STATUTORY TESTS & INSPECTIONS

Michael J Lewis CMIOSH Lewis Safety Solutions LimitedJuly 2013

• A Statutory test or inspection is one required by law.

• It is not negotiable and must be complied with.

• Failure to comply will result in a large fine and possibly a custodial sentence for the person or persons responsible for the failure.

WHAT IS A STATUTORY REQUIREMENT?

There is a vast array, including: -

•Lifting equipment

•Passenger and goods lifts

•Pressure Vessels, Boilers

•Fall arrest / Restraint harnesses

•Power presses, guillotines

•Local exhaust ventilation

•Emergency lighting

•Fire alarm systems

•Lightning conductors

•Water hygiene

WHAT ITEMS OF EQUIPMENT REQUIRE A STATUTORY TEST /INSPECTION?

COMPETENT PERSONS

• Statutory inspections and thorough examinations of work equipment and plant must be carried out by competent persons.

• Definition: “A person who has the appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and actual experience of the plant s/he is examining to enable him/her to detect defects or weaknesses, and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the plant".

• In practice, the "person" is usually assumed to be an organisation, rather than an individual.

• The onus of responsibility for compliance with the legal requirements for statutory inspections rests firmly on the organisation that owns the equipment.

• If an independent engineering Insurance / Inspection Company is contracted to carry out all the statutory inspections, and fails to do so, they are only in breach of commercial contract.

• The organisation that owns the equipment will be held responsible for the breach of health and safety legislation.

LIFTING EQUIPMENT

• Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).

• LOLER covers all work equipment that lifts or lowers a load, which includes people lifting/lowering.

• Includes excavators, lift trucks, mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), gantries/chain blocks, mobile and static cranes, goods, passenger and vehicle lifts, and lifting tackle.

• The thorough inspection and examination scheme must be carried out by a competent person.

LIFTING EQUIPMENT – THOROUGH EXAMINATIONSLOLER requires:

• Initial examination before equipment is taken into service

• Post-installation examination, where safety is dependent on correct installation

• Periodic inspections where lifting equipment is exposed to conditions which cause deterioration and could lead to a dangerous condition

• Inspection following any exceptional events such as adverse weather conditions, long periods of non-use or an accident.

• Inspection frequencies prescribed by LOLER are every six months for lifting equipment used for lifting and lowering people (such as passenger lifts, access platforms and window-cleaning cradles) and for lifting accessories (including eye bolts, shackles and slings)

• Every 12 months for all other lifting equipment not falling into either of the above categories, such as cranes and forklift trucks

LIFTING EQUIPMENT – WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION

• LOLER allows for non-prescriptive inspection regimes via a risk assessment-based approach to examination.

• This requires that a written scheme of examination be drawn up by a competent person taking into account the specific type of equipment being used, its environment and the operations it has to perform.

• This risk-based approach may allow for longer gaps between thorough examinations where the risks are assessed as being acceptable.

• As with all statutory inspections, the competent person is required to provide a written report after completing the thorough examination.

LIFTING EQUIPMENT – EXAMINATION REPORTThorough examination report for lifting equipment should include: -

• Name and address of the user

• Location of the examination

• Sufficient information to identify the piece of equipment e.g. plant no.

• Dates of the last thorough examination and current examination report

• Safe working load (SWL)

• Circumstances of the examination - following installation or after an accident, for example

• Details of any defects spotted and any remedial action taken

• Any further recommendations, such as non-destructive testing (NDT)

• Name, address and qualification of competent person compiling report

• Date of the next scheduled thorough examination

LIFTS

• Lifts and combined goods / passenger lifts in workplaces eg offices and factories which are primarily used by people at work, are subject to periodic thorough examination and inspection, as required by LOLER and PUWER.

• Guidance for lift owners and others responsible for the examination and testing of lifts is available in INDG339 rev1 Thorough examination and testing of lifts: Simple guidance

• LOLER (and PUWER) may not apply where a passenger lift is not used by people at work (eg in public areas of a shopping centre). However, if the lift is operated by - or to some extent under the control of - an employer or self-employed person in connection with their business, they still have some responsibility for the health and safety of people they do not employ. This includes members of the public who use the lift and those people who may work on or inspect the lift.

HSE GUIDANCE

•Further information can be found in INDG422 Thorough Examination of Lifting Equipment

•INDG399 Thorough Examination and Testing of Lifts

PRESSURE SYSTEMS – WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION

The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) require: -

• Any Vessel in which pressure is stored (greater than 0.5 bar or 7psi) and have a capacity greater than 250 bar/litres should have a written scheme of operation.

• A Written Scheme of Examination is a document containing information about items of plant or equipment that form a pressure system, operate under pressure and contain a 'relevant fluid'.

• PSSR regulation 8 places a duty on the user of an installed system and the owner of a mobile system not to allow pressure systems to be used until they have a WSE covering protective devices, pressure vessels and parts which, if they fail, may give rise to danger.

PRESSURE SYSTEMS – WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION• The legal responsibility for defining the scope of the Written

Scheme of Examination rests with the user/owner who may need to seek advice from other sources such as in-house engineering staff, inspection staff or consultants.

• The owner/user will appoint a competent person who will help draft the Written Scheme of Examination, which will specify the nature and frequency of examinations (including any special measures needed to prepare the system for safe examination), and carry out the examination itself as required by regulation 9.

• There is a clear duty on users/owners to ensure that the equipment is not operated beyond the date specified in the current examination report.

• Further information can be found in INDG178 rev2 Written schemes of examination: Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000

PRESSURE SYSTEMS – EXAMINATION FREQUENCYFrequency for examination of pressure systems is set out in the Safety Federation's (SAFed) publication ‘Pressure Systems - Guidelines on Periodicity of Examination’ : -

•Steam boilers and steam ovens - every 14 months

•Steam pressure plant - every 26 months

•Hot water boilers (above 100°C) - every 14 months

•Air pressure plant - every 26 months

•Air conditioning plant (above 25 kW) - every 48 months

•Refrigeration plant (above 25 kW) - every 48 months

•Other pressure systems - every 26 months.

• HSE Guidance - Safe management of industrial steam and hot water boilers http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg436.pdf

INDUSTRIAL BOILERS

PRESSES & PROCESS MACHINERY• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

• Statutory inspection frequencies for power presses, press brakes and guillotines depend on whether the guarding mechanisms are fixed or interlocked.

• Interlocked guarding systems prevent activation of the machine until the guard is fully closed or, in the case of a photoelectric guard/light barrier, until there is no obstruction breaking the light beam.

• The statutory inspection frequencies are as follows:

• Six-monthly for power presses with interlocked guards, press brakes with light guards and guillotines in printing works  

• Annually for power presses with fixed guards and guillotines outside printing works.

Further information can be found on the HSE Website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/inspection.htm

•Local exhaust ventilation equipment is used to control, capture or contain hazardous airborne releases at, or close to, the point of emission to the workplace atmosphere.

•Removes the hazardous pollutant to a point where it can be safety collected or released.

•Fume cupboards in laboratories, spray booths in garages and paint shops, shot blast units, fume/vapour extraction units and dust extraction units.

LOCAL EXHAUST VENTILATION (LEV)

LOCAL EXHAUST VENTILATION (LEV)

• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002 (COSHH)

Inspection every 14 months

• Dust extraction equipment

• LEV’s used to extract dangerous fumes and vapours

• Paint and chemical spray booths

Inspection every 6 months

• LEV’s used in Foundries to extract dangerous fumes and vapours derived from iron

• LEV’s used to extract dangerous metal particles

LOCAL EXHAUST VENTILATION (LEV)Thorough examination of LEV plant under COSHH should include:-

• Visual inspection of the equipment

• Tyndall / dust lamp test to check for dust

• Static pressure behind the captor hood

• Air velocities across the face of the captor hood

• Centre-line velocity of the small duct between the captor hood and the main exhaust ducting

• Velocity and static pressure at the main exhaust ducting

• Static and total pressures at the inlet and outlet of the exhaust fan

• Static pressure at the inlet and outlet of the dust collector and filters, to help calculate the differential pressure.

Further information can be found on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/lev/index.htm

FALL ARREST EQUIPMENT

• There are statutory requirements to test and maintain fall arrest equipment. 

• BS EN 795 - Personal fall protection equipment : Anchor devices.

• BS EN 365 - Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. General requirements for instructions for use, maintenance, periodic examination, repair, marking and packaging.

• HSE Guidance Inspecting fall arrest made from webbing and rope http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg367.pdf

•All Automatic fire detection systems are required to be tested and maintained to BS 5839 part 1

•Annual maintenance

•Weekly testing of call points

•Audbility

FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS

•All installations three years old or more must undergo a 3 hour test on an annual basis after which a level of 1.0 lux, is required at floor level for defined escape routes.•Records of systems, whether they are central battery, or single inverter packs are required showing: -•results of the tests•what actions are required to rectify any the faults indentified•confirmation that the system is working correctly.

EMERGENCY LIGHTING

•Lightning conductor systems must be tested every 12 months.

•Testing should be carried out in accordance with the relevant British Standard

•BS 6651:1999 or BS EN 62305:2006, depending upon when the system was installed

•If the system meets the current standards a certificate will be issued.

•The certificate must identify the test equipment used and its identification number.

LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS

Approved code of practice and guidance L8 Control of Legionella Bacteria in water systems.

A suitable and sufficient risk assessments must have been undertaken in respect of Legionella.

The staff appointed to carry out the control measures must be suitably informed, instructed and assessed as competent.

WATER HYGIENE - LEGIONELLA

Any Questions?