Project Highlights

ACEC/NC Engineering Excellence Honor Award

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) desired to have asbestos inspection and reporting services performed for as many as sixty-eight (68) structures on (or near) campus constructed prior to 1991. Based upon a Scope of Work Document distributed during an information session conducted on May 3, 2007, UNCG specified that asbestos inspections be conducted according to the sampling protocols designed for Local Education Agencies under EPA’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1987 (or AHERA 40 CFR Part 763). The asbestos inspections were being conducted by the University to aid with compliance with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Asbestos in Construction Standard §29 CFR 1926.1101.

On May 31, 2007, S&ME and other firms were interviewed for the project at the UNCG Chemical Safety facility. Notice of S&ME’s selection was made via email on June 11, 2007. At the request of the University, the inspection of residence halls was begun by S&ME on July 5, 2007. Inspection of the residence halls during the summer break allowed better access than would be afforded after the residence halls were re-occupied on August 15, 2007.

S&ME was able to staff the project with up to six on-site accredited asbestos inspection teams and complete the assessment of twenty (20) residence halls, comprising approximately 1,000,000 s.f. of building space in the short time allotted. This was achieved through the cooperation of the Greensboro, Charlotte, and Raleigh S&ME offices, all of which supplied accredited asbestos inspectors for the project. The inspections included collection of photographs of all materials sampled, mapping of identified materials on University supplied drawings and detailed data collection for reporting purposes.

The University expressed their desire to maintain the asbestos inspection data in an electronic format that could easily be updated with new materials, buildings or asbestos removal information. During the planning stages of the project S&ME presented an option for development of an open-source web-based database, integrating both data management and graphical functions. The University chose this option because of the availability of the information to anyone with access to a computer connected to the internet.

The S&ME Civil Engineering Department developed the Web based reporting system that allows users to input asbestos inspection data and retrieve the data in multiple ways. After inspection data has been entered into the program users can retrieve inspection data in multiple fashions. A graphical representation allows the user to select the building of interest from a map of the University campus. After building selection the user can select from the floors of the building to explore the materials identified, sampled, and analyzed during the inspections. A drawing of the particular floor is displayed along with the areas of asbestos suspect materials identified in the building and room designations for the floor being displayed. The user then has the opportunity to view homogeneous area descriptions, including if the material contains asbestos (indicated by color code in the display), sample locations (which can be graphically indicated on the drawing) and analyses, materials identified in any particular room, and the locations of a material throughout the selected floor. Sample analyses have been uploaded from data provided by the S&ME asbestos lab in Charlotte, which performed the majority of sample analyses, and is displayed with sample location information when selected by a user.

At the request of the University, S&ME provided an additional proposal provide inspection and reporting services for the forty-eight (48) remaining pre-1991 structures. That proposal was accepted in November 2007.

The Project was completed in 2008 and submitted to the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of North Carolina for consideration for the 2009 Engineering Excellence Awards. During the November 19, 2008 ACEC ceremony, the project was awarded an Honors Award in the Studies, Research, and Consulting Engineering Services category.