How Operations And Maintenance Programs Speed Up Asbestos Repairs

Asbestos has a way of turning routine building maintenance into instant panic, but the truth is more practical than most people realize. Julie Schwenzer and I, Shelley Hines, walk through what property owners and operators actually need to know: asbestos in a commercial building is not automatically “bad” it becomes dangerous when it’s disturbed during repairs, renovations, or demo work, and that’s where planning makes all the difference.

We dig into the real-world value of an asbestos operations and maintenance program (O&M program), especially for commercial properties across Texas. We explain how notifying the state and documenting known asbestos locations can help you respond faster when something breaks. We also cover the common 10-day notification timeline and how smaller jobs may move quicker under the Texas 160/260 rule (160 square feet or 260 linear feet within a year), while still following proper containment and licensed abatement requirements.

You’ll hear concrete examples: cutting a wall for new internet service, handling a small drywall removal after a pipe break, and why so many owners only learn these rules after a flood or fire forces materials open. We also talk about the must-do steps to set this up correctly, starting with an asbestos survey, plus awareness training that helps calm tenants and keeps everyone safer. And we don’t dodge the liability question: if you know asbestos is present, you need a clear way to inform contractors before they work.

If you manage or buy commercial real estate, this is a smart, search-worthy primer on asbestos testing, asbestos abatement planning, and safer building operations. Subscribe, share this with a fellow owner or facility manager, and leave a review so more people can find clear guidance when it matters.

To learn more about DCG Environmental visit:
https://www.DCGEnvironmental.com
DCG Environmental 
Serving Property Owners in Dallas, Houston, and Austin 
972-876-0008 

Transcript

Welcome To The Show

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Environmental Testing Show. That's what you can't see. And of course you help. Hosted by Shelly Hyde, CEO of DCG Environmental. Each episode explores the environmental tests to impact holding commercial space. From holding its pastors to other hosting websites. Serving property owners throughout Dallas, Houston, and Austin. DCG Environmental believes finding the problem is the first step to making everyone safe.

Why Asbestos Is Not Always Dangerous

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Hi, I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer, back with our very knowledgeable Shelly Hines, the CEO of DCG Environmental. Shelly, can you top off the this topic for us, which is a big one? It's about operations and maintenance for commercial properties. What do we need to know for owners and operators?

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah, when that comes to asbestos being in a building, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a great building material, it's a great bonding material. Um, it's only dangerous when it becomes disturbed.

Operations And Maintenance Programs Explained

SPEAKER_01 1:12

So if you have asbestos in your building, we can put in place what's called an operations and maintenance program to where we file a notification with the state that says, hey, we have this building, we know we have some asbestos, we're managing where it's at in place, and we're gonna keep track of when we disturb it or abate it. Um, if we're gonna fix anything, change anything, we already know it's there. So typically you have a 10-day notification to the state when you're going to abate any of those areas, when you're going to remove the asbestos. When you have an OM in place, you don't have to file that 10-day notification as long as you are doing a um work that is under, we call it the 160-260 rule. So you have 160 square feet or 260 linear feet that you can remove within a year without having to file that 10-day notification.

The 160/260 Rule And Faster Repairs

SPEAKER_01 2:05

So this helps building owners and contractors um have a faster schedule, right? You don't have to wait for the 10 days to notify the state because it's really main, it's really for a small maintenance thing. So picture um an apartment complex, maybe they're getting a new internet service or a new cable service, and they have to cut a hole in the wall, but they know that that wall has asbestos in it. If you don't have an OM in place, you have to notify the state and wait 10 days before you can cut that hole with a licensed abatement contractor. When you have that OM in place, you can do it right now because we the state already knows there's asbestos in this building. We're going to be doing it there. It's still all the same abatement rules apply. They still remove it under containment, keep everybody safe. We just don't have to wait those extra 10 days. So this helps building owners, um, maintenance teams be able to respond quicker to issues. So another good example is um apartment complex or even a commercial building, and you have a tenant with a restroom and the a pipe breaks, and you know, it's a small area. Maybe you've got to remove a 10 by 10 2 by 10 piece of drywall that you know has asbestos in it. Again, we can minimize that time frame that it takes to get that done by not having to file the 10-day notification to the state because we already have that OM in place. So it really just helps shrink the timeline that it takes to repair items in buildings that are known to have asbestos.

How Owners Learn The Rules

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Is this how it's set up just in your state, or do you know if this is something that's more common across the country?

SPEAKER_01 3:46

I honestly am only aware of Texas law. We have offices in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Um I have partners in other states that know their rings and rules really well, and I depend on them when I have an issue outside of Texas, but I'm I don't know for sure. I couldn't tell you that one. It's a good question, though.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

Yeah, that's it's a good point you make. I wonder, in your experience, have you found a lot of building owners know about those 10-day rule and you know how about how this all works? Or is it news to them when you come in?

SPEAKER_01 4:18

It's usually news to them unless they um I can't say that across the board. Some of them are aware, some of them have OMs in place, they've been talked to, told, but that's usually the bigger buildings, um, hospitals. Uh, we have a few apartment complexes that we've had them on. Um, it's really education. So usually if we, you know, a pipe burst or something happens in an apartment and we discover that it has asbestos in it, we'll talk to our um client and we'll let them know, hey, this is an option for future. But before you can put that in place, you have to do an asbestos survey showing that there's asbestos in the buildings or building, depending upon if they, you know, if there's multiples. And then so we have a ground, we have a base of we know where all the asbestos is. And so you have to have in a survey first. Sometimes it comes about because one tenant had an issue and now we know it's there, and then we can say, hey, there's a way to put this in place for any future stuff, so it makes it faster because we know it's here. So usually it's education by well, one thing happens and then now we know that you know, we try and educate our clients of, hey, you have it. Here's the best way to handle it, here's a great way to minimize length of projects. Um, you know, and there's a whole process to it. Like they have to let anybody that comes in to repair anything know that there's asbestos in their building. And that's just safety for them. You know, you're gonna have plumbers, you might have an electrician, any contractor that comes on site, there's a form that they can sign that says, hey, I've been told there's asbestos here, so that everybody just operates and protects themselves accordingly. And that, you know, is a that saves a lot of liability. If you have asbestos in your building and you don't tell a contractor and you know you have it, you can get in a lot of trouble afterwards for that. That guy could come back and try and see you and say he has asbestosis, or there's just knowing up front and knowing how to protect yourself and and make sure that everybody is protected when they're operating on that building, um just makes it safer for everybody. So putting this plan in place really helps with a lot of that.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

Yeah, that's a good point about on the safety side, the liability side, just knowing your building.

Restaurants, Disasters, And Pre-Purchase Testing

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Have you found that a lot of restaurant owners have encountered anything like this?

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Restaurant owners usually find out um when there's a problem, either a flood or a fire, you know, something something that makes them destruct the the walls and the floors. Usually you don't know it's there unless you have it tested prior to purchase. Um I always try and tell people it's a great negotiating tool. So anytime you're gonna buy a building, make sure you get it assessed as tested first. And so you can you can use that as a negotiation tool for a better price or have them fix it before you purchase it. Either way, they can have it all removed. Sometimes it's just the floors, sometimes it's floors and walls, ceilings, it could be in a lot of different materials, but it's a great building material. I you just can't breathe it. So anytime you're gonna start demoing or repairing something that's broken or damaged, that's when it becomes dangerous.

Surveys, Training, And Paperwork Steps

SPEAKER_02 7:28

And the last question for you what's the process like when you go in and put this in place for a new client? What do you have to do? What's the paperwork like?

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Uh the first piece obviously is the asbestos inspection, so our survey. Um we we do that first, we identify where the materials are. The second piece is a two-hour awareness class for um building owner, managers, occupants. It can be open to anybody they want to invite. Sometimes they'll have tenants come because you know they'll hear the word asbestos and they freak out. So it's really an education of here's where it's at, it's a really great building material until it's broken. And so as long as it's not broken, it's a safe, perfect, it's great. Um, so we do that education piece as well. And then there's another six-hour OM class where if the building maintenance team wanted to be certified to be able to repair it themselves, there's a whole other class. We don't teach that class, but there's a class available to where they could manage that asbestos on site themselves. Oh I usually don't recommend that because they don't have the teams or the equipment, but it but it is an option they can do that, and there's uh places that will teach that six-hour class.

Licensing, Refreshers, And Staying Current

SPEAKER_02 8:40

You must take a lot of uh courses and be very very well informed to so many topics.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

Our licensing requires um classes every year, refreshers, and then every two years we have to renew our license. So we're always constantly getting educated and updating anytime there's new rules that come out. I have a whole binder on my desk. I like paper, I have it tabbed. If somebody calls and asks about a specific rule, I can go right to it and cite it for the ones that I don't memorize off the top of my head. But a lot of it after 10 years is just right at the top and ingrained, um, just so that we know that our team is performing and doing the right things.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Well, I hope um everyone knows and appreciates you know all the time that you put into this on the education side and the you know execution side. So thank you, Shelly. I appreciate that. Thank you.

Testing Help And How To Book

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Thanks for listening to the Environmental Testing Show. If you're concerned about mold, asbestos, or other environmental hazards, peace of mind starts with proper testing. Call 972-876-0008 or visit dcenvironmental.com to schedule a convenient appointment. Because when it comes to your environment, yes, it's a safe appointment.