HEALTH and safety is necessary - obviously. And when we turn on the gas or a light or the tap, we want to be safe..


So what is the difference between the firm which put in my new boiler a year or so ago and the same firm now?

The difference is that the work has to be certified.

But what if the installer has not signed up to a self-certification scheme?

He has to inform the local building inspector that he is to do the job and the householder then has to expect a visit from that inspector.

Now, the question has to be asked: if this were to happen would there be enough inspectors? The answer must be no, there wouldn't.

So government is relying on installers to self-certify. If they didn't there would be chaos.

The problem for government is it cannot force local authorities to take on more and more building inspectors - even if they could get them! (And it is probable that few building inspectors know much about heating systems anyway!)

The only reason that domestic installers will be forced to comply with self-certification is that householders will want to have the certificates for the Home Information Pack.

The same sort of change is coming about in the non-dwellings area.

For a couple of years, it has been obligatory to inform the local authority of work carried out in commercial and industrial buildings which affects the energy efficiency of a building under the Building Regulations. But it is only now that government is beginning to enforce the rules.

Again, government is relying on the goodwill of installers and engineers to make this work.

So far, only BESCA, which is the HVCA's Competent Persons Scheme, is available to non-dwellings m&e contractors. (It is also available to domestic installers but not for gas as this is still CORGI's remit).

The HVCA tells me all its members can sign up for the BESCA scheme virtually automatically because they have now been through its assessment programme. But non-HVCA members can also apply to join although they will have to undergo vigorous assessment.

So does this flurry of activity mean government is going to insist that a scheme similar to the competent persons programme for domestic work is soon to be mooted in the commercial and industrial market?

It may not be necessary.

Just like the domestic Home Improvement Pack driver, building managers and their companies are being forced to wear their green credentials on their corporate sleeves.

And, of course, there is always the fact that any money saved on heating and ventilating a building goes straight on to the company's bottom line. There is no greater driver than that for most companies!



Paul Braithwaite, Editor