Protecting Estates with Asbestos Assurance

Client: Royal Mail Group Limited
Sector: Facilities Management 
Services: Outsourced Asbestos Assurance Contract 
Location: UK-wide

The Client 

Royal Mail is the UK's postal and courier service, established in 1516. With over 2,600 sites, it is one of the largest corporate real estates in Europe. The organisation upholds high workplace standards. Its "safe place, safe person" philosophy demonstrates its commitment to managing health and safety risks and maintaining an incident-free working environment. 

The Challenge 

Royal Mail's vast estate requires significant resources and management to maintain business continuity. Due to its size, geographical spread and age, a framework of specialist asbestos suppliers is required to proactively manage asbestos and ensure compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. To meet these quality standards, all suppliers and the work they carry out on behalf of Royal Mail require coordination, planning and assurance. Performance must be continually reviewed and assessed to ensure that all policies, procedures and best practices are followed at all times. Accurate data management is also critical for Royal Mail, and this requires up-to-date information that reflects the extent and condition of asbestos in real-time. 

iON’s Solution 

In 2020, iON Consultants was awarded a 3-year contract to function as Royal Mail's Asbestos Assurance Partner. Our specialist team was tasked with delivering a wide range of services, including the planning, coordination and assurance of an annual asbestos inspection programme, including re-inspections and asbestos management surveys. We prepared estate-wide asbestos management plans, which were delivered to individual sites. We also audited and supported the company's annual asbestos remediation programme. This included post-remediation verification and assurance. 

All suppliers underwent rigorous assessments to determine competence. Audits of all suppliers' onsite operations included inspections, analytical attendance and asbestos remediation. We provided incident support and conducted independent investigations. We regularly facilitated supplier engagement meetings and workshops. 

To ensure accurate data management, we reviewed and assured the asbestos data for upload to Royal Mail's online register. We continued to provide regular performance management updates on supplier compliance and performance. 

The iON team provided Royal Mail with a professional and independent outsourced asbestos assurance service. This has resulted in continuous improvements in supplier standards, which has supported business continuity. 

"The team at iON Consultants provided critical assurance on asbestos compliance through their audit and monitoring of asbestos suppliers. They ensure the robustness of our electronic asbestos register, enabling the safe management of asbestos across our operational estate.” 

Clare Brooks, Property Risk and Assurance Lead (Asbestos) 

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