3.2 The Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations (PER) PER applies to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies of pressure equipment with a maximum allowable pressure >0.5 bar. All items of new and substantially modified pressure equipment (including steam raising plant) comes within the scope of PER and they must comply with its requirements before they may be supplied for use. The Regulations do not apply to: x Excluded pressure equipment and assemblies (specified in Schedule 1 to PER); or x Pressure equipment and assemblies placed on the market before 29 November 1999; or x Pressure equipment or assemblies placed on the market on or before 29 May 2002 if they comply with the safety provisions in force in the UK on 29 November 1999 and do not bear a CE marking (unless required by another European Community Directive or any indication of compliance with PED). Schedule 2 of PER details the essential safety requirements (ESR) that qualifying vessels must satisfy. Additionally, there are details of how the different products are classified, the technical requirements that must be satisfied, and the conformity assessment procedures that must be followed. To comply with the ESRs the manufacturer must either produce a technical file that addresses each ESR in turn, or manufacture the equipment using standards that have been listed in the EU’s Official Journal which give a ‘presumption of conformity’ to specific ESRs. The Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) produced a very useful guide: PRODUCT STANDARDS Pressure Equipment – GUIDANCE NOTES ON THE UK REGULATIONS APRIL 2005 URN 05/1074. This document can be found through: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pressure-equipment-manufacturers-and-their-responsibilities. There is an easy-to-use flow chart in the DTI guide (Annex C) showing how equipment should be classified depending on, for example, what it is designed to contain and the operating pressure. This includes the conformity assessment procedure to be followed before placing the equipment on the market. 3.3 Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) PSSR set out the main legislative requirements to ensure the continued safety of the pressure systems in use (which includes steam boilers). PSSR applies to two clearly defined categories of people ( duty holders ). These are the x ‘ Owner’ – an employer or self-employed person who owns a pressure system. Where the employer who owns the system does not have a place of business in Great Britain, or an agent in Great Britain who would take responsibility, then the user (see below) will be responsible; and the x ‘ User’ – the employer or self-employed person who has control of the operation of the pressure system. The distinction between ‘ O wner’ and ‘ User’ can be important in certain circumstances in determining the duty holder responsible for ensuring compliance with certain regulations under PSSR. However, in general, owners carry more responsibility in relation to mobile systems (but see “ Temporary Boiler Plant ” belo w), while users have responsibilities in relation to installed systems. Shell boilers are considered to be ‘ installed systems ’ for the purposes of the regulations.
BG01 Guidance on the safe Operation of Steam Boilers Edition 2 – © 2019
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