Service Order. Other documents should be attached in line with existing arrangements.
9 Investigation and enforcement work should be recorded in accordance with the work recording OM 2008/05. A line should be created on the timesheet and linked to the relevant case. The category should be ‘Asbestos Licensing’.
10 Asbestos Notifications that have been granted a waiver are recorded on the notifications database. Where such requests have been discussed with a licence holder they should, in the majority of instances, only be recorded as a block of time on the time sheet against the ‘inspection’ activity and the category ‘Asbestos Licensing’. The only exception to this is where it is felt the need to record particular information of note. Then an IRF C should be raised and the time and notes recorded as per a normal inspection of notifiable work.
11 Where a request involves duty to manage or similar issues that have been followed up these should be recorded as a block of time on the timesheet as per ‘all other situations’ below. Again there is only a need to create a specific record against a duty holder if this information is of use to HSE. This should be done using an IRF C in accordance with the guidance below.
12 Where appropriate details should be passed to colleagues in the rest of FOD or the Local Authority as appropriate. This will enable duty to manage issues to be followed up/ targeted.
13 There are a number of other situations where Inspectors will have to record work associated with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. These include:
14 All such work should be recorded on the revised construction IRF (IRF C) or an investigation/ enforcement case as appropriate in accordance with SIM 02/2008/02 or OM 2008/05 respectively.
15 No use should be made of the ‘Asbestos Licensing’ work recording category. This is only to be used in relation to licensed contractors and licensable work. Instead the category that best describes the nature of the work should be used (e.g. Refurbishment General). Where there is no such appropriate category, Inspectors should: