19 minute read
years 28
New regulator for safer construction materials
A new national regulator is to ensure that the materials used to build homes will be made safer, the government has said.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says the regulator for construction products will have the power to remove any product from the market that presents a significant safety risk, and to prosecute companies that flout the rules on product safety.
The move follows testimony to the Grenfell Inquiry that highlighted the dishonest practice by some manufacturers of construction products, including deliberate attempts to game the system and rig the results of safety tests, said Mr Jenrick.
The regulator will have strong enforcement powers and will be able to conduct its own product testing when investigating concerns.
The governent’s overhaul of regulatory systems includes the publication of a draft Building Safety Bill, and a new Building Safety Regulator, which is already up and running in shadow form.
Mr Jenrick said: “The Grenfell Inquiry has heard deeply disturbing allegations of malpractice by some construction product manufacturers and their employees, and of the weaknesses of the present product testing regime.
“We are establishing a national regulator to address these concerns and a review into testing to ensure our national approach is fit for purpose. We will continue to listen to the evidence emerging in the Inquiry, and await the judge’s ultimate recommendation – but it is already clear that action is required now and that is what we are doing.”
The regulator will operate within the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), which will be expanded and given up to £10 million to establish the new function. It will work with the Building Safety Regulator and Trading Standards to encourage and enforce compliance.
The government has also commissioned an independent review to examine weaknesses in previous testing regimes for construction products, and to recommend how abuse of the testing system can be prevented. It will be led by a panel of experts with regulatory, technical and construction industry experience and will report later this year.
Hot water sizing help
The Hot Water Association (HWA) has launched a tool to help consumers and heating engineers choose the right hot water system.
The online homeowner ‘hot water check’ questionnaire complements the HWA’s cylinder sizing calculator.
Getting the calculation wrong can have repercussions for everyone involved, says the HWA: users run out of hot water or pay over the odds to heat water they don’t use; heating engineers get called back to jobs, and manufacturers get called out to unhappy customers.
HWA chair Geoff Egginton says: “The questionnaire has been created to give consumers and installers logical and sensible advice on the type of hot water system they will need, based on their household usage.”
www.hotwater.org.uk
Drive off in an electric van with Baxi
Baxi is giving one lucky gas engineer the chance to drive away in a brand new electric van. They will be able to get behind the wheel of a Nissan E-NV200 Visia electric van, to thank them for their hard work as they get back out on the road to keep heating Britain.
There are a further 500 prizes, from £10 Costa Coffee vouchers to £30 Halfords vouchers.
All you need to do is sign up to Baxi Works from now until Sunday 4 April and register at least one boiler. Every boiler registered during the campaign will also submit an entry, so the more registrations, the more chances of winning.
Existing Baxi Works members can enter by submitting a testimonial using the suggestions box on the dashboard of their Baxi Works account.*
Dave Cook, residential sales director, UK & Ireland, says: “It’s been a rocky start to 2021, so we are keen to show our support for installers who continue to work hard to keep heating Britain, and help them make the year ahead a success.
“We look forward to spreading a bit of positivity.”
www.baxi.co.uk
Polypipe snaps up Adey and Nu-heat
Polypipe is growing its presence in the heating and plumbing sector, and has scooped up two specialists – Adey and Nu-heat.
The company aims to broaden its reach in climate and water management, with a focus on low or zero-carbon heating. Its CEO Martin Payne says: “Adey is a pioneer and market leader in the residential heating protection market, one of the fastestgrowing segments of the UK construction market, underpinned by a shift towards more energyefficient heating systems and regulatory tailwinds.
“Like Polypipe, it has a strong track record of innovation and new product development, with the acquisition strengthening the proposition for our customers and accelerating Polypipe’s growth.”
Adey CEO Matthew Webber says: “We are excited to be joining Polypipe and by the growth opportunities ahead. The companies share a similar culture and philosophy, focused on delivering sustainable water and climate management solutions.”
On buying Nu-heat, Martin says: “This acquisition will enable us to further develop our underfloor heating capabilities, and to develop new and exciting ways to integrate underfloor heating, heat pumps, and air-based climate management systems.”
Nu-Heat managing director David Roberts says: “We look forward to being better positioned to deliver more sustainable solutions to customers and greater opportunities for our people as part of the Polypipe Group.”
Polypipe paid £210 million to acquire Adey, and £27 million for Nu-heat.
The management teams of both companies will stay with their businesses.
School’s out for ever
Jack Allen is not the first person to follow in his gas engineer dad’s footsteps. But, at just 16 years old, could he be the youngest ever holder of a Gas Safe ID card? Registered Gas Engineer find out.
When we first tried to speak to Jack Allen, he wasn’t there. “He’s at college doing his oil exams,” dad Darren told us. In fact, over the past few weeks, Jack has completed his CCN1, as well as taking assessments in pipework installation and unvented cylinders. And when we got to talk to him in early February, he was expecting his Gas Safe ID card to arrive shortly.
The past year has seen Jack juggling work with school, and the training and assessments he needed to become Gas Safe registered. His school allowed him
to leave, releasing him to work when he was 15 in early 2020 – although he is still studying to make sure he will get his GCSEs in English and Maths. “I don’t really like it but I have to do it to get my results,” says Jack.
“I always wanted to be hands-on at work. When I used to do engineering GCSE, I never liked doing the theory side, I just liked the practical side. I was doing work experience for one day a week, on a Thursday, and I kept asking if I could do that for more days.”
Jack was combining work with going to school on Monday mornings until the most recent Covid-19 lockdown, and would have taken his GCSEs this summer, along with other Year 11s. Now he expects his exams to be replaced with predicted grades.
He may not have liked studying at school, but there’s no doubt that he enjoys learning what it takes to become a gas engineer, putting together his portfolio and passing his assessments at Gasmark Training and Assessment in Maidenhead. “From what I’d heard from everyone else, they made it sound really, really hard. And it was hard – but it wasn’t as hard as everyone said.”
Darren says: “He’s going to fly, I can see it. He’s eager and keen.” And dad has been the role model and the reason behind Jack’s decision to become a gas engineer. “I used to go to work with dad when I was younger,” says Jack.
“I’ve been brought up in the trade. It’s something I’ve always looked forward to doing and,
when I had the chance to do it, I did it.”
He had already been working with Darren for a few years at weekends and during school holidays. “I’d get him drilling holes, sorting the van out, and getting the fittings sorted,” says Darren. “But he gradually progressed. When he was about 13 or 14, all I heard from the school was that Jack wanted to be a plumber.”
Boilers and breakdowns
Now, a typical day sees Jack working alongside his colleague Nathan Thompson on a variety of jobs, from boiler installations to fitting hot water cylinders, and dealing with breakdowns. “I’m starting to get to know it,” says Jack, and he is looking forward to the manufacturer training centres re-opening so that he can train on breakdowns for specific boiler brands.
Next on the list is commercial qualifications – and this time he’s bringing his dad. “It will be the first time I’ve done commercial, so we’ll be learning together,” says Darren, who used to be an electrician but switched trades some years ago.
Jack isn’t the first young person that Darren has brought on in his company, which has apprentices working on the bathrooms side of the business, as well as in plumbing and heating supplies. But his confidence in his work does set him apart, and customers don’t usually realise his age. “They usually think I’m in my 20s, although some customers ask and then they’re shocked,” he says.
As soon as Jack’s Gas Safe ID card arrives, he’ll be able to work independently, one of the company’s team of eight gas engineers. But there’s still one more hurdle to get over before Jack can go out to jobs on his own: his driving licence – he’ll have to wait until he turns 17 in November before he can learn to drive. Then there just won’t be any stopping him. ■
Local Plumbers Heating & Plumbing in Gerrards Cross has eight gas engineers covering areas around West London, typically installing around seven boilers a week, says director Darren, who spends much of his time these days estimating and checking that everything has been done correctly.
Darren has also added Local Bathrooms Design & Installation, and drainage specialisms, as well as a plumbing and heating supplies business.
He works hard to bring through the next generation of tradespeople, with three apprentices in different parts of the business, and he makes sure that they get a thorough practical grounding. “You’ve got to inspire kids,” he says. “I’ve got one in the shop, so they learn all the fittings first. Then they go over to the bathroom side and do basic plumbing. And then they come to us on the heating side eventually.”
Thegoodthebad+theugly
We want your pictures
Registered Gas Engineer wants to see your pictures – whether you’ve come across some horrors or instances of really good work. And there’s a prize for the best one: so go on, get writing and email your stories and pictures to editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk or via Twitter @RGEMag
David Halifax was looking for the reason for a failed tightness test – and he found this soldered joint in the roof space. David made safe and replaced the section of pipework.
Severe corrosion and holes on top of the combustion chamber meant that this old balanced-flue boiler was no longer room sealed.
Mark Webster
has now fitted a new boiler.
Nisar Chowdhary
discovered this boiler and chimney in an enclosed room. Nisar made safe and has now repositioned the boiler and fitted a horizontal chimney.
This attempt at a chimney plume management solution incorporated its own excess condensate disposal system via the drainpipe. Ian Banks put the installation right.
Darren Keightley
spotted a meter bracket shear bolt instead of a proper test nipple at the meter test point. He replaced the bolt.
Neil Tinsley was called to check a boiler installation and saw that this chimney had not been sealed on the inside or outside of the building. But worse was to come when he realised that the condensate pipework from the boiler was in copper. Neil made safe. Birds will nest almost anywhere, include on top of this U6 gas meter, as sent to us by Murat Karakas. The nest was cleared so that Murat could carry out a tightness test.
Kinky flexible plumbing connections misused on this hob installation, spotted (and made safe), also sent in by Neil Tinsley. Always check chimneys in voids, as illustrated by Simon Hobbs’s photo. Simon made the installation safe.
We may share some of your pictures on social media, so remember to include your contact details so we can tag you (or let us know if you’d rather we didn’t).
Thegoodthebad+theugly
Brian Redman met a tenant smoking and using the ashtray positioned in the meter box. The tenant has now been educated and the ashtray has been removed. Sean Witham was called to a non-working boiler. He inspected the chimney in the roof space, where he found that a plumber had mistaken the chimney for a soil pipe: they had disconnected part of the flue and fitted a plumbing vent to the flue elbow. Sean made safe.
This month’s winner
Darren Sweeney
traced a reported smell of gas to this job using a plumbing connection. Darren made safe and refitted the hob correctly.
There’s a prize for the best photos sent in (in our opinion). Please remember to take pictures at high resolution and email them to Photo prize Win
editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk
This month, Anton is giving away its APM 135 differential manometer, complete with a standard boot and a zipped hard carry case with the unit, worth £145.
The APM 135 is robust and simple to use, and suitable for all domestic pressure testing. The test-only manometer has standard push-fit spigot connections and 8 units of pressure measurement, ranging from -39.99mbar to 130.0mbar This month’s winner is Sean Witham from Rainham, Kent. Congratulations!
Industry Standard Update 102
The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure – IGEM/G/11 Date issued: 20 January 2021
This Industry Standard Update provides an overview and highlights areas of significant change in the recently published version of The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure – IGEM/G/11.
Introduction
On 15 January 2021, IGEM published a revision to The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure, IGEM/G/11(1) (Communication 1840). The revised procedure supersedes The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure, IGEM/G/11 (Communication 1819)(2), which has been withdrawn.
IGEM/G/11The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure is owned and published by IGEM. The requirements of this revised industry Procedure come into effect immediately.
To allow registered businesses time to implement the necessary processes and procedures and to carry out the necessary internal update training to reflect the technical requirements of the amended Procedure, Gas Safe Register will inspect to this version of the Procedure from 15 April 2021. However, this should not prevent businesses from applying the procedure sooner.
The following is a brief overview of the amendments to IGEM/G/11The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure.
General
IGEM/G/11has been revised throughout to update terms, references to legislation and other standards.
Section 1: Introduction
Clause 1.9 states that IGEM/ G/11has been drawn up by the gas industry in order to assist competent engineers in meeting their legal duties in accordance with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) as amended and associated Approved Code of Practice and Guidance, and classify unsafe gas installations correctly.
The general principles of the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP) may be: • Used as a guide to action in premises that fall outside the scope of GSIUR • Used in geographical areas not covered by the GB edition of
GIUSP, including Guernsey,
Jersey, Isle of Man and
Northern Ireland.
Section 2: Scope
Clause 2.2 states that the priority for gas engineers when encountering an unsafe situation is to safeguard life and property. It is essential that gas engineers are able to identify gas equipment that presents a danger or potential danger and take prompt corrective actions to eliminate such danger.
Section 4: Competencies
When applying the classifications used in IGEM/G/11, the competent engineer shall be able to justify their rationale based on the situation on site. The examples in this document are not intended to be exhaustive and/or definitive, and the final decision in applying classifications lies solely with the competent engineer on site, following their site-specific risk assessment.
Clause 6: Dealing with unsafe situations
Clauses 6.1(e) and 6.2.1(e) include guidance to: ‘Complete a “warning notice” which shall emphasise the words “DANGER DO NOT USE”. Regardless of the format used, obtain a signature from the gas user/ responsible person as both a record of receipt and understanding. Before leaving site, a copy shall be issued to the gas user/responsible person and you should keep a copy for your records. If no one is present, leave a copy on site to alert any future user to the danger.’
Clause 8: RIDDOR, unsafe gas work and theft of gas reporting
Clause 8.3 has been revised to ensure consistency with current legislation and states that RIDDOR Regulation 11(2) requires registered gas businesses/engineers to report any gas fittings (including appliances and flues or ventilation used with appliances) that are dangerous to such an extent they have caused or are likely to cause: • Death • Unconsciousness • Taking a person to hospital due to the design, construction, manner of installation, modification, or incorrect servicing of the gas fitting that could or has resulted in an accidental leakage of gas, incomplete combustion of gas or inadequate removal of products of combustion of gas. This is commonly referred to as poor workmanship or design. A flowchart of the process is contained in Appendix 7.
Clause 8.5 has been added to detail how and when to report under RIDDOR.
Clause 8.6 has been included to provide guidance on how and to whom to report unsafe situations due to poor workmanship that are not reportable under RIDDOR.
Clause 8.7 provides guidance around the theft of gas.
Section 9: Table 1
Table 1 contains examples of the types of situation that are ID or AR. The table is not exhaustive and individual circumstances may require different actions to be taken.
Therefore, engineers shall exercise their engineering judgement and be able to justify their classification rationale based on the situation on site. Actions should be within their area of competence and, where there is doubt, seek further guidance.
A header added to each table page details RIDDOR requirements to be considered.
Revisions to Table 1 are opposite.
Summary As previously stated, this Industry Standard Update is only a brief overview of the information contained in the amended standard. Registered businesses should be aware that they have a responsibility to ensure that they are fully apprised of all of the requirements of the whole published standard and its practical application.
Bibliography
(1) IGEM/G/11 The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (Communication 1840) (2) IGEM/G/11 The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (Communication 1819)
Table reference Revision
3.6 The Note has been revised to state that, ‘Notify the responsible person that access to, and a means to operate the ECV is required by law.’ 3.7 The Note has been revised to provide guidance to make safe as described in the IGEM/UP/1 series of procedures. 3.11 The guidance notes for this Table reference have been revised. 6.6 This situation has been revised to provide guidance for room-sealed chimney/flue systems which are damaged, insecure, inadequately supported and/or using incorrect jointing methods to such an extent that may cause it to become unsafe and/or a breach of integrity is likely. 7.2 This situation has been revised to provide guidance where there has been a breach of a room-sealed appliance’s integrity caused by missing or damaged seals. 13.9 This situation has been included in Table 1 to provide guidance where existing single-stage LPG regulators are without OPSO protection, where the regulator is known or suspected to be 10 years old or greater, or where such a single-stage regulator without OPSO protection exhibits evidence of significant environmental degradation.
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The law, legislation, ACoPs and standards
What are the different types of law, and how are our industry standards developed? Gas Safe Register Standards Manager John Stirling has the lowdown.
Gas Safe Register frequently receives calls about the hierarchy of industry standards and how they should be applied. It’s important to note that Gas Safe Register neither creates nor enforces the standards.
There are two types of law that create the framework for the regulation of health and safety: criminal and civil law. A simple workplace accident can result in both types of legal action.
The table on the right summarises the two types of law and highlights some of the significant differences.
Sources of law
There are two sources that are relevant to the legal systems outlined above: Statute law and Common law. Statute law is made by Parliament and exists in the form of Acts, Regulations and orders.
Common law is made by judges through the decisions they make and the precedents that these rulings set. You may have heard this referred to as the law of the land and it’s established by custom and practice.
Statute laws, when introduced by the state, will mean that those who do not comply can be prosecuted by the state through criminal courts.
Modern Acts of Parliament set out principles or objectives and use specific Regulations or Orders to implement them. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) is probably the most important piece of statute law, relating to health and safety in the workplace.
Acts of Parliament (HSWA, for example) are ‘enabling Acts’, which means that they allow for the creation of health and safety regulations such as The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Regulations made under an Act of Parliament are secondary, delegated legislation.
Approved Codes of
Practice (ACoPs) often accompany regulations and supplement statutory legislation such as Acts and Regulations. ACoPs give expert interpretation on how to achieve the legal standard as outlined in the regulation that they accompany, and will usually give a clear indication of what is expected.
Failure to comply with an ACoP is not in itself an offence.
Criminal law
Civil law
Action is brought by the state Action is brought by an individual The intention is punishment The intention is compensation Insurance is not available to pay any fines Insurance is available to pay compensation Legal proceedings are normally started within 6 months of the offence coming to light Legal proceedings have to start within 3 years of the date of injury Statute law is used as the source of law Statute AND Common law are used as the source of law The burden of proof normally required is ‘guilt beyond reasonable doubt’ The burden of proof normally required is ‘on the balance of probabilities’
