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Gas Safe news
FROM THE EDITOR
Comment
Households may be breathing slightly easier at the new Prime Minister’s intervention on soaring energy costs, with the government’s announcement of a £2,500 Energy Price Guarantee for two years.
But businesses, which don’t fall under the same price cap as consumers and which are facing projected price increases of 500 per cent, will need a lot more support than the equivalent scheme that has been offered initially.
The government has pledged to reform the energy market, increasing energy security, speeding up domestic supply and aiming to be a net exporter of energy by 2040. It’s launching a new licensing round for oil and gas and lifting its ban on shale gas (fracking).
But the nation is still facing an expensive winter and purse strings are going to remain very tight for millions of households who depend on their trusty gas boilers to keep warm. That’s why, this month, our main feature is all about the steps that gas engineers (and their customers) can take to make sure that their boilers keep going when they need them. When money’s tight, repair is always going to be more attractive than replacement.
Nicki Shearer, editor
Gas Safe Register, PO Box 6804, Basingstoke, RG24 4NB.
Email: enquiries@gassaferegister.co.uk, register@gassaferegister.co.uk or technical@gassaferegister.co.uk Managing editor: Scott Darroch scott.darroch@gassaferegister.co.uk Editor: Nicki Shearer editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk News: Jennie Ward news@registeredgasengineer.co.uk Publisher: Peter McCreary publisher@registeredgasengineer.co.uk Technical consultants: Carl Banister, Stephen Gallagher, Jonathan Palmer Production: Mark Turpin Advertising enquiries only: Ian Carter ian@rgemagazine.co.uk
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The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Gas Safe Register. The publishers will accept an advertisement or other inserted material only on the condition that the advertiser warrants that such advertisement does not in any way infringe copyright or contravene the provisions of the Trade Descriptions Act. All copy is subject to the approval of the publisher, who reserves the right to refuse, amend, withdraw or otherwise deal with advertisements submitted to it at its absolute discretion and without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice. ABC membership approved 19 March, 2009.
Registered Gas Engineer is written, designed and published by The Team on behalf of Gas Safe Register. 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ
CIRCULATION: Jan-Dec 2021 80,070
Investigations in numbers
Number of reports received regarding illegal gas work 1,469
Number of defects found on gas work classified as AR or ID
3,414 Defects attributed to illegal gas fitters
4,673
Defects attributed to registered businesses 2,566
Source: Gas Safe Register At a Glance 2021-22
Technical Bulletins under review
Gas Safe Register is reviewing the status and validity of all Technical Bulletins. It’s a mammoth task and here we talk to Standards and Training Manager Jonathan Palmer about why this is being done, the work involved – and how you can get involved in the future.
Q: What is a Technical Bulletin?
A: Technical Bulletins can have a variety of purposes but they often provide guidance to fill in the gaps in information provided in an industry Standard. They can also provide information on developments in the industry and regulations, and how this affects gas engineers.
Q: Who creates them and who is responsible for them?
A: Generally, Gas Safe Register develops Technical Bulletins in conjunction with industry via a committee of people who work in the relevant organisations.
Some Technical Bulletins are written with manufacturers or by specific groups such as the Large Business Forum and the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC). Some Technical Bulletins are written by HSE.
Q: How can I access Technical Bulletins
A: All Technical Bulletins are free to download by logging into your Gas Safe Register online account at www.
GasSafeRegister.co.uk/sign-in
You can also call the Technical Team and request a specific Technical Bulletin, which will be sent to you via email.
Technical Bulletin 000 is a full index of all current TBs.
Q: What’s changing about how they are created and updated?
A: It’s important that all the information in Technical Bulletins is relevant and up to date. We are reviewing them to ensure this and any that are no longer required will be withdrawn.
We’re also reviewing the way they are created, when and how they should be updated. We want them to be more useful to gas engineers.
We recognise that the current design of Technical Bulletins is becoming out of date. We do need to make sure that the information is accessible to everyone, but we’re also looking to update the format so that they are more attractive and easier to read.
Q: How might they look in the future?
A: The first Technical Bulletin we’re reviewing is TB118: Safe electrical isolation of gas appliances. We know that this is one of the most important documents that gas engineers refer to and it’s the most downloaded Technical Bulletin on our website.
We’ve been working closely with a range of organisations on updating and redesigning the information in this Bulletin.
We are also working with specialists to confirm that any new approach will conform with accessibility requirements.
Q: Will gas engineers be able to have any input into how Technical Bulletins evolve in the future?
A: Yes, we want to encourage gas engineers to let us know what they think. We’re using the work we’ve been doing on TB118 as a test example. When the proposed new approach has been finalised, we’ll be asking gas engineers to let us know whether they prefer the new version or the old one. Right now, we’re asking for your comments and feedback on this Technical Bulletin as it stands now (see right).
What do you think?
TB118a is the first example where you can tell Gas Safe Register what you think about Technical Bulletins, and the Technical Team welcome your comments and opinions.
Are you satisfied with its content as it is now? Or is there anything that you think should change? Is there any information missing that should be included? Or anything else?
You can review the Technical Bulletin at www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/tb118review
The TB118a draft will be available for comment until 21 October 2022. The draft will then be removed so that all your comments and feedback can be reviewed.
Please send your comments to technical@gassaferegister. co.uk. Only Gas Safe registered engineers are eligible to comment. You must provide your registration number in the email and please use ‘TB 118a comments’ as the subject line.
Top 5 Technical Bulletins
1
TB 118: Safe electrical isolation of gas appliances
TB 002(A): Reporting of dangerous gas fittings – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) as applied to Great Britain
TB 000: Index of Technical Bulletins
TB 055: Duties of landlords
TB 159: Natural gas Standards when working on domestic installations being supplied with natural gas containing up to 20 vol% hydrogen
2
3
4
5
Ranked by number of downloads from Gas Safe Register 1 April 2021–31 March 2022
Investigating the cause of gas incidents
When there’s been a gas incident, it’s vital to find out what has happened, how and why. Gas Safe Register has a team of specialists who are highly trained and experienced in finding out the facts in what can be dangerous or distressing circumstances. Here, we talk to Nick Deakin about what’s involved in being an incident investigator.
There’s no such thing as a typical incident and Gas Safe Register’s team can be asked to investigate a range of situations, including suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, ‘minor’ explosions, and sudden deaths. “Our knowledge and expertise are used by the HSE, local authorities, police, Coroner’s Courts and fire services to investigate, as appropriate, provide a detailed report and attend court as and when required,” says regional investigations officer Nick Deakin.
When there has been a suspected CO incident that has caused someone to be taken to hospital, the gas supplier is legally required by the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 to have an investigation undertaken. The HSE can also ask Gas Safe Register to investigate because it is independent and impartial.
From Nick’s years of experience, he knows that the causes of carbon monoxide poisoning incidents usually involve a number of factors colliding at one time. He says: “It can be an open-flued boiler with flue installation deficiencies that have been there since day one. The householder may have blocked the all-important combustion air vent and then failed to have the appliance adequately maintained. Couple this with a particularly cold morning during winter, and an incident occurs.”
But it’s not only faulty boiler installations that can cause CO poisoning. “A number of incidents have occurred with gas cooking appliances where the customer has used the gas grill with the door shut – not in accordance with the requirements of the appliance manufacturer.” Gas Safe Register has issued two Safety Alerts identifying these potential issues: Safety Alert 015 and Safety Alert 030, which you can read in this edition of Registered Gas Engineer.
Investigators may also become involved by the police in some cases of sudden death. “We are called in to test the gas system and appliances to rule out (in most instances) carbon monoxide as the cause of a sudden or initially unexplained death. We usually attend a day or two later when preliminary police enquiries have been undertaken, including
those by scene-of-crime officers and forensics,” says Nick. “Recent cases have involved complete families becoming unconscious as a result of exposure to carbon monoxide.”
Sometimes householders carrying out DIY can cause problems unwittingly, particularly if they build a lean-to that covers an existing boiler chimney/flue terminal outlet, or when a builder or double-glazing company builds an extension or a conservatory. “This happened twice last year within a two-mile area, in my own experience. The householder had been advised to keep the windows open until they had the boiler moved. One had carried out DIY and one was by a builder, but both resulted in CO incidents. And this happens across the country.”
But it’s not just CO incidents that the team deal with.
Skills
Incident investigation is a specialist role that requires very specific knowledge and qualifications, as well as experience built up over time.
The new IGEM/G/11 Supplement 1 – Responding to domestic CO alarm activations/reports of fumes after attendance by the emergency service provider or the Liquified Petroleum Gas supplier – is an important document (see Registered Gas Engineer, September 2022). It clearly sets out the actions to be taken and the hierarchy of investigators involved.
It’s also important to note that although a gas engineer may hold CMDDA1, this qualification does not cover commercial premises and appliances, or the procedures to adopt following an incident reportable under RIDDOR. These need the investigator to hold the full IGEM GL/8 Gas related incident investigation qualification or equivalent.
Chimney/flue in a ceiling void where the push-fit connection had come apart, allowing products of combustion into the property Commercial catering environments can prove to be dangerous places, and Nick has been called to attend the aftermath of minor explosions caused by gas ovens with defective flame safety devices, and ad hoc tandoor ovens with no safety devices at all.
Actions on site
When investigators arrive on site, initially the approach is very much hands-off. Although the appliance in question has often already been identified, that is never taken as read and they always keep an open mind. Investigators gather evidence in the form of witness statements and photographic evidence, then test the gas system and appliances and record the results accurately.
Some properties are designated crime scenes with police on duty. In the case of a carbon monoxide incident, much of the testing is monitored from outside the property for safety reasons. This will require evacuation of the property and occasionally adjoining properties.
The investigators then produce a report that can be used to support the next stage of an HSE or police investigation and can be read in court.
Nick is also a regional investigations officer but says investigations take priority over inspections because of the time
