Gas equipment requires Certificate of Conformity
January 11th, 2012Business owners have to comply with specific regulations when installing gas equipment on their premises, to ensure that their insurance policy remains valid.
According to Regulations that were introduced in 2009, gas installations must have a Certificate of Conformity in terms of the Pressure Equipment Regulations, promulgated under the Occupation Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993.
While this may sound like a complex, legal document – essentially it is a certificate that states that the installation has been properly inspected and is determined to be safe and leak free.
It is critical that this certificate is also issued by an authorised person who is registered with the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Safety Association of Southern Africa (LPGASA).
According to the Regulations, anybody who has a liquid gas installation installed on their site must have this certificate, which is usually obtained during the installation phase. he onus is on buyers, to ensure that they have this certificate on site, not the installer.
If your place of business, factory or plant is damaged or destroyed, as a result of a defective gas appliance, and you do not have a valid certificate issued by someone registered with LPGASA – the insurance implications could be significant.
An insurance company would be well within their rights to repudiate a claim, which could have severe financial repercussions.
Having the installation inspected and approved is a quick and easy process – provided the installation has been done correctly – much in line with similar requirements for electrical installations, which also requires a certificate of compliance under the OHS Act.
It is vital to realise that such an inspection is not just essential for their insurance policy to remain valid, but even more importantly, that it is conducted to ensure that the installation is safe and your employees are not put at risk.
If a gas appliance has been incorrectly installed and results in a gas leak this could have major health implications for workers, not to mention the huge danger involved of an explosion.
If you suspect your gas appliance is unsafe it is best to turn the appliance off immediately and do not touch it until it has been checked by a registered gas engineer.
To ensure your gas installations are always in top working order ask a registered gas installer to perform an annual maintenance and service check.
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