Todays question comes from a construction manager in San Francisco.  With a question about project managing an asbestos abatement project:

Question: How can I protect my owner from an abatement company that continues to fail clearances and has to re-clean all the time?  It also affects our schedule!  Anything we can do? - Pete H.  SF Construction Manager

ANSWER:

Pete - there are a few things that can be done but the problem is that it usually needs to happen before the project is started and contracts are executed.  Here's 3 things you can do to make it work:  

1. Have your environmental consultant prepare specifications & incorporate it into your project documents. Under the abatement specifications & project conditions - let it be known that it is the abatement contractors responsibility to ensure they pass the first time.  If they don't they will backcharged for the fees associated with a resample.  This includes their fees, consultant fees, sample costs.  The costs should be figured out beforehand included in the documents. 
2. As a part of the contract docs - it would be best to have a few background samples before work starts.  Sometimes, abatement contractors can ask you to prove that the high fiber concentrations associated with the clearance sample didn't exist before work started. 
3. If you are not having an environmental consultant perform oversight on the abatement work - that may be cost you more money than it's saving.  The consultant will (should) be able to identify what may be failing the samples and by doing a visual clearance every step of the way - they may be able to avoid these situations altogether. 

All of the above situations only will help you if you aren't in a middle of a mess with your abatement contractor.  If you're in the middle of the problem - unfortunately there isn't much you can do apart from negotiating with the contractor about what is happening and why it's happening.  You may also want to retain an environmental consultant immediately to oversee the abatement work.  That may be the best form of insurance you can have in the middle of a project.  

Let us know how it works out.