21 February 2020
Introduction
The Health and Safety Inspectorate is proposing to publish a new Approved Code of Practice (AcoP) provisionally titled ‘Safe Work with Gas Systems and Appliances’. The ACoP will address the recognised dangers from working with gas, including the installation of gas fittings and appliances and their use in work situations.
Gas, by its very nature, is highly combustible and presents a serious risk of fire and / or explosion where leaks occur due to poor workmanship or maintenance. There is also a very serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from poorly installed or poorly maintained appliances.
Basic principles
The ACoP will reflect the basic principles that only people that are competent should carry out work on gas fittings and that work should be carried out safely in accordance with industry practices.
The ACoP will extend the requirement of competency to a requirement that engineers are assessed as competent by completion of an Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) and have registration with the Gas Safe Register. The ACoP would also place duties on those in control of gas work to ensure that the work is carried out by a registered engineer. Those in control of work premises equipped with gas appliances will have a duty to maintain gas appliances in a safe condition.
In addition to competency requirements, the ACoP will also include relevant minimum standards for materials, workmanship, fittings, flues and pipework and the safety checks to be made by engineers. These standards should already be well known to competent and experienced engineers.
What is included in the ACoP
The ACoP will cover ‘work’ on gas fittings and each of these terms is defined. For example, work includes installing, re-connecting, maintaining servicing etc. of a gas fitting but does not include disconnecting a self-sealing connector or turning off a valve. The ACoP will refer to gas used for heating, lighting or cooking and specifically excludes the use of gas for the means of propulsion of a motor vehicle. Small portable items supplied with gas, such as blow lamps hair straighteners etc. will be similarly excluded.
Legal status of the ACoP
Safe work with gas will be enforced under the existing Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989. The ACoP exists to provide practical advice on how to comply with the Law when working with gas. It has a special legal status. If you are prosecuted for a breach of the health and safety law to which the ACOP refers and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions, you will need to prove that you complied with the law in some other way or the court will find you at fault.
Consultation process
If you have any involvement with work on gas fittings in any capacity or have responsibility for a workplace equipped with gas fittings and appliances you may wish to comment on the content of the ACoP.
The public consultation process has now commenced and the draft ACoP can be viewed on the gov.je public consultation pages
Any comments on the proposed ACoP can be e-mailed to the Health and Safety Inspectorate
gov.je