There are three asbestos surveys in common use and buying the wrong one is the most expensive mistake on this subject. A management survey looks at what could be disturbed while a building is used normally. A refurbishment and demolition survey is intrusive and is what work needs before it starts. A re-inspection keeps the first one current. They differ in what the surveyor is allowed to open, which is why they differ in price.
The management survey
This is the routine survey a building in normal use has. The surveyor causes minor intrusion and minor disturbance only: lifting a ceiling tile, looking behind an access panel, sampling what is reachable. It produces a record of what is present, where it is and what condition it is in, plus a material and priority assessment for each item. It is the document the duty to manage is discharged from, and it never claims a building is free of asbestos.
The refurbishment and demolition survey
This one is destructive by design. It goes into the fabric, opens up voids and takes the building apart where it has to, because the work that follows will do the same. It is what must be in hand before refurbishment or demolition starts, and the report should say clearly which areas were opened and which were not. It costs more than a management survey because it takes longer and does damage that has to be made good.
The re-inspection survey
Asbestos in good condition is managed rather than removed, and management means checking. A re-inspection revisits the items the first survey found, records whether their condition has changed and updates the risk assessment. It is short, cheap relative to the first survey, and it is the part of the job that quietly lapses because nobody diarised it.
Choosing the surveyor
Two things are checkable in minutes: whether the organisation holds UKAS accreditation for inspection and what its scope covers, and which individual is attending and what certificate of competence they hold. Everything else on a surveying company's website is a claim you cannot test. Ask for the accreditation number, and ask who is actually coming.
Questions people ask about asbestos surveys
How many asbestos surveys are there?
Two named types in HSE's survey guide, the management survey and the refurbishment and demolition survey, plus re-inspection, which keeps a management survey current rather than replacing it.
Is a survey a legal requirement?
The duty is to find out whether asbestos is present in non-domestic premises you are responsible for maintaining, and to manage it. A survey is the normal way to do that rather than a duty in itself, and before refurbishment or demolition the identification has to happen whatever it is called.
Can one survey cover both jobs?
A refurbishment and demolition survey covers the area it opened up, so it can serve both for that area. It is scoped to the work rather than to the whole building, which is why buildings often hold both documents.