REGISTERED GAS ENGINEER | AROUND THE INDUSTRY
Lincolnshire firm fined £20,000 over unsafe LPG work A Lincolnshire company has been fined £20,000 after its employee carried out defective LPG work that that they were not competent to do. Lincoln Magistrates’ Court heard that Glen Farrow UK Ltd installed an LPG cylinder filling system at a food preparation factory near Spalding in January and February 2018. An inspection by the LPG supplier on 13 February 2018 found numerous defects in the unsafe installation, which put the safety of workers at the
factory at risk. The HSE, prosecuting, said Glen Farrow UK Ltd took on work for which it did not have the competencies. It failed to plan the work adequately and to specify the correct materials and design for the installation. The engineer who carried out the work was not competent to work on an LPG installation of this sort. The HSE said the company should have realised that the work was outside its competence when it was asked
to quote for the work and should instead have subcontracted it to a company
with LPG expertise. Glen Farrow UK Ltd of Glendum Close, Pinchbeck, Spalding, pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act etc Act 1974. It was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,131.60. After the hearing, HSE inspector Martin Giles said: “Gas engineers must understand that certain tasks are not part of their normal functions and should only be done by competent contractors.”
Fitter carried out dangerous gas work and faked registration
Competition winner flushed with happiness The winner of January’s competition has picked up his prize. Carl Yeomanson (pictured left) of Plumbing and Gas Solutions (PGS) in Milton Keynes was delighted to win Kamco’s unique blue Clearflow CF90 in January’s competition – and luckily the company is based nearby, so he popped in to collect it from Kamco’s Keith MacBain. A delighted Carl says the company works on both commercial and residential properties, including a lot of work for Center Parcs, and so the CF90 will come in handy for flushing the resort’s many underfloor heating systems. You can enter this month’s competition on page 51.
A Cheshire property services contractor has been given a suspended prison sentence after he pretended to be Gas Safe registered and carried out gas work that was Immediately Dangerous. Crewe Magistrates’ Court heard that, on 1 June 2019, Robert Allen, a self-employed contractor trading as A&E Property Services, replaced the boiler at a property in Ledward Street, Winsford. Problems arose after the installation, including loss of pressure and water leaks. In August 2019, a registered gas engineer found multiple issues
with the installation, including inadequately sized pipework, and reported the installation under RIDDOR. The HSE investigation found that Mr Allen had never been Gas Safe registered. He had given himself a false registration number and fraudulently used the registration number of a completely unconnected company. Inspection of the work at Ledward Street found five separate serious defects, including an unsealed flue, a pressure-relief valve in the wrong place, undersized gas pipework, an uncommissioned
appliance, and corrosion to the gas pipework. The court heard that the defects could have led to carbon monoxide leakage, scalding, unsafe combustion and unburned gas release, which could have proved fatal. Robert Allen of Nixon Drive, Winsford, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to two breaches of Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 and breaches of Regulation 3(7) and Regulation 5(3). He was given a 40-week suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and made to pay costs of £5,263.04.
Gas Safe Register adds virtual events to inspections Virtual inspection events have been approved by HSE and are being incorporated into Gas Safe Register’s regular inspection programme, alongside regular on-site inspections and remote technical assessments. These inspection events involve an online knowledge check completed in exam conditions from the comfort of your own home. You may remember that the Register trialled these events last year
with gas engineer volunteers, who provided constructive and useful feedback. If you receive a letter or email from Gas Safe Register inviting you to a virtual inspection event, you’ll need the following in order to take part: • Access to the Internet • A laptop or tablet with a webcam • A home office space or equivalent – somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed.
You can find out more about Virtual Inspection Events in your Gas Safe Register online account. Just sign in and go to www.gassaferegister. co.uk/engineer/resource-hub/ virtual-inspection-events/ If you’re having trouble attending an event or need to re-arrange, please email VirtualInspectionEvents@ gassaferegister.co.uk www.gassaferegister.co.uk 07
