Kitemark protects gas installers
The respected and trusted BSI Kitemark certification mark is now available for gas fittings, providing gas installers with an easy and dependable way of ensuring that the fittings they use meet the requirements of the Gas Safety (installation and use) Regulations 1998. This is an important concern, as using fittings that fail to satisfy the Regulations, even inadvertently, could potentially leave gas installers open to prosecution.
The new Kitemark scheme is also important for wholesalers and others who supply gas fittings to the trade, as they too have an obligation to ensure that these products are safe and of merchantable quality.
The Gas Safety Regulations state that: “No person shall install a gas fitting unless every part of it is of good construction and sound material, of adequate strength and size …” Until now, however, these requirements have presented gas installers and their suppliers with a problem, as there was no straightforward and reliable way of determining whether or not a particular fitting was compliant.
It is to address this issue that BSI has introduced its new Kitemark certification scheme for gas fittings. This provides independent third-party conformation of quality and safety, thereby giving users and suppliers of Kitemark products unrivalled peace of mind.
Before any Kitemark licence is issued, the relevant products are extensively tested to ensure that they comply fully with the latest versions of all relevant standards and regulations. In addition, the supplier’s production systems are evaluated to ensure that they meet the highest quality standards. Further, the tests and evaluations are repeated at regular intervals to ensure that the products consistently deliver quality and safety.
These searching procedures that form the basis of the Kitemark licensing process are among the reasons that the Kitemark is so widely recognised and respected – it is trusted by 88% of the UK adult population and is acknowledged as the UK’s premier symbol of quality and safety.
Making these Kitemark benefits available for gas fittings means that it is now easier for gas installers and their suppliers to be confident in the safety and quality of their products and their work.
