Selecting a competent surveyor

Accreditation or certification provides clients with an assurance of a surveyor's competence.

Competent surveyors:

1. Have survey knowledge, and know the risks in surveying
2. Have training and experience, and recognise their limitations
3. Use a quality management system
4. Show independence, impartiality and integrity
5. Do their work in accordance with good practice guidance, eg as in HSG264

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, UKAS accredits organisations. The UKAS website helps you to find a surveyor.

The National Individual Asbestos Certification Scheme (NIACS) also accredited individuals but this scheme is no longer running

A former scheme ABICS (Asbestos Builders Inspection Certification Scheme), was discontinued in October 2010 and is no longer available. However, surveyors who can demonstrate that they have successfully completed all of the three assessment stages of the ABICS scheme can legitimately rely on this as evidence that they are competent to carry out asbestos surveys.

Accreditation and good performance in a quality assurance scheme provides an assurance of a laboratory's competence in asbestos analysis.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, UKAS accredits laboratories. The UKAS website helps you to find a laboratory that participates in the 'Asbestos in Materials Scheme', AIMS.