Gas Safety Inspections & Certificates Discussed by BPS Facilities

Gas Safety Inspections & Certificates are a vital part of your business. They ensure your gas appliances are safe and you can demonstrate the actions you have taken to ensure they are in good and safe working order which is a responsibility which you have as a business owner.

If you have a commercial property which has any gas appliances then it is a criminal offence if you don’t have a valid and up to date annual Gas Safety Certificate. Only a Gas Safe Registered Engineer is legally allowed to conduct an annual safety check and issue you with a legal and compliant safety certificate.

Gas appliances in commercial properties can include:

  • Gas boilers
  • Cookers
  • Ranges
  • Heaters
  • Hobs
  • Cooker tops
  • Incinerators
  • Gas-fired turbine
  • Engine-powered appliances used in power generation
  • Gas fryers
  • Domestic gas dryers
  • Pizza ovens
  • Gas refrigerators
  • Ducted heating appliances
  • Water Heaters

Businesses and commercial properties often use a wide range of different gas appliances which is often a crucial element to the efficiency of a business. Every gas appliance can present a risk to a property and the people that work within it and around it. If gas Commercial Gas Engineers Cardiffappliances are not properly serviced and maintained they can cause fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning, resulting in CO poisoning.

The NHS states that in England and Wales there are around 60 deaths caused by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year. Carbon monoxide is a colourless and odourless poisonous gas which we are only aware of when and if we start to feel unwell. In these situations, it can sometimes be too late to do anything about it as you may not be in a physical state to call for help. Breathing in carbon monoxide will make you extremely unwell, and can cause death if you are exposed to high levels of it. Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced when fuels in gas systems (including natural gas) fail to burn completely. CO is a flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air.

Because of the potential dangers associated with gas appliances, there are strict guidelines in place in the UK which govern the installation, maintenance and annual inspection of them.

What are the regulations for Gas Appliances in the UK?

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 impose duties on users of gas systems to ensure they are safe and suitable for use. These regulations were later amended in 2018 and came into force on 6 April 2018.

It is a legal requirement in the UK that landlords and owners of commercial properties have their gas appliances inspected every 12 months to ensure they are working safely and efficiently. If you are a business owner and you lease your business property then the responsibility falls to either you or your landlord and this will be detailed in your lease agreement or a separate legally binding contractual agreement with your landlord.

In simple terms, if you have commercial or public premises with a gas appliance, it is a criminal offence not to have a valid annual Gas Safety Certificate for each appliance.

What responsibilities do you have as a landlord or business owner?

As a landlord and, or business owner you are legally responsible for the safety of your tenants, employees or customers in relation to gas safety. You are responsible for the annual servicing and inspection, or as per the manufacturer’s guidelines of all active gas boilers, fires, heaters and any other type of gas burning equipment or appliance.

Whether you are a tenant or a landlord, employer or self-employed you are responsible for any gas appliances. Who is responsible for ensuring your gas safety requirements are met should be set out and detailed in your lease agreement or a separate contractual agreement. However, you should remember that legal responsibility for safety always remains with the occupier of a workplace. This will also apply under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which includes ensuring heating equipment being maintained safely, fire alarm systems and much more.

By law, if you have gas appliances in your property you must:

  • Repair and maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition
  • Ensure an annual gas safety check happens on each appliance and flue by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer
  • Hold an annual Gas Safety Certificate which confirms your gas appliance has been checked and is in line with all gas safety requirements

What is a gas safety certificate?

A Gas Safety Certificate is a legal document which confirms that a gas appliance has been serviced, tested and is safe by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Gas safety certificates can only be issued by Gas Safe registered engineers and they must be registered for the type of property (domestic or commercial) and type of system they are checking.

A gas safe registered engineer will come out to your commercial property or business and will conduct a number of tests on each gas appliance before an annual gas safety certificate is issued by them.

A gas safety inspection will include a visual inspection, pressure testing, functionality tests and operational tests as well as any appliances that use extraction systems to expel gases created during the combustion process which must undergo an inspection to make sure the extraction method is suitable and adequate.

An annual gas safety check is recorded on a Gas Safety Record form which details:

  • the specific appliance checked
  • the address of the property
  • the appliance’s location in the property
  • the engineers’ name and Gas Safe registration number
  • the date the inspection was carried out
  • any problems or defects found
  • any remedial work or actions needed to fix any problems

A gas safety certificate is not issued until the engineer has carried out all of their checks and tests and any remedial work has been carried out.

What happens if you don’t have an up to date Gas Safety Certificate?

If you don’t have a gas safety certificate you could face hefty fines and, or your power supply can be cut off. An unsafe gas appliance is dangerous and can result in loss of life as well as damage to property and the properties around it which you can be held responsible for in a UK court and face a prison sentence as well as compensation costs.

In summary, non-compliance and not following the law around gas appliances and safety checks is a criminal offence which courts can impose unlimited fines and custodial sentences for. Non-compliance can invalidate your property and business insurance which can also lead to claims for damages. This highlights the importance of an annual gas safety check with a gas safe registered engineer and for the sake of an annual gas safety check, it is not worth, not complying.

How much does a Gas Safety Certificate Cost?

The cost of a gas safety certificate will vary depending on the appliance and number of gas appliances you have in your property.

BPS Facilities offer Gas Safety Checks with our fully qualified and gas safe registered engineers and these can be completed as a one-off, or as part of a maintenance contract with us. Our maintenance contracts remove the need for you to worry about arranging safety checks and health & safety compliance as this is something we can cover for you.

What is the Gas Safe Register?

The Gas Safe Register is not a membership body for engineers or a trade association. It is the official gas registration body for the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey, who are appointed by the applicable Health and Safety Authority for each area.

By UK law, all gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register, and its role is to serve as a licensing body.

When an organisation or person becomes Gas Safe registered they are being issued a licence to carry out gas work in the UK. The safety checks the Gas Safe Register makes before allowing registration to ensure that anyone applying for and holding registration is fully qualified as a gas engineer.

The Gas Safe Register replaced CORGI as the gas registration body in the UK and the Isle of Man on 1st April 2009 and in Northern Ireland and Guernsey on 1st April 2010.

If you need a gas appliance installed, repaired, serviced or a safety check completed then you should only ever use a Gas Safe Registered engineer. The Gas Safe Register has a search function for you to search for a qualified engineer for the work you need carrying out in your location.

The Gas Safe Register is the official list of companies that are lawfully given permission to undertake gas work. Each and every registered company who employs gas engineers or a single working gas engineer is issued with Gas Safe ID cards. Not all engineers are certified to carry out all forms of gas work so you should always check their ID card before they carry out any work for you.

There are over 120,000 engineers on the Gas Safe Register. The Gas Safe Register inspects work which has been carried out on an ad hoc basis to monitor the work is compliant and safe and the Gas engineer is following gas guidelines. If you’ve had gas work carried out in the last 6 months then you can nominate it to the Gas Safe Register for a free gas safety inspection.

What does the Gas Safety Register do?

The Gas Safe Register investigates reports of illegal gas work. The relevant information they gather is turned over to the Health and Safety Executive(HSE), who have the power to prosecute.
The Gas Safe Register conducts public awareness campaigns to make consumers aware of the risks of hazardous and unlawful gas work, and of other dangers, for example, carbon monoxide gas (CO) poisoning.
It is the coordinating body for the yearly industry-wide Gas Safety Week campaign.

The Gas Safe Register is run by Capita Gas Registration and Ancillary Services Limited, a division of Capita Plc.

About BPS Facilities

BPS is a family-owned facilities company based in Wales with engineering hubs around the UK. We offer many different services and trades for your business and we work alongside many local and national businesses and commercial properties throughout Wales, the South West of England and the M4 Corridor to ensure we take care of the things they don’t want to.

Our Commercial Gas & Electrical Services:

  • Emergency Repair Service 24/7
  • Repair Service
  • Essential Maintenance
  • Scheduled & Preventative Maintenance
  • Annual Gas Safety Checks & Certificates
  • Planning, Design & Installation
  • Specialist Project Division
  • Annual Service

Our qualified experts provide gas, mechanical and electrical engineering services, maintaining central heating systems, gas appliances, electrics, air conditioning and catering and refrigeration systems.

Our BPS team all carry industry-specific accreditations (Gas Safe, NICEIC, Chas and B&ES;) and we have ₤10m of public and third-party liability insurance.

Our call-handling centre is available to take your call 365 days a year, 24-hours a day and we always ensure the correct engineer or team is dispatched to you whenever you need it. We do not use sub-contractors and we do not subcontract any of our work so you can rest assured one of our uniformed team members will come out to you.

We have a technical support team who are always on hand to answer any questions our team may have when out on a job and this supports them to resolve and repair systems and equipment promptly and safely.

Our Prompt, Reliable, Reactive Solutions:

  • We have dedicated engineers on call 24/7
  • Emergency call-out 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
  • Our engineers routinely repair 90% of breakdowns on their initial visit

Our Boiler Services:

We have many years’ experience in installing, servicing and maintaining commercial gas, oil and biofuel boilers. Maintaining your boilers and their associated equipment will ensure that your boiler operates safely, at maximum efficiency and provides reliable operation for your team and business.

Our fully qualified engineers provide the following services:

  • Gas boiler installation, servicing, repair and maintenance
  • Oil boiler installation, servicing, repair and maintenance
  • Combustion analysis
  • Boiler safety checks
  • Gas safety certification
  • Boiler fault diagnosis
  • Boiler inspection and condition reports
  • Plant replacement surveys

Our Design, Planned Maintenance & Emergency Callout Service Include:

  • Project design
  • Supply
  • Installation
  • Service
  • Repair
  • Routine maintenance

We cover commercial building services and systems including:

  • Gas services, boiler & heating plant
  • Electrical services
  • Air Conditioning and climate control
  • Catering, kitchen equipment and refrigeration
  • Laundry & textile care
  • Plumbing
  • Building management systems
  • Fire alarms and access control
  • Building maintenance

Our Customised & Planned Maintenance Packages

We offer bespoke planned maintenance packages for commercial building operators and business owners. This includes inspection, servicing, repair and certification contracts with access to our highly reactive emergency support teams. Our care packages ensure that your systems and building are fully serviced and certified giving you peace of mind as well as a smooth and problem-free, reliable operation.

Installation of Commercial Heating Equipment

In new and existing buildings, our highly experienced gas safe engineers and project managers ensure that the installation is to the highest standards, our services include the following:

  • Gas, oil and L.P.G boiler replacements
  • New boiler room design and installation
  • Biomass boiler installation
  • Domestic Hot water boilers
  • Plate heat exchangers
  • Electrode boilers
  • System upgrades
  • Flue system installation
  • High-efficiency boiler plant installations
  • Mechanical Service Heating Installation

We are specialists in the design and installation of all types of space and processes heating systems. We have extensive experience in Mechanical Services Heating system installations whether the requirement is for a new installation or an existing building. Our services include the following:

  • T.H.W heating systems
  • Warm Air heating systems
  • Indirect gas and oil-fired warm air heaters
  • High-efficiency gas-fired radiant tube heating systems
  • Radiant plaque heating
  • Underfloor heating
  • Steam heating systems
  • Heat pump systems
  • Pipework Repair, Servicing & Maintenance

We are specialists in the design and installation of all types of distribution pipework in both in new installations and refits, our pipework services include the following:

  • Gas distribution pipework design and installation
  • Heating distribution pipework design and installation
  • Pipework fabrication
  • Steam and condensate pipework
  • Hot and cold water distribution pipework
  • Compressed air pipework
  • Mild steel and stainless steel pipework
  • Plastic pipework systems
  • Pipework pressure testing
  • Pipework inspections and condition reports
  • Plant Efficiency Reviews
  • Ensure all working to correct operating pressure

With the ever-increasing cost of fuel and the environmental impact of using fossil fuels, the need for the most efficient operation of your heating plant is extremely important we provide the following services:

  • Heating System optimization
  • Heating system Weather compensation
  • System zoning
  • BMS systems
  • Integrated control systems
  • Energy management controllers
  • Energy management advice

Our team of joiners, electricians, engineers and construction engineers have all the skills required to make sure your project runs smoothly, efficiently and in a timely manner without you needing to cope with several parties or subcontractors. All staff will work within social distancing guidelines and take appropriate precautions.

We also undertake projects out to tender such as ‘Housing Association’, ‘social housing’ and local authorities.

All work, processes and paperwork comply with Government and statutory obligation and requirements.

BPS Facilities offer Gas Safety Inspections & Certificates throughout Wales, the South West of England and the M4 Corridor and we are a supplier that can offer you a genuine and competitive professional solution. Contact us today on 029 20 484114 and one of our experts will be happy to answer any questions you may have or arrange an appointment for you.