Reminder: the inspection process

A work inspection is an assessment of gas work that has been completed at a customer’s address/premises by a Gas Safe registered business.

Registered engineers are expected to demonstrate their competence periodically through the work inspection process. The Register engages with registered businesses to monitor the application of gas safety competence against the work categories for which they are registered.

Failure to allow a work inspection without a justified reason will be deemed a breach of the Rules of Registration and will attract appropriate actions in accordance with the Sanctions Policy. You must:

• Agree to the Register inspecting any addresses relating to the registered business where gas work has been carried out, provided that consent to do so has been given by the property owner/tenant.

• Ensure that a suitably competent and registered person representing the registered business is available for an inspection visit: inspection will take place where the gas work was carried out, at the registered business address or as agreed.

• Make available for inspection records of gas work, as well as any other information that shows how the registered businesses and its engineers make sure that gas work is safe.

What to expect

If your business employs more than one engineer, you can decide which engineer you wish to nominate for the inspection, unless the Register has informed you of the engineer who you need to make available.

On the day of the inspection, you should have available two addresses (within 30 minutes of your business address) where gas work has been carried out, or you can undertake gas work during the inspection, for example, a service or a landlord’s gas safety record check. The inspector will aim to contact you in the week before your inspection, by either a text message or a phone call, to confirm the inspection arrangements.

It is important that you are prepared for the inspection and that you are available at the appointed time. The inspector will introduce themselves and show you their ID card. At this point, you will be expected to have your ID card ready for inspection too. There will be an introductory explanation about Gas Safe Register and what is expected from you to maintain your gas registration.

What happens during an inspection

The inspection consists of the following:

• The inspector will assess your technical knowledge through a question-based assessment. This is to gain an understanding of your underpinning knowledge of the competencies you hold.

• The inspector will also undertake a visual inspection of the key gas safety equipment that you should have available in order to undertake gas work competently. This may be kept in your vehicle but should be available for inspection on the day.

• The inspector will observe you undertaking practical gas work that is within your competence. This will be carried out on site at the nominated property where you have recently undertaken gas work. Please ensure you have the relevant tools, equipment and consumables available to undertake this part of the inspection.

Gas Safe Register operates a risk-based inspection programme using a range of factors that are used to profile the risk applied to businesses and individual engineers to determine the frequency of inspection. Businesses that are determined to be higher risk will be subject to a more frequent inspection programme.

What happens next?

At the end of the inspection, the inspector will let you know the outcome. If you have been nominated for the inspection by your employer, the inspector may also feed back the results of the inspection to your employer.

Where defective or noncompliant work is identified during inspection, the issues will be reported in a defect notice served to the responsible business and the responsible person for the property concerned. All identified defects are recorded, even if the work is corrected by the engineer during the visit. This is done to ensure that an accurate record of defects identified is held and that trends can be monitored, reported and addressed.

Gas Safe Register will monitor for the completion of the remedial action and, when requested, it can arrange to re-inspect any remedial action where unsafe gas work has been attributed to a registered business.

Failure to correct work identified on a defect notice or inform the Register that the work has been completed will attract appropriate actions in accordance with the Sanctions Policy.

You can find more information about Gas Safe Register’s policies at: www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/ about-us/our-policies