Streamlining certification for gas fitters

HSE press release E033:03 - 7 March 2003

The Health & Safety Executive has today announced changes to the Nationally Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) for Individual Gas Fitting Operatives.

The changes mean that a prepared and experienced operative will be able to complete a 'tailored' domestic natural gas initial assessment in less than 3 days and a 'tailored' re-assessment in one day. This follows a recommendation of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) Fundamental Review of Gas Safety.

Initial assessments and re-assessments will take the form of 'tailored' assessments. For those entering the ACS regime for the first time the 'tailored' assessment will cover basic gas safety issues plus appliance specific safety issues associated with the installation, maintenance and repair of four types of appliance - cookers, gas fires, water heaters and central heating boilers. The 'tailored' re-assessment for domestic work will cover changes in legislation, standards and technology demonstrated across the range of four appliances. Also the re-assessment will ensure that operatives have retained their gas safety competence with regard to carrying out gas work safely and commissioning appliances, eg gas tightness, ventilation and flueing, and the ability to recognise and take action to remove dangerous and at risk situations.

For those operatives wishing to be assessed on fewer or more appliances than the four covered by the 'tailored' assessments, certification bodies, through their assessment centres, can offer packaged assessments which cover the required variation without unnecessary duplication of tasks successfully completed.

Assessment centres are already offering domestic natural gas and LPG in permanent dwellings 'tailored' and packaged initial assessments. Further work is being undertaken to extend the 'tailored' approach to the remainder of LPG work, and commercial catering and commercial work.

'Tailored' re-assessments for all gas work will be available from 1 August 2003.

The full text of HSE's statement may be found on HSE's website at www.hse.gov.uk/gas/index.htm

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) Fundamental Review of Gas Safety recommended that the ACS should be streamlined for both initial assessments and re-assessments. To implement this the HSC Gas Safety Sub-committee set up a working group of key stakeholders with an interest in operative competence. The group has recently agreed the way forward for domestic natural gas work and LPG work in permanent dwellings; this is outlined in the statement.

2. The Nationally Accredited Certification Scheme for Individual Gas Fitting Operatives (ACS) was introduced in 1998 as a means for gas fitting operatives to demonstrate their competence to undertake gas work safely. Safety competence assessments are carried out to agreed national standards at assessment centres approved by independent Certification Bodies (CBs), which are accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). The competence certificates issued are normally valid for five years.

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