HSG264 asbestos survey checklist (UK)
HSG264 doesn't ship as a checklist, but it can be operationalised as one. This is the working checklist a UK asbestos surveyor can run against any management or refurbishment & demolition survey — pre-survey planning, on-site capture, and post-survey reporting.
Pre-survey planning
Most defensibility issues are designed in before the surveyor sets foot on site. The pre-survey stage is where you set scope, limitations and access.
- Survey type confirmed in writing (management vs R&D) with the client
- Scope defined: property, areas in scope, areas explicitly excluded
- Access arrangements agreed — keys, escorts, occupied areas, permits to work
- Existing register and prior survey documents reviewed
- Plans / drawings obtained where available
- Surveyor competence and accreditation recorded against the job
- Sampling strategy agreed (R&D) — UKAS-accredited lab confirmed
On-site capture
Capture is where the structured workflow either saves or costs you time downstream. Record once, in structure, with evidence attached.
- Site walk done in logical order — externally, then floor-by-floor, room-by-room
- Every room/area has at least one record, even if no ACMs present
- Each ACM has: material type, location description, extent, condition, accessibility
- Material assessment score recorded against each ACM
- Recommended action and timescale recorded against each ACM
- Photo evidence attached to each ACM at the point of capture
- Limitations and presumed areas explicitly logged, not omitted
- Samples bagged, labelled and chain-of-custody recorded (R&D)
Post-survey reporting
The report is the deliverable. HSG264 expects a structured document, traceable to a competent person, that a duty-holder can act on.
- Survey scope, methodology and limitations stated up front
- Surveyor name, competence evidence, inspection date
- ACM register with material, location, extent, condition, score, action
- Photo plates inline against each ACM
- Executive summary derived from the structured register
- Floor plans referenced (where available)
- Analytical certificates appended (R&D)
- Signed surveyor declaration
- QA review by a second competent person before issue
Takeaway
Treat HSG264 as a workflow, not a document. If every item on this checklist is true at issue, the report is defensible — and the structured data behind it is reusable for the duty-holder's management plan.