Ignite July 2022

Ignite!

CONTENT ALSO INCLUDES

The latest Member News What is PAS 9980: 2022?

UNBOX OUR EXPERTISE

Don’t think heating. Think sustainable business partner. Before your next project even begins, The Vaillant Standard has your back. With end-to-end expert support on everything from market-leading sustainability and flexible warranties to full heating system design… once you unbox The Vaillant Standard, you’re ready to take on anything.

Unbox our expertise, visit www.vaillant.co.uk/unbox

Welcome to the 2022 summer edition of Ignite! Firstly, I would like to thank everyone that attended June’s ASCP Safety & Compliance Conference and Awards Ceremony at Celtic Manor – whether you were there as a delegate, a speaker, an exhibitor and/or sponsor – together with our team, you made it a fantastic 2 days. On a personal level it was also wonderful for me to chat with so many members, something I always value.

What to expect in this edition? After catching up on latest industry and members news, move on to the Conference presentation write ups – a must read! Even if you didn’t attend the Conference – I am confident there will be some learning points, particularly in the extended articles on page 35 PAS 9980: 2022

WELCOME

Fire Risk Appraisal and page 27 Commercial Gas Installations – Risk and Quality Control Requirements. I would also urge you to read the article on page 7 – the importance of due diligence and how some unscrupulous suppliers have raised safety concerns for the whole sector. We were prompted to write this article after we encountered, first hand, a company claiming CORGI Technical Services' risk assessment as their own. Read on for our advice on how to not put your residents at risk.

Do take a look at the compliance data management systems article page 28, it’s a little different; the main point we are trying to communicate is that not all systems are created equal – know what you are signing up to! And a final shout for the resident engagement strategy article - how engaged are your residents in the safety of their buildings? How confident are you that you are working with customers in the most effective way? Take a look at page 37.

And don’t forget to take a look at all the ASCP Safety & Compliance Award winners from page 38; it was a brilliant evening, full of celebration and deserving winners. I hope you enjoy the read!

Claire Claire Heyes FCCA Chief Executive,

ASCP Group

Contacts

ADVERTISE

Marion Schumacher

T: 01256 548040

E: mschumacher@corgitechnical.com

EDITORIAL

Janet Till

T: 01256 548040

E: jtill@corgitechnical.com

GENERAL ENQUIRIES

E: enquiries@ascp.org.uk

T: 01256 548040

www.safetyandcomplianceconference.com www.ascp.org.uk

Next Edition

If you have any thoughts, feedback or contributions you would like to provide, please email: jtill@corgitechnical.com

ASCP MEMBER NEWS –

Did you get involved in March’s National Social Housing Safety & Compliance Week? The week is about knowledge sharing, learning and moving beyond compliance in order to create stronger, more positive safety cultures within organisations and across the sector. This year 824 places were booked across the week for the 6 online events; a 37% increase over 2021. This increased level of engagement only serves to highlight your

2022 Fundraising

Every year at the Conference we support a charity. Given the timing of this year’s Conference it was an easy decision to select Grenfell Foundation as our 2022 charity. Thanks to the generosity of everyone we raised an impressive £1,591.00. Thank you to everyone that donated.

Next year’s ASCP Conference, Exhibition and Awards is:

We are tweaking the format a little. Arrival and lunch is from 11.30 on 14 June. The Conference will start at 1pm and continue until 5pm. In the evening there will be informal drinks and networking. On 15 June, the Conference will be 9.30 – 16.45. The Safety & Compliance Awards will follow from 7pm. Tickets go on sale very shortly!

There is some amazing content! Drop us a note if you have not received your copy: enquiries@ascp.org.uk

New Technical Appointments

To strengthen the technical support we can give to members we are delighted to let you know CORGI’s latest recruits – Technical Safety Managers Jamie Cooper and John Stirling. Read more about them on page 25.

New Course!

Launched at the Conference, we have a new course – CORGI Gas Pipework Risk Assessments in Multiple Occupancy Buildings (incl. DSEAR). If you are responsible for, or have duties relating to, gas safety within multioccupancy buildings – then take a look at page 26 for all the details.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations

Earlier in the year, there was a rising amount of concern and confusion surrounding upcoming changes to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations in England in the Social Housing sector. John Vaughan, CORGI’s Head of Technical and Regulation, contacted the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, to clarify the situation. All members were subsequently sent a comprehensive update, from John, regarding this Amendment on 25 May, with a further note on 21 June. See Industry News for further information.

New Corporate Members

We would like to give a very warm welcome to our new corporate members;

arrow-right Berneslai Homes

arrow-right Cannock Chase District Council

arrow-right Chelmer Housing Partnership

arrow-right Citizen Housing

arrow-right Curo Housing Association

arrow-right Fairhive Housing

arrow-right Newydd Housing Association

arrow-right Richmond Housing Partnership

arrow-right Redditch Borough Council

arrow-right Saffron Housing Trust

arrow-right South Cambridgeshire District Council

arrow-right Stonewater

arrow-right Wales & West Housing

Welcome to this highly supportive and informative network. We are undoubtedly stronger together! If you have any questions – drop us a note, we’re here to help you get the most out of your membership. enquiries@ascp.org.uk

stronger together

ASCP Works with the DLUHC

Following the Government's White Paper in Social Housing commitment to review electrical safety in social housing, the DLUHC formed a working group to review electrical safety in social housing. The AESM/ ASCP were part of this working group and highlighted the benefits and challenges of the various proposals. The resulting Consultation and call for evidence on Electrical Safety in the Social Rented Sector is now open until 31 Aug 2022. You should have received an email on 9 June urging you to complete the consultation and be as practical and honest as you can be, particularly bearing in mind practicalities such as lead times of any proposals, as well as Access challenges, hoarding etc. This is your opportunity to influence policy.

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/ electrical-safety-in-social-housingconsultation-and-call-for-evidence

Are you Receiving your Member Updates?

On an ad hoc basis, determined by government and sector news, we send you email updates. The frequency very much depends on what is going on at that time. If you are not receiving these please do let us know. We are aware that some organisations may automatically block emails from an address that is not recognised; firewalls can be brutal these days (and quite rightly so!). We want to ensure you are getting the very most out of membership, send us an email and we will investigate: enquiries@ascp.org.uk

– How do you reduce the risk of an incident happening in a home? – Need expert safety and compliance advice? – Want value for money in delivering your safety and compliance obligations?

Expert auditing services

Consultancy

DSEAR risk assessment

Expert witness

High profile incident investigation

Compliance document management

Qualifications & training

“We have worked with CORGI over many years on both gas and electrical safety and compliance. CORGI’s services are always delivered to the highest standards right across the business and we have found their team to be highly competent technically as well as customer focussed, ensuring a valuable service is delivered.”

Dave Lindsay M&E Contracts Manager Winchester Council

The Importance of Due Diligence:

How Some Unscrupulous Suppliers Raise Safety Concerns for the Whole Sector

As the Association of Safety and Compliance Professionals (ASCP), we know that social housing providers and landlords are subject to a wide range of regulations; the requirements of which are often highly technical, complex and strict. That is why competence and expertise are so critical to the sector, and why suppliers and contractors must be selected based on their ability to produce work, products and services that fully comply with the regulatory requirements and maintain the highest levels of safety and protection for your organisation.

The ASCP was recently made aware of a disturbing case in which a company attempted to win business from social housing providers under false pretences. The company was found to have substituted their logo onto a Gas Installation Risk Assessment with respect to DSEAR produced by CORGI Technical Services, claiming it as an example of their own work. Whilst the copyright infringement is of course concerning, what is even more worrying is the implications for safety such practices raise for the sector as a whole.

The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) require employers to control the risks to safety from fire, explosions and substances corrosive to metals. Under the regulations, building owners or duty holders are required to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of their properties for dangerous substances that are, or may be, present on-site. Failure to comply with DSEAR, and other related regulations, can have serious and even tragic consequences. Indeed it was following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017 that DSEAR gained greater prominence within the gas and fire safety industries. Non-compliance can lead to serious injury and death, as well as fines; even imprisonment for landlords who are found to have breached regulations.

DSEAR risk assessments are therefore vital to minimise risks and avert the potential consequences of non-compliance. They must be carried out by assessors who are competent, highly experienced and have a thorough understanding of DSEAR requirements and associated risks. The company who misappropriated CORGI’s work did so in order to claim that they could carry out such risk assessments. Their actions however, call into question whether they are indeed competent to offer such a service. If a company were trusted to carry out such a vital piece of work without the necessary competence and experience, the implications for resident safety could be catastrophic, as could the damage to a housing provider’s reputation and the potential financial implications.

Whilst we cannot say for certain how widespread this practice is, it is unlikely to be an isolated incident. With rising costs and an ongoing skills shortage within the sector, there could well be any number of unscrupulous companies claiming to offer products and services without the necessary experience and competence. It is therefore more important than ever for landlords to do their ‘due diligence’ when choosing suppliers.

Due Diligence for Landlords

Any reputable company or organisation will not fear their potential customers doing ‘due diligence’ on them, and many will actively welcome it. ASCP recommends taking the following steps:

arrow-right Ask for recommendations and to see examples of completed work

arrow-right Ask for information – about the team, their knowledge and experience, their processes, reporting systems and the supervision in place

arrow-right Ask for examples of other types of work that demonstrate a thorough understanding of holistic safety and a diverse knowledge base for the work being undertaken

arrow-right Work with a known, trusted brand with a reputation for safety that can be backed up with customer references

arrow-right Question if it could be possible to deliver highly technical services for the price and times being quoted. Beware of prices and offers that seem ‘too good to be true’.

ASCP do not believe safety is always given sufficient weighting when procuring services. Often, the best case for the balance between price and quality is a 70/30 split in favour of quality. Even in this case, the ‘quality’ criteria tends to include other factors such as customer service or social responsibility, with the actual safety element not always given enough consideration. Solely relying on the accreditation of a competency scheme, for example, may not always be enough to ensure the procurement of the safe and competent services needed by the housing sector.

With the introduction of the Building Safety Act, housing providers are preparing for what is likely to be an even more demanding regulatory regime. In the post-Grenfell world, the importance to the sector of competence and expertise cannot be overstated. Landlords must put safety at the heart of policy and procurement, and do robust due diligence to ensure they only engage those suppliers who can support them in maintaining the highest levels of safety and compliance.

Gas Safety

The ASCP was instrumental in driving change in The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations (2018), resulting in the introduction of Regulation 36a of GSIUR. The HSE released a survey in May/June of this year to ascertain if the regulations are meeting industry needs effectively. They encouraged stakeholders from the housing, and gas installation and maintenance sectors to provide feedback. We await the results.

Changes to Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations in England

The DLUHC sent letters in March and May to all Council Leaders in England with all Chief Executives copied in. They stated that social landlords must:

• Install at least one smoke alarm on every storey of their homes; and

• Install carbon monoxide alarms in every room which contains a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers)

If the House of Commons and the House of Lords approve the regulations, they will come into force on 1 October 2022. When approved, any landlord found to be in breach could be fined up to £5,000. The letter stressed – ‘as such, it is vital that your organisation prepares for these changes now.’

Climate Change Committee (CCC) 2022 Report to Parliament

Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) comments - “We agree with the CCC and their conclusion that hydrogen-ready boilers need to be mandated and that it is a clear gap in BEIS and Government policy. In today’s publication by the CCC of their 2022 Progress Report to Government, they make it clear that the failure to mandate hydrogenready boilers needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Following the agreement from gas boiler manufacturers that hydrogen-ready boilers will cost no more than current gas boilers we see no reason why BEIS should delay in making them mandatory.

“We also share the CCC’s scepticism around the proposed ‘market mechanism’. This ‘mechanism’ will force boiler manufacturers to sell heat pumps, even if consumers don’t want them. This is an astonishingly antibusiness and anti-UK manufacturing policy from the supposed ‘business’ department of the Government. Like the CCC, we agree that alternative policies need to be developed for when this ‘market mechanism’ fails to deliver its targets.”

www.theccc.org.uk/2022/06/29/currentprogrammes-will-not-deliver-net-zero/

Building Regulations: Energy Efficiency

From 15 June 2022 there was an important update to the Building Regulations including an uplift to Part L. All new homes must produce 31% less carbon emissions than what is currently acceptable in the present Part L regulations.

Approved Documents L (volumes 1 and 2) will have a grace period until 2023 for buildings that are currently still in the planning process. This means that if you applied for a building notice or initial notice before 15 June 2022, your project will still be considered under the previous regulations, provided building work begins before 15 June 2023. If you gained Building Regulations approval under the old regulations, you must begin work on the unit by 15 June 2023 or the new regulations will apply.

https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/conservation-of-fuel-andpower-approved-document-l

Safety Cases ‘Toolbox'

Last year the HSE published information setting out the broad principles of the safety case approach for high rise residential buildings. They have since developed some further guides to help those in control of high rise residential buildings (HRRBs) meet their legal duties under the Building Safety Act 2022. Put simply, a safety case must show that all reasonable steps have been taken to make sure ‘in scope’ buildings are safe and will remain safe when occupied by residents. ‘In scope’ buildings are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys and at least 2 residential units. As part of the new regime, if you manage these types of buildings, you will need to prepare a safety case to demonstrate that your building is safe from the risks of fire spread or structural collapse. A safety case report must then be prepared for submission

to the new Building Safety Regulator on request. Published in the form of five guides, the ‘safety cases toolbox’ is designed to assist with preparing safety cases; you can pick and choose which documents are most relevant and helpful to you.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/building-safety/ safety-cases-reports.htm

Legislation to Improve Fire Safety and Boost Scotland’s Net Zero Ambitions Has Been Laid

Under this legislation, developers will be banned from using combustible cladding on high-rise buildings. Since 2005, new cladding systems on high rise blocks of flats have either had to use non-combustible materials or pass a large-scale fire test. The building standards legislation removes the option of a fire test, completely prohibiting such materials from use on domestic and other high-risk buildings, such as care homes and hospitals, above 11m.

The highest risk metal composite cladding material will be banned from any new building of any height, with replacement cladding also required to meet the new standards.

The legislation also includes improvements to energy performance standards, aiming to make buildings easier to heat while ensuring they are well ventilated and comfortable to live in.

https://www.gov.scot/news/ban-oncombustible-cladding/

Fiona MacGregor to Stand Down

On 27 June, the Regulator of Social Housing confirmed that Fiona MacGregor plans to stand down as Chief Executive due to family circumstances. Fiona will continue as Chief Executive until the new year supported by Jonathan Walters, Deputy Chief Executive, who has assumed some additional responsibilities.

ASCP Safety and Compliance Conference Summary

The ASCP Safety and Compliance Conference 2022 took place on 14th and 15th June, returning once again to the stunning venue of Celtic Manor.

It was another record breaking year, with more members attending than ever before; they were informed, inspired and entertained! Delegates were informed and inspired by over twenty expert speakers, including representatives from three Government departments, sharing their knowledge and expertise on all aspects of safety and compliance. Topics covered included the ‘Big 6', Building Safety, decarbonisation, compliance systems management and leadership and culture. Take a read of our summary of the presentations to find out more. The ASCP Exhibition Hall was packed with product and service suppliers showcasing the latest and most relevant products and services available to the sector. The entertainment aspect was well covered with a golf tournament, pre-conference drinks reception, international wine tour, Simon Weston CBE and of course our glittering awards ceremony featuring stand-up comedy, an 8-piece show band and even aerial acrobatics!

Welcome Address and Introduction

Claire Heyes, Chief Executive, ASCP Group

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the AGSM (Association of Gas Safety Managers). In her welcome address, Claire reflected on the progress made since that date. “Back then safety and compliance professionals had very little influence, no real voice and no real sense of community,” she said. The ASCP (Association of Safety & Compliance Professionals) now has around 1,000 members and is committed to amplifying their voices, providing support, empowerment and community. Claire shared a few highlights from the last ten years; from launching the AESM and then the ASCP, to founding Women in Compliance, establishing the annual Conference and Awards, introducing several professional qualifications and campaigning on key issues including the successful campaign for Regulation 36a.

A further highlight has been the launch of National Social Housing Safety and Compliance Week, now in its second year. The week provides a platform for an honest, national conversation and sends a clear, united message about the importance of safety and compliance. A new document, ‘Voices from the Sector in 2022’, which

Claire launched during her opening speech, compiles the wealth of learning and information from this year’s campaign. “Voices really matter,” said Claire, “and we have actively listened to what you have told us is important to you”. The ASCP Best Practice Access Group, for example, was formed in response to members telling us how big this issue continues to be for them. Claire gave some details of how the group has been working to unpick and clarify the issues around access and work towards potential solutions. She also announced the formation of a new ASCP National Building Safety Group which interested members are invited to join. The group is aimed at addressing the challenges posed by new legislation for building and fire safety, combining knowledge, sharing best practice and working together as a sector towards a unified approach.

In conclusion, Claire promised that delegates would be entertained, informed and above all be inspired over the next two days. “We have come such a long way,” she said, “but there is still so much to be done. The next decade must look very different to today.”

Compliance and Culture

Gareth Davis, Wales and West Housing

Every organisation has a culture. Simply put, it is ‘the way we do things round here’. Whilst the technical aspects of compliance are obviously important, it is culture which drives behaviours. As Gareth Davis, Director of Safety and Compliance at Wales & West Housing, explains, “good culture is at the heart of good compliance, it underpins everything else and it starts at the top.”

Gareth described how Wales & West Housing has been very deliberate in shaping its culture. “We are a values-driven organisation and our core values of being fair, open, responsible, supportive and efficient are kept front and centre of everything we do, including compliance,” he explained. The key drivers of a strong, positive culture are good management, good worker involvement and good communication. Leaders must lead by example, enable and support people, genuinely care about customers and employees, and see and solve the right problems.

“Our values create a space where we are able to focus on what really matters,” said Gareth. Leaders must set the tone, engaging with staff from the very beginning and being genuinely interested in what they have to say. In order to create a fair, honest

and open culture we must avoid fear and blame, seeking instead to identify the true root causes of failure within the system rather than the individual. Continuous selfevaluation allows organisations to focus on what is really important, particularly to customers, and gives confidence to leaders that they are doing the right thing.

Above all, creating a strong, positive culture is about more than just buzzwords, acronyms and pretty graphics. It is about the authentic values that genuinely underpin and inform the organisation at every level. Organisations must be brave and honest about who they are, what matters most and where they need to change.

Compliance Systems Implementation – The Human Dimension

Matt Sharp, Non-Executive Director, CORGI Technical Services

Matt spoke to attendees about the complex human factors that can make or break successful compliance systems implementation. In a recent survey, 50% of members said they were currently involved in a technology project, and that number is only likely to increase with time. We know, however, that 75% of all IT Projects fail. Nearly a third are cancelled before they are ever completed and over 50% end up costing at least double the original budget. Matt outlined how organisations can avoid such pitfalls, setting themselves up for success by leading change differently. Change is often perceived as sudden, disruptive and risky. People tend to be invested in protecting current norms. It can be all too easy to prevent change by coming up with reasons to avoid it, criticising new ideas or asserting that ‘it will never

work’. “Avoid forcing change,” says Matt. “IT systems work best when they are not done to people.” Instead, giving safety and compliance teams a seat at the table and tapping into their tacit knowledge will increase the chances of success. Leaders need to take people with them, painting a vivid picture of life after the change and giving a credible overview of the rewards and risks involved.

Starting with small scale pilots can provide quick wins which minimise risk and build confidence in the change. It is important to work with team members to build resilience, overcome reservations and help people to realise that the path to change is not as bad as they might fear. As Matt put it, “it is less risky to move forward into the unknown than to stand still in the face of certain extinction”.

Grenfell Commemoration

Edward Daffarn, Grenfell United

On the 5th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, delegates at the ASCP Safety and Compliance conference watched a powerful video message from Edward Daffarn of

Grenfell United. Speaking about the ongoing campaign for truth, justice and change, Edward said that the evidence disclosed at the Public Inquiry has been shocking. “We have found out how those responsible for our safety, and those responsible for health and safety during the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, failed us almost completely,” he added. Edward’s key message to safety and compliance professionals is firstly to listen to residents. “We weren’t listened to at Grenfell,” he said, “if your tenants are raising concerns then make sure that you find out what they are and act upon them”. He also stressed that safety must be the paramount concern because, as the tragic loss of life at Grenfell has shown, when financial considerations are allowed to come before safety then the consequences can be devastating.

What is PAS 9980: 2022 and what does it mean for the sector?

Dr. David Crowder, Partner, DCCH Experts LLP

See page 35 for full article.

Achieving Low Carbon Housing - Challenges for the Heating Market

Victoria Matthews, External Affairs and Policy Manager, Vaillant

With UK Government policy driving towards Net Zero and the devolved administrations each setting strong targets along the way, this is both an exciting and challenging time for the heating industry. Victoria spoke about the challenges facing the industry, and the range of technologies and approaches which will be needed in order to deliver the decarbonisation of homes.

The UK has a diverse and aging housing stock of 28.4 million properties. In England, 4.4 million homes are social housing, of which over 60% are classified as EPC band ‘C’ or higher. It is estimated that over 80% of the housing stock that will exist in 2050 is already built. Whilst heat pumps are the ‘here and now’ solution to low carbon heating, the retrofit market presents significant challenges

due to the age and nature of the UK housing stock. Making the system suitable to work with a heat pump requires some potentially significant upgrades. Upskilling and training of designers and installers is a vital element to decarbonisation, however there is a huge skills shortage within the industry. Customer engagement and education will also be crucial.

Decarbonisation is a significant but achievable challenge. Vaillant have tried to simplify the approach, identifying four pillars that need policy support in order to achieve decarbonisation:

• Improve the fabric of the building to minimise energy consumption

• Prepare systems to operate at lower temperature for better efficiency

• Invest in training and upskilling of our installer workforce

• Customer education that puts consumers at the heart of the journey

We must address these four pillars to successfully achieve the decarbonisation of home heating. A mix of technology and product solutions including natural gas, green electricity, heat pumps and hydrogen will all have a part to play.

Gas Regulation 36a – MOT Style Servicing, 5 Years On

Paul Newton, Downstream Gas Operational Policy Lead, HSE

Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) came into force on 31st October 1998, setting out what landlords need to do to ensure gas safety for tenants. This included the requirement for a gas safety check every 12 months, with a copy of the gas safety record given to tenants within 28 days of the check. An unintended negative consequence of this regulation was the additional cost incurred by landlords as a result of the rigid 12 month date which resulted in a shortening of the compliance cycle.

ASCP and CORGI Technical Services highlighted this issue, campaigning for a change to the legislation to allow landlords greater flexibility. The campaign was successful, leading to a change in legislation and the introduction of Regulation 36a of GSIUR, better known as Gas MOT Style

: New Builds and the Challenges of the Electrical Handover

Servicing, which came into force on 6 April 2018. The changes allowed landlords to be more flexible by allowing gas safety checks to be carried out any time between ten to twelve months, whilst retaining the original safety check date.

As part of the Better Regulation Framework, HSE are required to conduct a post-implementation review to ensure that the proposed benefits have been realised. A survey was launched by HSE on 24 May 2022, providing the sector with the opportunity to provide the HSE with feedback on how the regulations are working. A number of housing associations have already provided feedback to CORGI and the HSE about the benefits of the regulation, which include huge cost savings, increased productivity and improved customer compliance with gas safety checks.

Calum Mansell, Technical Safety Manager Electrical, CORGI Technical Services

Housing Associations can undertake new build housing developments under a variety of different schemes. Depending on the type of development, there will be differing levels of complexity and the association will be afforded varying degrees of control over when the work will be done, who will undertake it, what will be built and to what standard. In general, land-led schemes in which the association owns or will be purchasing the land give the association the most amount of control. Package schemes where the land is brought to the association for development by a contractor allow significant input into design and standards but not into who carries out the work. Off-plan or ‘off the shelf’ schemes, where properties are bought already completed and ready to rent, will mean that the association has little to no control over the buildings, design and standards.

Housing Associations should seek to be as involved in the new build process as possible under whichever development scheme applies. Involvement ‘early and often’ is the best way to ensure a smooth transition for operational teams, saving time in the future. There may be challenges in ensuring

there is the required level of expertise available, but appointing the right people is key. Ensuring appropriate resources is also critical to the process and associations must factor in the time, cost and effort involved

in procuring these. It will also be critical to consider the needs of the association’s particular customer base, and any changes to specifications which will be needed to meet these.

Women In Compliance Networking and Coaching Session – Boundaries

Stephanie Smith, ASCP Professional Development Coach

ASCP’s Women in Compliance resident coach, Stephanie Smith led an engaging session on the tricky topic of boundaries. She explained that as a coach, one of her roles is working with individuals to confront sometimes difficult truths. “One of the truths we need to accept and embrace is that we are imperfect,” said Stephanie, “we will fail, we will make mistakes, and we need to get

comfortable with that and work out how to deal with it when it happens”. By coming to terms with the truth of being, as Stephanie puts it, ‘perfectly imperfect’, we can begin to get more comfortable with being ourselves and setting our own boundaries.

A second unavoidable truth is that doing more is not the answer! Stephanie spoke about the trap of efficiency, always believing

we need to do more in order to achieve. The reality is that we have finite time and energy, and that the better and faster we get at doing things, the more there inevitably is to do. Boundaries ensure that we are valuing our own time and energy, recognising the choices we are making and what the impact of them is likely to be. It is so important to get comfortable with saying no, because by doing so we are actually saying yes to the things that matter more. That may mean saying no to taking on extra tasks so you can say yes to more important work, or it might be saying no to checking your emails out of work hours in order to safeguard the relaxation and downtime we all need. ‘Saying no is a superpower!’ Stephanie insists, adding that a real benefit of valuing our own time and energy is that it leads others to value them too.

Sponsored by

Developing and Maintaining a Golden Thread of Information

Dr. Hywel Davies & Aman Sharma, Chair, Building Regulations Advisory Committee & Deputy Chair, Building Regulations Advisory Committee

On the 5 year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower Fire, Dr. Hywel Davies spoke about how the Hackitt Review, Building a Safer Future, which was triggered by the tragedy has underpinned the Building Safety Act, recently passed into law. The Act contains 171 clauses in 6 parts. It aims to remedy the systemic issues identified by Dame Judith Hackitt and to create greater accountability and responsibility for fire and structural safety issues throughout the lifecycle of buildings. The Act also establishes a new Building Safety Regulator with oversight of the building control system for all building work that requires building control approval, not just for higher risk buildings.

Aman Sharma then spoke in more detail about the specific requirements for High Risk Buildings under the Building Safety Act, and particularly about the requirement to create and maintain a golden thread of information.

The golden thread is the information that allows you to understand a building and the steps needed to keep both the building and the people safe, now and in the future. Under the requirements of the golden thread and the safety case regime, landlords will now be asked to demonstrate that a building is safe to the regulator, rather than just declare it so. This requires a fundamental shift in mindset.

Aman stressed that, for the golden thread to deliver fundamental reform, regulatory change will need to be accompanied by significant industry ownership and culture change. “We all have a role in changing how we think about risk management, it has to be a continual, ongoing process and not something you complete and forget about. The tick-box regime is over,” he added.

Landlords

Expert Electrical Auditing Services

Qualifications and Training

Electrical seminars

Bespoke Electrical training material

Consultancy – organisational audits, policy review, tailored technical analysis

Compliance Document Management with TCW

“The team at CORGI are amazing. Their knowledge and know how in their field is second to none and the customer service levels are above and beyond.”

Roy Flower Compliance Specialist, Red Kite Community Housing Electrical and Gas Auditing

Inspirational Speaker – Thriving in the Face of Adversity

Simon Weston CBE

It was a great privilege to hear Simon Weston CBE speak at the ASCP conference, and particularly poignant as the date coincided with the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. Simon was on board the RFA Sir Galahad when it was destroyed during the Bluff Cove Air Attack. He was severely injured, sustaining serious burns to 46% of his body. Simon shared moving footage of his journey from a young Welsh Guardsman to his long path to recovery which involved 12 major operations in the first 10 weeks alone, and his many subsequent achievements including his charity ventures, political activism and motor racing success. “There have been three Simon Westons,” he reflected. “There was the young recruit in the footage and there’s the one you see today, but between them was a very different man. What you see now is the reconstructed Simon Weston, the physical reconstruction was in many ways more straightforward; the rest took longer”.

Simon spoke about how it felt to go from the young Welsh Guardsman who had gone to war with a sense of purpose, relevance and identity to the man who left the army over three years later, having been a patient all that time, only to be told by his resettlement officer that he was absolutely unemployable.

For him, the key is in continuously seeking to ‘find our relevance’ as the world changes around us. “It isn’t really about what happens to you,” he says, “it’s about what you’re prepared to do about it. If you can find your relevance and make a positive difference to

the lives of others, that’s all that matters.” Relating this to the social housing sector, he acknowledged the huge changes affecting the industry and wished his audience luck with them, not just for themselves but for the people whose lives their work impacts.

Can You Delegate Your Duties to a Water Treatment or Legionella Control Service Provider?

Mark Duffy, Technical Safety Manager, CORGI Technical Services

Mark outlined the key duties of landlords with respect to Legionella under Health and Safety Law. These are; identifying and assessing sources of risk, nominating a responsible person to prevent or control the risks, and keeping correct records. There are potential risks to landlords associated with each of these duties, particularly when it comes to delegating the tasks out to people. It is also important to note that a Legionella Written Scheme is not the same as the Legionella Risk Assessment, these processes are separate, and both are required.

The Legionella Risk Assessment should include a documented system overview and must be carried out by a person who has the competence and authority to undertake the work as well as the experience,

knowledge and understanding to be able to accurately identify and assess risks. This can be a difficult task and there are very few qualified persons. For this reason, external contractor help is often engaged. It is crucial, however, to remember that the work can be delegated but ultimately the duty and responsibility remains with the duty holder. It is also the duty of the landlord to ensure the competence of any contractors they employ, and enquiries should be made to ensure the organisation is suitably trained, staffed and equipped. HSE has published a brief guide to using contractors, IMDG 368, which states that the greater the impact the contractor’s work could have on the health and safety of any person, the more measures landlords need to put in place to manage that work.

: Emergency Lighting, Compliance and the Internet of Things

Chris Loughlin, UK Sales Director, Hispec

Emergency lighting is an important part of the fire safety provision of a building and must not be overlooked. In 2005, an independent report found that over two thirds of the emergency lighting units within the Grenfell Tower failed a routine inspection. There was no record of any upgrades to the emergency lighting in the tower between the 2005 report and the fire in 2017 in which 72 people lost their lives. Under The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, landlords must make sure that all emergency routes and exits are adequately lit by emergency lighting. Emergency lighting systems must also adhere to a number of British and European Standards, particularly BS 5266 and BS 60598-2-22.

Compliance should in theory be straightforward, however it is complicated by the fact that there is no universally agreed standard on the frequency and depth of testing required for emergency lighting products. This is often dictated by individual manufacturer recommendations, and as such there is a lack of consistency and accountability. Internet of Things (IOT)

technology offers a possible route forward. IOT technology allows for off-site monitoring, and can provide a wealth of data on the functionality and safety of emergency lighting. Making use of this technology can transform compliance, giving live updates

into the status and battery life of any installation. The reporting capabilities ensure landlords can easily access the information they need to plan, schedule and budget more efficiently and reduce human error.

Retrofit – Reducing Energy Costs and Carbon Impact

Luke

Osborne, Energy & Emerging Technologies Solutions Advisor, ECA

There are many factors behind the drive towards energy efficiency and decarbonisation within the built environment. Foremost of these is the climate crisis and the growing acceptance that we have a very short time left to mitigate the effects of climate change. Global instability and the cost of living crisis have also highlighted the need to act. Change is being driven by Government legislation, standards and guidance; with the upcoming Future Buildings Standard setting out even stronger targets for energy efficiency.

We know that 75% of our existing building stock will still be with us in 2050, the Government’s deadline for Net Zero. It is vital, therefore, that we focus on improving the fabric of the buildings first. Improving the efficiencies and functionality of a building reduces energy demands whilst retaining tenant comfort. This can involve reducing heat loss through windows and doors, pipe

lagging and ensuring adequate insulation of the building both internally and externally. These improvements will also reduce the cost of running the building. Landlords can then select the correct design and sizing of any new heat source.

Retrofitting our existing housing stock needs to be done in a coordinated manner with a plan of works that considers the short, medium and long term. Buildings must be considered holistically, with the understanding that a change in one area can have a ‘butterfly effect’ across many others. PAS 2035:2019+A1:2022 is available and offers an end-to-end framework for the application of energy retrofit measures to existing buildings in the UK and provides best practices for their implementation. Making the right improvements will have many benefits over and above reducing carbon including lower costs and happier tenants.

Building Safety at Orbit

Neil Yeomans, Head of Property Safety, Orbit Group

It was fantastic to hear from Neil at the ASCP conference again this year with an update on Orbit’s progress on building safety and some very practical pointers on meeting the requirements of the new regulatory regime. Recapping Orbit’s delivery strategy, Neil set out how the organisation used existing standards BS9997, ISO22301 and ISO19650, to drive the process. He explained that those two standards provide a framework for the safety case file and support the ongoing ‘golden thread’ of information.

A safety case file is the collection of documents and data that landlords must use to demonstrate to the regulator that a building is safe. Sharing how the team at Orbit had gone about collecting this evidence through a programme of laser scanning, surveys and other works, Neil said the key question for landlords is, “do you know your buildings well enough to prevent another Grenfell?” For him though, the real challenges are not so much in the collection of the data but in how that data is managed and used. “The golden thread is probably the largest challenge facing landlords and the supply chain right now,” he argued, “we now have ongoing accountability

for our buildings throughout their entire life cycle and need to work out how we are going to create a sustainable log of all the data relating to a building so that it can be easily accessed by everyone managing, working

on or living in a building in a way that all can understand”. Going forward, the bare minimum of compliance will no longer be enough and a proactive, risk management approach is needed.

: Electrical Safety and the Social Rented Sector

Isobel Ames, Policy Lead for Electrical Safety in Social Housing, DLUHC

Over the last ten years in England there have been 788 fatalities from fires ignited by electrical appliances or installations. 55 of these deaths occurred between 2020 and 2021 alone. Isobel Ames gave an overview of the Government’s recent work in this area and the steps being taken to improve electrical safety for social housing residents.

Regulations for electrical safety in the private sector came into force in June 2020. Private landlords are required to ensure electrical installations are inspected and tested at least every five years and to provide tenants with an EICR. In The Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing White Paper, published in November 2020, the Government committed to consult on measures to ensure that social housing residents are protected from harm caused by poor electrical safety.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities launched the Consultation

and call for evidence on Electrical Safety in the Social Rented Sector in June 2022. The content of the consultation has been informed by the discussions of the ‘Electrical Safety in Social Rented Homes Working Group’, of which the ASCP formed a part. The consultation aims to improve safety for residents in social rented homes and bring greater parity between the rented sectors with regard to safety. Views are being sought on mandating electrical safety inspection and testing in social homes. The consultation also calls for evidence on requirements for owner-occupier leasehold properties in social housing blocks. The consultation is open until 31st August 2022, and Isobel urged all stakeholders to take this opportunity to make their views known and help shape policy going forward. The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/ consultations/electrical-safety-in-socialhousing-consultation-and-call-for-evidence

Compact, flexible systems

Efficiency boosters, for extra cost savings

Easy to install and maintain Intuitive comfort controls

Low Dwelling Emission Rates

Plant room and HIU solutions for heat networks

Personalised training and support

Extended warranty options Expert design service

Emergency call-outs

Baxi Assure, The Complete Home Service

We’re helping social housing providers in meeting the 2050 decarbonisation challenge, with the UK’s most comprehensive range of residential heating and hot water systems. Baxi Assure boilers, cylinders and low-carbon solutions like Air Source Heat Pumps all deliver exceptional reliability and efficiency for both new and refurbished properties, and come backed up by our award-winning customer service. Rest assured, heating for social housing is in safe hands with us.

To find out more, speak to your Specification Manager or visit baxi.co.uk/assure

How Legislation Continues to Shape the Future of Domestic Heating and Hot Water

Elizabeth Wilkinson, Head of Domestic Product Management, Groupe Atlantic

Elizabeth’s presentation gave an update on how legislation is shaping the future of domestic heating and hot water, and what that means for landlords and tenants. We know that domestic heating and hot water contribute a significant proportion of carbon emissions. We also know that it is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise, mainly because of the impact doing so will have on each individual home and the people living within it.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy 2021 sets out a heat pumps first approach, with a target for all new heating systems installed in UK homes to be low carbon or supporting new technologies by 2035. The potential of hydrogen is still being investigated, with a policy decision on how significant a role this

Commercial Gas Installations – Risks & Quality Control Requirements in Multiple Occupancy Buildings

Jamie Cooper, Technical Safety Manager, CORGI Technical Services

See page 27 for full article.

will have in decarbonising domestic heat due in 2026. The Future Homes Standard, due for release in 2024, will introduce low carbon heating at scale in new build properties. Interim Part L, released in December 2021, provides a stepping stone towards this, future proofing new homes for low carbon heating.

Currently, over 85% of UK homes are heated by gas boilers. Moving forwards, Elizabeth predicts that we are going to see a real diversification of products and technologies. Electrification, particularly heat pumps, will form a large part of the strategy. Hydrogen will also have a role to play, however Elizabeth advises against viewing this as a single solution. Heat networks will also be important. The UK has a diverse housing stock with some of the oldest

houses in Europe and we will need to use a range of technologies and strategies in order to meet decarbonisation targets.

Affordability and the Decarbonisation of Heat

Anthony Watton, Head of Specification Residential, Baxi Heating

When it comes to the decarbonisation of heat, Anthony acknowledges that affordability is a big issue to which there is no one solution. “One size will not fit all in this case,” he says, “perspectives will differ and there needs to be a range of options and solutions.” We know that there are strict timelines in place for decarbonisation, but this needs to be balanced against limited budgets, the particular requirements of our existing housing stock, and meeting the needs of often vulnerable customers who are already being impacted by rising fuel prices and the cost of living crisis.

Anthony advocates a phased approach in order to mitigate cost impacts. This begins with customer engagement and education, explaining the impact of turning up the thermostat even by a small amount, and ensuring that customers fully understand the heating controls. It is also important to prepare in advance for future legislation, particularly with Interim Part L being introduced from June this year. Anthony stressed how working towards the new standard now will reduce the need to upgrade all in one go, helping to spread the cost over time. Upgrading existing systems, for example with weather compensation or flue gas heat recovery, can

increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and save money. Larger scale improvements and upgrades can then be planned in a systematic way, beginning with improvements to the fabrication that will reduce heat loss and energy consumption whatever heating system is installed. Once this is done it will be possible to make an informed decision about the choice of heating system that best meets the needs of a particular building and its occupants.

YOUR HYDROGENEVOLUTION STARTS HERE

There has never been such a time of change in our industry as there is right now.

We all recognise the urgent need to decarbonise, which is why we’ve been working towards fossil fuel-free heating alternatives for the past three years. We’ve already designed and built prototype boilers that run on 100% hydrogen, and one is currently ‘on tour’ in the Netherlands*.

Until the gas and pipework infrastructure is in place we cannot begin to manufacture at scale, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference today. All Intergas boilers, new and not-so-new, can take a blend of 20% hydrogen and, when the blend is ready, your customers will automatically cut their emissions by another 20%.

We’re ready to H2GO!

*UK tour dates for our 100% hydrogen boiler will be released soon.

To find out more about our Hydrogen Evolution, scan this code.

: The Impact of BS 7671:2018 Amendment 2

John Peckham, Member of IET JPEL 64

John gave an overview of some significant changes included BS 7671:2018 Amendment 2 which was issued on 28th March 2022. The new standard may be used immediately and Amendment 1 will be withdrawn on 27th September 2022. It would be sensible, he advised, for any new installations to adopt Amendment 2 from now on. Explaining the reasons for the amendments, John said standards are updated to reflect changes in international regulations as well as in response to events such as the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Changing and new technologies also lead to amendments, for example prosumer installations are included within Amendment 2.

One significant change included in Amendment 2 is a new requirement for Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs) in AC final circuits supplying socket-outlets in some types of residential buildings. These include; higher risk residential buildings (HRRB), houses in multiple occupation (HMO), purpose-built student accommodation and care homes. AFDDs are recommended, but not a requirement, in other premises.

A further change to the standard is the increased need for surge protection. This is now mandated in any instance where the consequence of transient overvoltages could result in serious injury or loss of human life, failure of a safety service or significant financial or data loss. This applies to safety services as defined in part 2 of the

regulations, and includes domestic smoke alarms.

Additional changes included in the amendment are new guidance as to the meaning of certain words which indicate guidance, recommendation or requirement, and some changes to the EICR form intended to make recording a simpler process.

Asbestos: How Will the Revised Analysts Guide Impact You?

Emma Willey, Founding Director, ACS Risk Group

Emma’s informative and engaging presentation gave an overview of the asbestos industry and some significant changes that housing providers need to be aware of. Asbestos is the biggest industrial killer our country has seen. There have been 80,000 asbestos related deaths in the UK since the end of World War Two, with

the current average still standing at over 5,000 deaths a year. The UK imported more asbestos than many other countries and it remains prevalent throughout our building stock today.

The HSG248 Asbestos Analysts' Guide, originally published in 2005, was revised in 2021. The new guidance contains a number

of key takeaways for the housing sector. It is now strongly recommended that analysts are independent, and Emma advised that this wording would likely change to state that this must be the case. The building owner or client should appoint the analyst directly and ensure that there are no links or conflicts of interest. The removal contractor should never be left to appoint their own analyst.

The relationship between the building owner and the analyst is going to be key. Whilst previously it may have been possible to leave the removal contractor to manage the whole process, this will no longer be the case. Building owners should build their own relationship with the analyst, who must have input into the job spec and act as a ‘buffer’ between the client and analyst. Sufficient time should also be allowed for the analyst to complete visual inspections and slide counting. Emma urged housing providers to check and amend their current policies to ensure they comply with the new guidelines and that they reflect the reality of what the organisation actually does.

Logic. evolved.

COMING SOON...

The next evolution of Logic - managing your boiler stock has never been easier.

Integrate Logic2 with our remote boiler monitoring solution for greater control of your maintenance costs, compliance and tenant welfare.

CORGI’s New Technical Appointments

DELIVERING TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO CORGI CUSTOMERS AND THE ASCP GROUP

Jamie Cooper Technical Safety Manager

In a career spanning 30 years, Jamie has worked in the installation, maintenance, compliance and manufacturing sectors of the gas industry. After 9 years at British Gas as a service and installation engineer, Jamie spent 13 years within the technical departments of both CORGI and Gas Safe Register where he achieved the position of Technical and Registration Support Manager. In 2012 Jamie moved to the gas pipe manufacturing industry where he had responsibilities for all technical aspects of the business as well as Quality Control (including ISO 9001 certification and product certification) and Health and Safety requirements for the factory and field-based staff.

In March 2022, Jamie joined CORGI Technical Services as a Technical Safety Manager. Jamie settled into the role quickly, working with new clients to set up and manage auditing contracts as well as undertaking bespoke consultancy work. As a qualified Incident Investigator, Jamie has also carried out investigations into suspected Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisonings. If you are interested in training, Jamie is one of our Trainers for the ASCP Academy and recently developed a new training course specifically covering the risks around gas pipework in multi-occupancy buildings. Finally, for those who managed to attend the ASCP Conference 2022 in June, you would have had the opportunity to see Jamie’s presentation covering the risks associated with commercial (non-domestic) installations in multi-occupancy buildings.

John Stirling Technical Safety Manager

We welcomed John back to the CORGI Team in April 2022. John is a qualified domestic, commercial, LPG and catering engineer with nearly 30 years’ gas industry experience.

John joined CORGI from Gas Safe Register where, for the last six years he was Standards and Training Manager. In this role, John managed GSR’s involvement with the Standard Setting Bodies and he managed GSR’s training provision. John also wrote and maintained the GSR technical library including GSR technical bulletins, safety alerts and industry standard updates. Prior to working for Gas Safe Register John worked for CORGI in the Technical Services Team and as part of the Field Training Team.

John also has management, business studies and occupational health and safety qualifications, and holds ‘Fellow’ grade status with IGEM.

Joining CORGI as a Technical Safety Manager in Scotland to provide support to our valued clients north of the border, John also leads on the accredited training courses that CORGI Technical Services provide for clients. He continually reviews and improves products, ensuring the most up-to-date information, guidance and legislation is used. John has also delivered bespoke training to CORGI clients.

John’s also managed to fit in some auditing and consultancy for clients too!

Gas Pipework Risk Assessments in Multiple Occupancy Buildings (incl. DSEAR)

Overview

Do you have responsibility and duties for gas safety within multioccupancy buildings? Then you must understand risk assessments, duties and associated installation issues for existing gas pipework installations common to housing providers.

Topics covered:

– What are the risks associated with types of gas pipework that may be within your properties?

– What are the risk assessment expectations and possible outcomes?

– Do you understand the regulations and standards relevant to the risk assessment of gas pipework?

– Do you know your duties in relation to gas pipework risk assessment?

– What are other duty holders’ responsibility in relation to gas pipework risk assessment?

– Do you understand the application and requirements of DSEAR relating to multioccupancy buildings?

Attend this course to ensure you understand your regulatory obligations.

A follow up meeting 4 to 6 weeks following the course is included, to address any further questions you may have.

Course Dates

Delivered online, on demand – contact us for details.

The course is designed for assessing existing installations and not the initial design of new installations. The course is not designed to train delegates to be able to undertake DSEAR risk assessments.

For more details or to enrol:

Tel: 01256 548 040 Email: training@corgitechnical.com www.corgitechnical.com/qualifications

JAMIE COOPER, TECHNICAL SAFETY MANAGER, CORGI

Commercial Gas Installations – Risks & Quality Control Requirements in Multiple Occupancy Buildings

During the recent ASCP conference, Jamie Cooper of CORGI Technical Services delivered an informative presentation which highlighted the risks associated with commercial (non-domestic) installations in multi-occupancy buildings and gave some insight into how these can be mitigated.

Commercial installations can include: nondomestic, open-flued heating boilers, banks of room-sealed boilers with a combined heat input above 70kW (Net), commercial catering installations or any installation pipework with a diameter greater than 35mm. The building types which need to be considered include large blocks of apartments served by commercial heating plants, HMOs, nursing or care homes, hospices, and student accommodation. Duty holders will have duties of care under the regulations not only to the residents of these buildings, but also to any member of staff working within them and any person visiting the building.

Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) sets out landlords’ duties to ensure gas safety for

tenants. Additional duties for places of ‘work’ are set out under Regulation 35 of GSIUR, which states that; “It shall be the duty of every employer or self-employed person to ensure that any gas appliance, installation pipework or flue installed at any place of work under his control is maintained in a safe condition so as to prevent risk of injury to any person”. The duty to maintain appliances, flues and installation pipework is also linked to other related workplace safety responsibilities including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Jamie gave some examples of the possible risks associated with commercial installations. These can include gas escapes in plant rooms and the possible migration of fumes from condensate traps which may dry out periodically. Risks are increased by the fact that there are currently very few DSEAR risk assessments in place. Effective maintenance is required to mitigate such risks. This involves an ongoing program of regular inspections and should include as a minimum an examination of physical condition and safe functioning, carrying out performance tests, and taking any remedial action necessary. It is also very important that staff working at such buildings are trained and have robust procedures in place

to ensure that they know what to do in the event of an emergency such as a gas escape.

Jamie urged building owners and responsible persons to consider whether the right engineers are being employed to carry out the required work on commercial installations. Proof of competence can be more complex for commercial installations but the employers of gas engineers must ensure that the person carrying out the work is competent, experienced and trained. This will involve ongoing monitoring of performance standards. “We often see robust auditing procedures in place for domestic gas work,” said Jamie, “but commercial work can be overlooked”.

At the beginning of the presentation, Jamie asked the audience how often they believed they should be arranging for commercial installations to be visited to ensure they are continuing to operate safely. 44% of respondents felt that they should be visited quarterly, and 33% felt the answer was annually. When the question was repeated towards the end of the presentation, 71% of respondents felt that the installations should be visited quarterly and the number advocating annual visits dropped dramatically to 7%.

“In truth,” explained Jamie, “it was a trick question”. There is no one size fits all answer, but duty holders must have robust risk assessments and procedures in place in order to fulfil their duty to ensure installations are maintained in a safe condition to prevent risk of injury to any person. The frequency of visits required will depend on the individual installation and the risk assessments and procedures in place. As part of a risk assessment, it may be decided that a gas tightness test only needs to be carried out every 3 years, but there is still a need to carry out visual inspections of all pipework annually for possible signs of corrosion or damage. Conversely, a DSEAR assessment may raise concerns over the provision of ventilation to the plant room, for example, in which case there would be a need to increase the frequency of visits to every quarter.

Digging for Danger!

There are many benefits to using TCW as your compliance data management system. The below story is designed to demonstrate just 3 of those benefits:

arrow-right

arrow-right

arrow-right

Time and ultimately cost saving

Total confidence in your data

Automatic upgrade when legislation/regulation changes

If you’re investigating a new system – ask for a full comparison against this statement:

Does the system extract 100% of compliance data recorded (regardless of where it is situated in the document), with 100% accuracy and verify against current (and newly introduced) legislation, regulations and codes of best practice, as well as your own compliance standards – for any compliance discipline – AUTOMATICALLY.

You may well be surprised!

Arial City Council

Mike, the Compliance Manager for Arial City Council walks into the open plan office, booms a ‘Good Morning’ (a little too loudly for most!) and logs on – ready for the new week.

Mike has checked his emails and then settles down to look at the LGSR report for last week – he receives the report of 100 properties weekly thanks to his compliance data management system. He then does his random check of 10% of the properties, as dictated by Arial’s compliance procedures. He knows the importance of eyeballing these reports to ensure his properties are 100% complaint – he prides himself on ‘digging for danger’.

Mike continues to ‘dig for danger’ – with approximately 3 mins to eyeball the 10 random LGSRs, he’s completed these checks by around 9.30.

Mike finds 3 pieces of ‘danger’ within these 10 documents and thinks – that’s high?? So he does a random check on a further 10 LGSRs.

Time Zebra Housing Association

08:30

Mike has now finished the random checks. There are 4 more non-compliant properties within the 20 LGSR’s checked. So he guesses that 20% of these 100 properties are non-compliant – but who knows?! Mike now liaises with his team and various other departments to assess the 7 non-compliant properties.

09:00

Louise, the Compliance Manager for Zebra Housing Association, grabs a coffee from her kitchen and walks into her home office. She logs on ready to see what the week brings and starts to prep her ‘Things to Do This Week’ list.

Louise has checked her emails and then settles down to look at the LGSR report for last week – she receives it weekly thanks to her TCW automated report. She knows she doesn’t need to ‘dig for danger’ in the 100 records –the 7 that need her attention are automatically flagged up on her dashboard. She notes that 2 are non-compliant by legislative standards and the remaining 5 are noncompliant by Zebra’s own imposed standards.

09:30

10:00

For the 7 properties that need attention – she liaises with the engineers and repairs and maintenance department and sets the wheels in motion to ensure they are brought up to the compliance standards.

With the Board reports looming next week Louise sets to work on prepping these. She prepares the separate report on the non-compliance properties. She knows that there was legislative change relating to Building Safety last week, but is confident that TCW has this in hand and all records are checked accordingly.

Continues to prep the Board papers.

10:30

Mike now starts to turn his attention to the Board papers he needs to prepare – there is an Exec Team meeting next week.

Mike is struggling a bit as he knows that there was a legislative change relating to Building Safety introduced last week – but has the system been upgraded. Who would know that?

Mike has sent his apologies re his team meeting – he needs to get clarity on the data.

Mike is still working on getting clarity re the impact of the legislative change on his properties and whether they are now indeed compliant or non-compliant. But he then sees an email from GSR with a safety alert re BESTi Boilers model X25i. He’s also very conscious he hasn’t finished his Board papers – he promised to get this to his Director today.

OK – his priority must now be to identify the properties that have this boiler.

Mike is now feeling slightly frazzled and under pressure. He has tried to do a search on BESTGi X25i – it’s throwing up results that he doesn’t trust. He absolutely knows a few of these boilers were fitted a few weeks ago – but those properties are not on the list??

Mike’s Director pops down to see him re the safety warning – how many properties are affected? Mike doesn’t know. His Director asks him – when will he know? Mike doesn’t have an answer.

His Director also reminds him that the Board Papers are due today.

Mike suddenly remembers he has interviews lined up this afternoon. He has had no time to prep; hurriedly he clicks the link to meet his first interviewee.

Interviews are complete.

Mike is very conscious the day has run away with him (plus he is starving!) – he did not attend the team meeting, he has not completed the Board papers as he is unsure of the impact of last week’s new legislation and he cannot be sure where the BESTi X25i boilers are. He keeps his fingers crossed that there are no incidents whilst he continues to try and locate accurate information.

11:00

12:00

Louise has dealt with a few more emails and finished the board papers – she’ll send them to her Director later, when she has done a final check.

Louise now attends her team meeting.

Louise has a break for lunch, it’s been a productive morning.

13:00

14:00

Louise gets back to her desk and she sees that GSR has issued a safety alert re BESTi Boilers, model X25i. Within a matter of minutes, thanks to TCW, she has the list of all properties known to have this boiler – 28 in total. Louise does a double check against her own knowledge and the safety alert; she knows a few of these boilers were fitted a few weeks ago – yes, they are amongst the 28 properties. She is now liaising with various teams to get a plan of action to visit each of these properties.

Visits have started on the faulty Boilers.

Louise’s Director has heard about the safety warning and is on the phone re how many properties are affected. Louise sends him the property list with the plan of action. She adds this info to the Board papers and sends to her Director.

At 2.45 Louise does some prep for interviews starting at 3pm.

15:00

16:30

17:00

Louise clicks the Teams link and introduces herself to the first of her interviewees.

Interviews are complete.

Louise answers a few more emails. She is happy with how her day has gone – she coped admirably with today’s GSR curveball. She’ll sleep well tonight knowing that her actions will keep residents safe when boilers are being used.

How would you prefer to work?

CORGI is the preferred partner of TCW in social housing.

Want to meet safety and compliance professionals?

Are you a product or service supplier to the social housing sector? Do you want the opportunity to meet with 100s of safety and compliance professionals?

Then come and join us at the 2023 ASCP Safety & Compliance Conference on the 14 & 15 June at Telford International Centre.

Maybe you supply fire-related products – fire doors, sprinkler systems or other fire-stopping products/ materials? Or do you supply, install and/or repair lifts or lifting equipment? Perhaps your focus is legionella or asbestos related services or products. If you’re involved in supplying the Big 6, or indeed ancillary services, to the social housing sector, then ASCP members want to meet you in the Exhibition Hall!

Every year the Exhibition Hall buzzes with activity –questions being asked, demos being given, advice

sought. Our members appreciate being able to attend a Conference with expert speakers as well as being able to chat with exhibitors about the latest innovations and technical solutions. From leading boiler manufacturers to nationwide merchants, from heating and storage to pipes, valves and fittings, from electrical components to legal and recruitment – they’re all in the Exhibition Hall –come and join them!

Don’t miss this great opportunity to network with the landlords of 3m+ social housing properties. See you there!

Become an member!

We inform, support and empower our members, and represent their views by being the voice of safety and compliance in the sector. We also help to raise members’ own profiles and support their individual career development.

Stronger together

We facilitate the sharing of best practise - a central focus for safety and compliance in the UK.

CHEVRON-RIGHT We successfully lobbied the Government for the introduction of Regulation 36a

CHEVRON-RIGHT We canvassed the Government during COVID 19 re the annual gas safety checks

CHEVRON-RIGHT We were invited to join the MHCLG Social Rented Sector Electrical Safety Working Group to represent your views

CHEVRON-RIGHT Networking opportunities

CHEVRON-RIGHT Member questions, you ask – members answer

CHEVRON-RIGHT A real sense of a collective community

Technical expertise

Ensure you keep up to date with all things technical.

CHEVRON-RIGHT Technical Meetings

– Join us, in-person or online

– Discuss the latest Technical Bulletins, industry updates and recent technology developments with manufacturers

– Meet with like-minded professionals –build your network

CHEVRON-RIGHT 1 hour CORGI Technical Consultation

CHEVRON-RIGHT Online technical events

CHEVRON-RIGHT Just ask – and we’ll answer!

Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony

Attend the annual two day ASCP Safety & Compliance Conference.

CHEVRON-RIGHT Significantly discounted tickets for members

CHEVRON-RIGHT 20+ expert speakers covering all areas of compliance

CHEVRON-RIGHT Exhibition Hall – meet new or existing suppliers

CHEVRON-RIGHT Attend the prestigious ASCP Safety & Compliance Awards Ceremony

CHEVRON-RIGHT Learn, network and be inspired!

Qualifications and courses

Discounted industry recognised training.

CHEVRON-RIGHT Levels 4, 3, 2, 1

CHEVRON-RIGHT Director Masterclasses

CHEVRON-RIGHT Courses and seminars, including bespoke

CHEVRON-RIGHT Compliance, Safety, Gas, Electric

CHEVRON-RIGHT Delivered online or in-venue

Overloaded with unchecked data?

Data failing to provide valuable insight?

Resource tied up in basic data administration? ...then take a look at TCW!

Comprehensive view of data and risk in a fully searchable database

Granular insight into quality assurance, competence and compliance

Covers all compliance disciplines including gas, electric, fire, legionella, asbestos, lifts

Uploads, analyses and verifies 100% of all documents providing actionable insights

All calculations checked to regulatory and bespoke organisational requirements

“No matter how long you have been doing the job you will be surprised how much you have forgotten or didn’t even know. Great support throughout including my very knowledgeable mentor.”

Pete Sandry, Compliance Manager, Cornwall Housing

To find out more about our courses, download our prospectus at: www.corgitechnical.com/ qualifications or contact us at: enquiries@corgitechnical.com | Tel: 01256 548

DR. DAVID CROWDER, PARTNER, DCCH EXPERTS LLP

What is PAS 9980: 2022 and what does it mean for the sector?

Dr. David Crowder, a leading expert in the field of fire safety, was one of the technical authors of PAS 9880: 2022 Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall Construction and Cladding of Existing Blocks of Flats – Code of Practice. At the ASCP Conference, David gave an overview of the document, setting out its aims and objectives as well as providing guidance for users on navigating the document.

PAS 9880 is a new code of practice for the fire risk appraisal of external wall construction and cladding of existing multi-storey and multi-occupied residential buildings. As part of the package of measures put in place following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the document’s primary objective is to keep people safe. It also has a further objective to reduce the financial burden placed upon residents by assessments and the ensuing works. “Of course when there is a fundamental safety need for work to be done then that work is going to have to take place,” said David, “but we are aware that there have been cases of assessors condemning buildings which are actually perfectly safe, as well as some unscrupulous people who are only trying to sell replacement cladding systems”. The aim of PAS 9980 is to provide a consistent, balanced approach which keeps people safe whilst also protecting them from undue

financial hardship. To this end, the PAS seeks to provide a sound technical basis upon which professionals can provide advice that is both consistent and proportional.

The document addresses multi-storey blocks of flats but may also be applied to student accommodation, sheltered and specialised housing or buildings converted to flats. The core document sets out a methodology to conduct and record fire risk appraisals of external walls, which can be scaled up or down depending upon the complexity of individual buildings. In addition, the document is also a text book or ‘one stop shop’ of knowledge on the way different cladding systems, components and materials perform, the recommended competencies for assessors and the complexities of different buildings.

David stressed that PAS 9980 is not about compliance, as compliance does not dictate risk. Instead, the PAS seeks to guide users through the fundamentals of risk appraisal. This means understanding the components of a building and their fire performance factors, then understanding how these components interrelate with the overall building’s layout and finally considering what is the ultimate fire strategy for the building. The assessor will need to bring all of this information together using the PAS to reach their conclusions about what the possible scenarios would be if a fire broke out, and what level of risk is associated. If this assessment indicates that the risk

is too high, the client’s ability to pay for remedial works will need to be considered as an inescapable part of the equation. Decisions will need to be made on what steps absolutely must be taken to ensure an acceptable level of safety. Further measures can then be looked at for those with more ability to pay, with further investment in programmes of continuous improvement recommended.

David also highlighted the following key points which assessors must be aware of:

arrow-right the difference between fire resistance which relates to the burn-through or melting point of materials, and reaction to fire which is about flame spread and heat output. These concepts underpin an awful lot of understanding regarding external wall fire safety.

arrow-right façade configuration including the extent and continuity of coverage, the presence of cavities, the routes for fire spread into the building and potential ignition sources. arrow-right the fire risk assessment and original fire strategy for the building – PAS 9980 does not replace these, but the PAS process must be informed by them. Only by understanding the way the internal layout of the building works can you understand whether or not the cladding systems are likely to pose a significant risk.

When it comes to the competency requirements for assessors, the key message of the document is that nobody can know everything and that assessors should be aware of their own limitations. The expectation is that there will be a multidisciplinary team approach to conducting the PAS assessment so that the overall package is properly informed by suitably competent persons. This is also linked to scalability. Not all buildings will require an appraisal, and of those that do, not all will require intrusive inspection. Assessments should aim to conclude as efficiently as possible, though customers need to be made aware of the possibility of cost escalation depending upon how matters progress.

Training Qualifications and Courses

We offer a comprehensive portfolio of industry recognised qualifications and courses – ideal for upskilling current staff, induction for new staff or for succession planning. We also offer safety and compliance development for Boards. Your residents will undoubtedly benefit from courses designed specifically for them. In addition, we design and deliver bespoke courses.

All qualifications and courses are delivered by the same team that deliver your auditing services – they know the challenges your team face day in day out

What makes for a great resident engagement strategy?

PHIL HERITAGE, CORGI’S TRAINING MANAGER SHARES A FEW THOUGHTS.

Reaching out to our tenants or ‘customers’ as I prefer, sounds like a simple task, but when you add all the social factors into the mix, we can then start to appreciate the complexities of this simple statement. We live in a multicultural, diverse society, with evolving technologies, innovations, and new methods of streamlining and improving the environment. I’m a great advocate of improving, but not at the cost of leaving a generation behind.

Be Pro-active

There are several core values which I reach out to when considering evolving a resident engagement strategy, the foundation of these values is being pro-active. Our customers are the most valuable asset we have; without pro-actively involving our customers in the decision making or enlightening them of our responsibilities, we are forgoing a golden opportunity. Would you buy a new car and not keep it maintained or have a garden you do not water? You can hopefully see a synergy forming between our customers and items we need, care for and value. We need to give consideration, time and effort into our customers.

Set Goals

So how do you go about being pro-active? Inspiring, engaging, and motivating your customers to be part of one organisation which strive to accomplish set goals to add value to both the business and the community. Effective communication is paramount in establishing clear bonds which can be trusted, shared, and actioned. How do you communicate with your customers? Have you considered their needs, geographical area, interests, hobbies, equality, and equal opportunities? How and when should you contact your customers? How will you set the shared goals? How often should you meet? Have you recognised these joint goals, are they achievable? Are there resources available financially and physically to make this a realistic opportunity? Perhaps you could develop a steering group to help you accomplish these objectives.

Enjoy Mini Victories

Celebrate mini victories, everyone likes to know they are on the right path. By making milestones to achieve their goals, then giving kudos keeps the efforts real. Most people enjoy the occasional genuine praise, especially when they can see their hard work and determination is paying off. This can be as simple as a thank you letter, highlighting why they are so brilliant.

Everyone’s a Winner

Create a win/win situation - time, financial restraints, and resources can create obstacles when trying to achieve this position. However, there is middle ground where both parties can fully appreciate each other’s views and objectives. Safety must never be compromised by not adhering to legislation, we all have statutory obligations which

must be addressed. When deciding the objectives, commit to a theme. It may be safety, compliance or improvements, whichever is important to your residents, highlight the benefits and ensure all understand the challenges. Once the resources are in place, take ownership of your vision and make it a reality.

Educate the Masses

Enlighten the steering group to spread the word, by educating and understanding a problem will enable the participants to fully engage with the goal, project, or objective. There are many areas of compliance and safety which are complex and difficult to comprehend. Therefore, how do we breakdown this legal requirement to ensure the end user fully appreciates the responsibility which an organisation must follow. CORGI have created a Compliance Awareness Seminar for residents which covers the big six areas; we have received excellent reviews from our delegates. This course is a must for anyone wishing to have an overview of compliance.

Work in Synergy

Once relations have formed and trust is established the steering group are synergised to achieve its optimum performance, there is a full understanding of the business needs and residents’ needs. Beware of taking each other for granted at this late stage, you still need to water the garden and maintain the car. Enjoy all the hard work which goes into creating this well-balanced productive unit, which leads the way in developing a benchmarked residents engagement strategy.

Compliance Awareness Course for Residents

This seminar is ideal for residents who wish to participate and have a greater understanding of the responsibilities of the Duty Holder. The course will address legislation requirements on essential safety of gas, electric, fire, asbestos, legionella and lifts, as well as when and why it is necessary to carry out maintenance, servicing and safety inspections. It also includes the type of documentation they should receive and what levels of service should be provided. For information contact training@corgitechnical.com

ASCP Safety & Compliance Awards 2022

With over 500 people attending, the Awards was an evening of celebration, fun and laughter celebrating the successes of the sector.

Award entries were submitted by local authorities, housing associations and suppliers – projects, collaborations, partnerships, products and individuals were all recognised and celebrated. During the judging process, the dedication, tenacity and the strong leadership provided to drive critical change was clear, as well as the commitment to upskill organisations.

The evening started with a brilliant stand up set from comedian Keith Farnan – he’d certainly done his research into the sponsors! Keith’s set was then followed by an ‘edge of your seat’ performance from aerial artists Tumbelina – ‘how can they do that?’ was certainly front of mind for most in the audience!

After a wonderful 3 course meal we then moved onto the serious business of announcing the Winners of the 14 Awards – there was a palpable sense of pride and joy from

the audience. The celebratory atmosphere then continued into the wee hours with some formidable moves on the dancefloor to the Brotherhood – an impressive 8 piece show band.

We were also mindful throughout the evening that this was the 5 year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster. We therefore chose to support the Grenfell Foundation during the evening, with a game of ‘Heads & Tails’; we raised an impressive £1,591.00. The donation will be used to offer support and advocacy for the former residents of Grenfell Tower and the bereaved families and dependents.

Why not get involved in this wonderful evening next year – Thursday 15 June at Telford International Centre. Keep an eye on https://www.safetyandcomplianceconference. com/award-categories/ - we will be announcing the 2023 categories soon. But actually, there is no need to enter an Award; some organisations attend to thank their staff for all their hard work and suppliers often host their customers at the Awards to thank them for their continued support – it’s the ideal place to network and to build new relationships.

It really is a night to remember!

WINNERS

14 June 2022, Celtic Manor, Newport

We had a brilliant evening celebrating the successes of the sector at the 2022 ASCP Safety & Compliance Awards – a wonderful time was had by all!

Sponsored by

Best Resident Engagement Strategy Award

Sponsor: Stuart Turner

Safety Leadership & Board Participation Award

Sponsor: Nuco

Safety Training & Development Award

Sponsor: Baxi

Gas Safety & Compliance Initiative of the Year Award

Sponsor: Grundfos Pumps Ltd

Winner: Connexus Homes

Winner: LiveWest

Winner: Orbit Housing Group

Winner: Hull City Council

THE CONNECTED HOME LIFE SAFETY SOLUTION

CREATING SMARTER ,

Aico with HomeLINK offer a network of alarms and sensors to improve the health and safety of homes throughout the UK.

Fire and Carbon Monoxide (CO)

Our 3000 Series offers full circle Fire and CO protection, wirelessly connecting to the SmartLINK Gateway via Radio Frequency for remote wholesystem data monitoring.

SmartLINK Gateway and App

The SmartLINK App enables quick and easy installation of alarms and sensors with SmartLINK technology, while the Gateway is the central hub for data, extracting information from connected devices.

HomeLINK Environmental Sensors Monitor temperature, humidity and Carbon Dioxide to gain insights into indoor environmental conditions to create better maintained, healthier, energy efficient homes.

The HomeLINK Dashboard

Data is extracted from all connected alarms and sensors with actionable insights presented on the dashboard, segmented by high, medium and low risk.

The Resident App With the HomeLINK Resident App, residents are provided with a healthy home rating, handy advice on how to improve the quality of their home, and Fire and CO alarm testing reminders.

Community Initiative of the Year Award

Sponsor: Honeywell Home by Resideo

Heating Contractor of the Year Award

Sponsor: Vaillant

Women in Safety and Compliance Award

Sponsor: Intergas Heating

Electrical Contractor of the Year Award

Sponsor: ECA

Heating Contractor of the Year Award

Sponsor: Vaillant

Partnership & Collaboration of the Year Award

Sponsor: CORGI Technical Services

Winner: WDH

Winner: Aico

Winners: Sure Maintenance

Winner: Phoenix Gas Services Highly Commended: North Kesteven District Council & Aaron Services Ltd

Winners: City Building (Glasgow) LLP Highly Commended: Liberty

Winners: Lisa Hilton, Magenta Living / Phillippa Sturdy, Ongo Homes

Product of the Year Award – Safety, energy efficiency & wellbeing

Sponsor: PH Jones

Customer Service Excellence Award

Sponsor: CORGI Technical Services

Best Initiative to Combat Fuel Poverty Award

Sponsor: Wolseley

Product of the Year Award – Improvement to wellbeing & environment

Sponsor: PH Jones

Sustainability Project of the Year Award

Sponsor: T Brown Group

Rising Star Award Sponsor: Aico

Winner: Shevon Witter-Walker H. Commended:

Amber Lavender, Dudley MBC

Anna Andrew, LiveWest

Claire Young, LiveWest

Jamie Cunningham, Peaks & Plains Housing Trust

Phil Bristow, Abri

Tracy Perkin, LiveWest

Winner: Aico H. Commended: Adey

Winner: PipeSnug H. Commended: Tyde, Worcester Bosch

Winner: Worcester Bosch

Winner: Wheatley Group

Winner: Magenta Living

POWERING WATER FOR ALL APPLICATIONS

WATER SUPPLY DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE AND HVAC

Explore the range at stuart-turner.co.uk

new changes to legislation for social housing

Important changes are being implemented to ensure residents are protected from fire and carbon monoxide. From October 1st 2022, social landlords must:

Install at least one smoke alarm on every storey of their homes; and

Install carbon monoxide alarms in every room which contains a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers).

Hispec are commited to providing fully tested and approved alarms to satisfy every grade of domestic fire and CO protection.

Contact us to learn more about the most cost e ective specification solution on the market!

Autumn ASCP 2022 Technical Meetings

A key member benefit – hold the date in your diary! We will be in contact with you shortly to book your place.

We are amalgamating the AGSM and AESM Technical Meetings to become ASCP Technical Meetings – attend one meeting to get both your gas and electric updates, or bring the relevant colleagues along with you. We are currently working on the full agenda but you can expect the usual Technical Bulletin updates, presentations and discussions around the latest technical issues/topics and product updates from suppliers.

Four meetings will be held at venues – the North West is confirmed at Aico’s wonderful Centre of Excellence in Oswestry. The remaining three will be confirmed shortly. There is absolutely no replacement for meeting other members in person – the amount of networking and discussion that takes place is unparalleled! We would be delighted to welcome you to these ‘in-venue’ meetings. However, we appreciate not everyone can attend in person – we have therefore arranged an online session on 12 October, so no one has to miss out.

It was great to get back to the forum and meet everyone in person again. Whilst the technical content of the meetings on Teams was always excellent, there is no substitute for actually meeting colleagues to discuss the issues we face on a daily basis.

Steve Morley, Gas, Electrical and Mechanical Supervisor, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Thank you to our sponsors:

Just a quick thank you all for yesterday’s AESM spring Technical Meeting. Last time I said it was the best one yet, well you’ve topped it! The subjects were very interesting and current with what we are going through at the moment. Green energy, heating solutions and it opened my eyes to the grants available! will be chasing that one up ��. Also the technical info on heat pumps and pipe, radiator sizing very interesting.

Richard Hart, Electrical Qualified Supervisor, South Kesteven District Council

More UK homes trust Aico to protect them

Keeping you and your family safe from Fire and Carbon Monoxide since 1990, Aico has home life safety products that your household can rely on. Aico first. Safety first.

Aico with HomeLINK offer a network of alarms and sensors that prvoide data insights to enable the improvement in the health and safety of homes across the UK.

www.aico.co.uk | 01691 664100 | enquiries@aico.co.uk