Testex
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Aim and Vision
    • Our History
    • Our People
  • Services
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Working For TesTex
  • Accreditations
  • Contact Us

Blog
Worker

Are you sure you’ve got your PSSR’s covered?

Laura Nelson2020-09-02T11:54:19+01:00

Ignorantia Legis Neminem Excusat  – “ignorance of law excuses no one”.

Simply being unaware that a piece of equipment, or more commonly some constituent part(s) fall into the scope of a Regulation does not mean that you can escape liability in the event of a failure.

The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR’s) which were put into law over 20 years ago, is a Regulation which you most likely know a bit about. There will be systems and equipment obvious to you which are covered such as;

  • boilers and steam heating systems
  • pressurised process vessels
  • heat exchangers
  • Associated pipework

But, the range of equipment captured by the Regulation may surprise you a little bit and things sometimes get missed, things like;

  • Industrial air conditioning units over 25KW that may keep the office, or factory cool
  • Small compressed air units powering tools, or inflating tyres.

The PSSR Regulations are all about preventing pressure equipment failure and the uncontrolled release of stored energy, which can seriously injure or kill people and cause serious damage to property. So, identifying exactly what is covered is the first step to ensuring this doesn’t happen.

So that you can identify anything that might have been missed, let’s have another quick look at what the Regulation captures and says and what the threshold limits are:

  • Steam at any temperature and pressure. In other words, all steam, as it has the potential to cause harm to humans by scalding.
  • A fluid or mixture of fluids which is at a pressure of greater than 0.5 bar above atmospheric pressure and which the fluid or mixture of fluids is:
    1. A gas.
    2. A liquid that has a vapour pressure greater than 0.5 bar above atmospheric pressure when in equilibrium with its vapour at either the actual temperature or 17.5’ Celsius.
  • A gas dissolved in a solvent contained in a porous substance at ambient temperature and which can be released from the solvent without the application of heat.

There are exceptions to these Regulations, which means some equipment and systems are exempt. To fully understand them you will need to read the Regulations. Examples of these include;

  • A vessel size of less than 250 bar litres
  • A pressure system below 0.5 bar N.B. This is except for steam at any pressure and temperature.
  • A small refrigeration unit under 25 kW – all above 25kw the PSSR’s apply.
  • Portable fire extinguishers

All equipment falling into the scope of this Regulation requires a Written Scheme of Examination (WSE) to be undertaken.

Getting a WSE organised isn’t difficult. It requires a competent team of people to set the WSE up. Then a qualified person will attend site to identify, inspect, test and report the results of the inspection as they are set out by the WSE to the competent team. A review of the WSE is then carried out by the team before finally sending out the live endorsed document.

Don’t be caught out. Check now.

Call us if you need advice, our team of experts are always happy to help.

Share this post

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Related Posts

Skills Training Top of the Agenda at TesTex

We are taking the opportunity to enhance the skills of four of our experienced API Inspectors this week, in the... read more

Worker Using DPI Spray

Health and Safety Executive Approve New and Revised Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs)

Many people are exposed to a variety of substances at work (e.g chemicals, fumes, dusts, fibres) which can, under some... read more

TesTex van

TesTex Office Opening

TesTex NDT, based in Killingholme, NE Lincolnshire is pleased to announce the opening, in early April, of a new office... read more

Pulsed Eddy Current Technology for Corrosion Under Insulation

Pulsed Eddy Current Technology for Corrosion Under Insulation

When Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) occurs, it can lead to a loss of primary containment and possible environmental contamination. Unfortunately, the insulation used... read more

UT on Pipeline

It’s National Apprentice Week 2020!

It's National Apprentice Week 2020 a chance to celebrate the positive impact of apprenticeships across the UK. Here at TesTex we... read more

Responsive Solutions to Industrial Tube Inspections

Over the past few months our UK Tube Inspections Department have been extremely busy, so much so, we decided to... read more

ERDF and Smart Energy Logos

Our business is passionate about the environment

We have taken steps to reduce our energy consumption, lowering our carbon emissions for our loved local community. As a... read more

Dean and Trev

TSA Conference 2021

  Tomorrow, the 23rd September in Coventry, marks a welcome return for us, as exhibitors, to the Tank Storage Association Conference.... read more

ukas inspection logo

TesTex NDT Ltd. UKAS Accreditation

In January 2018, TesTex NDT Ltd., one of the UK’s leading Inspection companies, announces it has been awarded ISO 17020 accreditation... read more

TesTex Apprentice Awarded with the ‘Concom Apprentice of the Year 2022’

I’m sure we have said this before? Just how proud we are of our apprentices and this year they have... read more

testex-logo (1)
Our accreditation is limited to those activities described on our UKAS schedule of accreditation found here

TesTex NDT Ltd – Head Office
Maritime House
Lancaster Approach
North Killingholme
North Lincolnshire
DN40 3JZ

Tel: +44 (0) 1469 541586
Email: sales@testexndt.co.uk

Twitter Youtube Linkedin

TesTex NDT Ltd – Regional Office
Unit 24
Avonbank Industrial Estate
Avonmouth
Bristol
BS11 9DE
DN40 3JZ

Tel: +44 (0) 117 472 9242

© Copyright TesTex NDT Ltd. All Rights Reserved   | Privacy | T&Cs | Cookies
Website Design by The Creative Agencylogo
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Aim and Vision
    • Our History
    • Our People
  • Services
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Working For TesTex
  • Accreditations
  • Contact Us
  • Engineers Forum Login