Aug 22 2014

Basic Considerations When Selection Your Asbestos Contractor

You, as the building owner, should be aware of possible conflicts of interest and may want to be aware of certain things in order to make a decision that you will be comfortable with.

The consultant can conduct an inspection and may also be certified to perform other functions such as management planner (mostly for schools), project designer (design the abatement specifications) or project monitor (monitor the contractor during abatement or conduct the final air and visual clearance).

When you hire an inspector, if asbestos is found, you may choose to ask the inspector for further assistance in planning the abatement. The inspector may assist you by making contacts with abatement contractors. A project designer can be hired to design the abatement that a contractor would follow or the abatement company can put together work specifications.

As the building owner, you have the choice to hire either a project designer or the abatement contractor. A project monitor can be hired to do oversight on the abatement contractor but must be hired to conduct the final visual and air clearance required to determine if the area meets the state regulations for clearance. A project monitor cannot be an employee of the contractor.

We recommend that you obtain at least three bids from any category that you might hire from. You may choose to have the inspector/project designer consultant assist you in getting the bids and hiring of the project monitor. You may choose to have the consultant just handle the whole thing. Also, you can choose to do the hiring yourself, which may reduce any conflict of interest issues.

In general, conflicts of interest relate to the potential for self-gain, usually, but not always, of a fiscal nature. A potential or actual conflict of interest exists when commitments and obligations are likely to be compromised by a person’s other interests or commitments, especially economic, particularly if those interests or commitments are not disclosed.

You should ask the contractor or consultant to provide you a written proposal that describes what they will do, the content of the final report, schedule, and budget.