The South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors’ Association (SARACCA) held a training session at the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy (ACRA) with the Department of Labour (DoL) inspectors.
The aim of including the DoL inspectors was to highlight the lack of compliance within the HVAC industry. It is important to note that all attendees at the training agreed that a high proportion of the non-compliance is by installers who are not registered practitioners.
The Pressure Equipment Regulations (PER) were put in place to ensure that all gas intended equipment meets safety standards. These regulations set out the requirements regarding the design, manufacture, operation, repair, modification, inspection, and testing of pressure for all equipment used in the HVAC industry. In terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993, PER also requires all who intend on working on gas equipment to undergo specific training and to be registered with the South African Qualification and Certification Committee – Gas (SAQCC Gas).
Legal documentation
A Certificate of Conformity (CoC) for Gas installations is a legal document, which must be obtained whenever a gas system is installed, modified or repaired, and should be retained for possible future requirements. Only Registered Practitioners may issue a CoC. When the refrigeration system size causes it to be in category II or higher, as defined by SANS 347, an Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) is required to examine and countersign the CoC issued by the gas practitioner.
Providing a CoC after any HVAC related installation or modification is a legal requirement.
Barney Richardson, director of SARACCA, announced that additional requirements on semi-skilled installers have been initiated. Semi-skilled installers can now sign a CoC in instances where installations carry a capacity of less than 18kW. The signing of a CoC by semi-skilled installers has been endorsed by the DoL.
DoL calls for compliance
Commercial end users need to note that when labour inspectors make their official visit, they are the ones who will be requested to hand over required documents, including the CoC. It is, therefore, advisable for consumers to request a completed CoC upon completion of installations and modifications.
