Sainsbury's manage their asbestos by following the steps laid out below:
1. All sites undergo a Type 2 / Type 3 asbestos survey to identify if asbestos is present on the property. All asbestos documents are stored electronically on Sainsbury's website.
2. If asbestos is present a scope of works is produced to remove or contain this asbestos.
3. An asbestos contractor is appointed to undertake the works identified for asbestos removal and / or containment, and from this the CAD drawings are updated reflecting the current site for asbestos. Annual checks are made upon each property to confirm that the asbestos has not deteriorated, been damaged or removed during that year and the asbestos register for that site updated accordingly.
4. For all trading sites an "asbestos store locator" is produced which are a matrix identifying types of asbestos and what form it is in (i.e. asbestos ceiling board, insulation, gaskets, etc) and tallied up with their location on that site, (i.e. entrance lobby, plant room, sales floor etc).This store locator is used as a management tool by the site when Facilities Maintenance (FM) contractors are conducting remediation works on the site, i.e. ceiling repairs, light changes, electrical installations etc. It is a quick grid reference for the Site Manager to refer to at a glance, knowing the area that the engineer is to be working in, to confirm if asbestos is present or not. From this information, the contractor will know what procedures to follow as all have been trained in working with asbestos in this type of environment.
5. Following works on site, any further remediation work is also updated, via the asbestos consultant, so that the data held is accurate and up-to-date.
6. This includes all construction activities - the contractors access the current data on the Sainsbury's website, at that point they own the data, the update it once works are complete and re-load the new information back on the Sainsbury's website, so that there is only one version of the asbestos data for that site at any one time.
7. When a trading site is undergoing asbestos remediation works (either under Facilities Management or part of a construction project) the training that is provided to the store staff is conducted by the Contractor / Store Trainer at the beginning of the project, by running through the Asbestos Presentation. This covers the background as to what asbestos is; where it is commonly found; the fears and facts surrounding asbestos; and how the actual project will be managed, i.e. what the staff will see on site during the remediation works. The delivery of this information is strictly controlled in that each slide has its own notes and the "trainer" is asked not to deviate from this presentation - that way the fear factor can be kept to a minimum through provision of too much information to non-experienced recipients, or through not enough detail etc.
8. Specific procedures are followed for construction projects on trading sites. The description of Sainsbury's requirements for standardised approach to Asbestos Removal" is down to the construction contractors to manage within their responsibility for managing a safe site and they liaise with Sainsbury's throughout the management of the project to ensure it complies with our expectations; has minimal disruption to store trading, and falls in line with the asbestos Approved Codes of Practice.
9. All FM contractors employed on a contractual basis by Sainsbury's are provided with regular update briefings on asbestos, what it is, how to identify it, and how to work around it. When they visit a site, they are all instructed to sign in and meet with the site manager - this then prompts the question related to what works they are undertaking on site that day and if they are accessing areas potentially known to contain asbestos, they are referred to the "Asbestos Store Locator" which confirms where asbestos is present, and the contractors then follow other specific procedures on how to deal with it.
Cinzia Rowley