Hampton Court Palace Asbestos Removal Project

Project principles and objectives

Historical Royal Palaces contracted us to remove asbestos from 49 rooms at Hampton Court Palace. The contract stipulated that the public and palace staff should continue to have access to the building whilst we completed the asbestos removal process with minimal disruption. As it is also a national heritage site, we were required to ensure that the building was not damaged. These specifications meant that matters of health, safety and strict site control were of high importance to our team throughout the project. To avoid disruption and to keep the thousands of summertime visitors safe, we decided to complete the work during nighttime hours when the palace was closed to the public.

Key issues and how they were managed

Health and safety

Our organisation has CHAS and ARCA certifications so therefore abide by industry health and safety standards. Operatives are given annual refresher training by our external safety advisory company to ensure this training remains up-to-date.

Working at night

Works were carried out at night, which required the procurement of additional lighting. We installed string and festoon lighting to ensure that our operatives could complete work safely and effectively. The festoon was maintained by a designated operative on-site who ensured that sufficient repair kits, backup lighting and replacement bulbs were available to guarantee optimum lighting levels. The Palace also provided us with an additional lighting tripod for walking routes.

Site security

Completing the works at night ensured that work was carried out discretely. Staff were required to wear and display security passes to supervising palace staff. Clear no entry signing was provided by the palace to prevent unauthorised access by palace staff or members of the public. These systems guaranteed that no unauthorised individuals gained access to the classified rooms of the palace.

Damage prevention

Our client supplied us with comprehensive site induction training which all our operatives attended. To avoid damage during the process of removal, staff adopted a range of common-sense measures. These included using soft masking tape throughout the project which left no markings on protected surfaces, making adjustment enclosures to fix on to bricks rather than historic paintwork, and with the use of protective materials like tarpaulin we secured Heras fencing around the perimeter of the site. When completing asbestos removal, technical difficulties arose in the restoration room and our staff became unsure how to proceed. Operatives immediately sought advice from managing directors and approached Hampton Court Palace staff to receive specialist advice. Together, we planned detailed stages to ensure historic paint was not damaged. The open dialogue allowed other potential issues to become visible and be solved by a range of individuals with specialist input. This collaboration ensured that redecoration was completed to an exceptional standard without any damage.

Successful outcomes, key targets and project measures

The contract was completed within the allocated time that our client had outlined in the contract and within the budget assigned. All 49 rooms that we were commissioned to work in had asbestos removed. Public access to the palace was not disturbed due to our flexible working hours. No unauthorised persons on site were recorded and no health and safety incidents were reported throughout the project. All 49 rooms passed four-stage air clearance test first time, leaving all areas safe from pollution and asbestos-free. Our client was very satisfied with our work and has engaged us to complete the next phase of works in 2018.

Lessons learned, innovations and best practice

Working at night was effective in fulfilling the requirement to restrict public access. On future projects with similar requirements, we will opt to work at night again. Working directly with palace staff and contract representative ensured that solutions to difficult problems were established quickly as more technical advice was available. It also allowed our staff to gain further technical experience, opened channels of communication and ensured a positive relationship with our client.