Let's get one thing straight. Asbestos is a deadly material that can cause fatal complications in both humans and animals. It has been banned in several countries including Australia, New Zealand and many others. With this in mind, hiring an asbestos inspection company should deserve as serious attention as it does asbestos. We need to make sure we are working with the right asbestos inspection companies or taking the risk of putting ourselves and others in danger. How do we know if a company is legitimate, qualified, licensed, and truly professional when there are so many out there just out for our hard earned money?
The experts at Greenlight Services give us the perspective of an industry expert on differentiating the wheat from the chaff. Here are some things to look out for when hiring an asbestos inspection company:
Look out for companies that employ retired or former home builders
Asbestos is a building material that was used extensively during the industrial age and its consumption decreased in the 1960s. Despite the ban in Australia in 1967, many buildings were still made from asbestos-based materials. Suffice it to say that if a company boasts of having retired or former builders on its workforce, you need to be careful. While they have years of experience and technical knowledge in the industry, that doesn't necessarily mean they know anything about the risk of asbestos.
What to watch out for are retired or former home builders who have little or no concern for safety. This increases the chances that if they see asbestos in a home or office during an inspection, they won't keep an eye on them. Nor does a tenure in an industry mean that they have completed a tertiary qualification or formal training in safety. These are other things to look out for in businesses with "experienced" builders.
Take a look at their website
Like any business today, companies have joined the online platform. Some have created pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to help promote their business while others use their own websites. If they don't have a website these days, you'd better start asking questions. Another thing to look out for is when a company is promoting a different inspection service that is not related to asbestos inspection. Finally, be very careful with an asbestos inspection company if they also offer asbestos removal services.
Watch out for asbestos removers posing as inspectors
Asbestos removal and asbestos inspection are two completely different things. These guys usually give you inferior reports before they offer you their other service, which is asbestos removal. Note that reports should be at least 30 pages long. If you find their reports two or three pages wrong, you are probably dealing with the wrong people. What these reports usually include are things that say undamaged, bonded, and sealed asbestos-based materials are in dangerous conditions that must be removed. Basically, when you put two and two together they make sure that you get their removal service after the inspection.
A good way to ensure that their services are legitimate is to ask if they have a license for each service, as inspection and removal are different, as mentioned earlier. You can also check with regulators to see if these asbestos testing companies are on their list. An example of these regulators is WorkSafe, which enforces and promotes health and safety in the workplace. Of course, double or even triple check with other organizations to make sure that the company you are working with offers legitimate services.
Grill up a graduate advisor if you have to
If you work with large consulting firms, you will likely have to deal with people who have only been with the company for a year or two. They are not adequately trained and are usually overworked. Eventually, for one reason or another, these consultants are fired and the company hires new consultants. This high turnover rate has been referred to as "burn and churn". The advisors of this type of efficient ATM can produce messy and sloppy reports due to the work culture and lack of training and experience. It's hard to tell if a company is doing burn and churn as most of these companies make sure they look good on the outside – even their front lines will appear very professional.
If you are hiring a consultant from this type of company, the best place to ask is if he has a college degree such as in science, industrial hygiene, or engineering. You can also ask about their careers to see how long they have been in the industry and for which companies. A consultant without qualifications or industry experience is questionable at best and unqualified at worst. It will be difficult to tell whether an asbestos inspection company is legitimate or not, but when your life is at stake it is imperative to find out who you can work with safely and who to say no to. Not only does this save you time and money, but it can also mean saving your life.
