Operation of the Gas Protection Verification Accreditation Scheme
The scheme aims to improve practitioners’ skills and competencies in gas protection verification and the preparation of gas protection verification reports. A report produced by an accredited practitioner under the scheme will be accompanied by a "declaration of compliance" and will bear the Gas Protection Verification Scheme “Quality Mark” logo so it can be clearly identified.
The Gas Protection Verification Accreditation Scheme process is as follows:
- Stage 1 – Eligibility Criteria of Practitioners
- Stage 2 – Application Process of Accreditation (Technician & Specialist)
- Stage 3 – Assuring the quality of the work on site
- Stage 4 – Preparation of the Verification Report
- Stage 5 – Applying a declaration of compliance
- Stage 6 – Process Review
Stage 1 – Eligibility Criteria of Practitioners
Table 2 specifies the core competency requirements for people applying for entry to the CL:AIRE register of gas protection verifiers via the technician and specialist levels. Once a candidate can demonstrate that they meet these requirements they can apply to be assessed. It is noted that those in possession of the NVQ Level 4 Diploma in Verification of Ground Gas Protection Systems will already have been tested against the core competencies required at technician levels. Therefore, these candidates will be able to go straight to the stage 2 application process.
If candidates can demonstrate competencies through the possession of appropriate skills cards eg construction skills council site safety cards etc, these competencies will be taken into consideration and not be further tested at stage 1.
Table 2: Core competencies
What is GPV Accreditation?
Technician level of accreditation (TGPV)
Intended for field technicians who confine their work to inspections and do not prepare verification design or method statements (although they will follow ones prepared by others) and do not prepare verification reports (although they do prepare field records that form part of the verification report.
Specialist level of accreditation (SGPV)
Applies to those involved in the whole range of gas protection verification including design of the verification, preparation of method statements, inspections and verification reports.
The competencies required are as follows:
Appendix 1: Assessment Criteria
All candidates who are applying for SGPV or TGPV must show that they are competent with respect to the following criteria as outlined in the GPV scheme document.
Stage 2 – Application Process of Accreditation
There are two stages to the application process for the technician and specialist levels of accreditation.
- Submission by the applicant and checking of the application by the scheme administrator
- Interview — knowledge & practical experience
The stages are summarised in the flowchart in Becoming an Accredited Person.
Award
Once an individual has been approved, they will be eligible to be added to the register of competent accredited individuals. SGPV and TGPV levels will be required to abide by the Code of Conduct. They will be assigned a unique registration number which, in the case of SGPVs, must be used on all declarations. On the register of approved competent individuals (SGPV Register), their name will be stated along with the company that they work for. If individuals move companies, they will be expected to keep their contact details up to date on the CL:AIRE website.
Designated award title:
TGPV – Technician in Gas Protection Verification
SGPV – Specialist in Gas Protection Verification
A certificate will be issued to each accredited individual which will be renewed every four years.
Fees and Refunds
There are two fees involved in the accreditation scheme:
- An application fee which is required to cover the costs of administration and the review of applications. This fee applies for each application including where previous applications have been refused or deferred. As a not-for-profit organisation, CL:AIRE aims to ensure this fee reflects only necessary expenses involved in the administration and review of applications.
- An annual register maintenance fee for SGPV level is required to cover continual scheme administration costs.
Refund Policy: As the application fees are to cover administration costs, no refunds are eligible once the application has been processed. If the candidate voluntarily decides to not proceed following an application, the candidate must notify CL:AIRE as soon as reasonably possible. It will be at CL:AIRE’s discretion if a full refund is provided minus a £95 + VAT administration fee. The candidate will not be eligible to any refund if the candidate does not inform CL:AIRE in enough time to prevent the assessors starting their review.
The fee structure will be:
Application for Technician Level and Specialist Level – £249.00 + VAT
Annual Register Maintenance Fee (SGPV only) - £100.00 + VAT
If the applicant is unsuccessful at the interview stage, they will be informed as to the reason their application was unsuccessful. If the applicant wishes to appeal, they must do this in writing. A fee of £95.00 + VAT will be charged if the applicant wishes to apply for re-assessment.
Maintaining Registration and Revalidation
Annually, a fee will be paid to remain on SGPV Register. On renewal, SGPVs will self-certify that they are maintaining their standards and keeping up to date with changes in industry practice in relation to gas membrane verification. This will be captured via an online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) recording system in line with other professional organisation accreditation schemes. Activities that should be recorded for CPD include courses and training attended (inhouse and externally), articles read, peer mentoring, acting as an assessor and preparation of validation reports.
In the event that the annual register maintenance fee has not been paid by the due date, the administrator of the scheme reserves the right to take the following actions:
- Suspension and temporary removal off the Register until full payment is made
- After six months overdue – revocation of registration. Re-entry to the register would only be possible by new application.
Revalidation Registration
Every four years, all accredited personnel (SGPVs and TGPVs) will be required to sit and pass (by 80%) an online test to ensure competency is maintained. Individuals that fail the online test will be called for interview and further assessment, and training may be required. The administrator will report all failures and the scheme reserves the right to remove those individuals from the register.
Where individuals fail to revalidate their registration by the required date, CL:AIRE reserves the right to take the following action:
- After three month – suspension and temporary removal off the register until the test is undertaken
- After six months – revocation of registration and removal from the register. Re-entry to the register would only be possible by new application.
Stage 3 – Assuring the Quality of Work on Site
Accredited personnel will assure themselves that the quality of workmanship is in accordance with current standards to BS 8485: 2015+ A1 2019 and CIRIA 735 and a suitable inspection record is prepared. An example template of site record is available in Appendix 2.
Stage 4 – Preparation of the Validation Report
The validation report that demonstrates the effectiveness of the gas protection measures, is produced in accordance with current standards.
Stage 5 – Applying a declaration of compliance
If a SGPV wishes to prepare a validation report in line with the Gas Protection Verification Scheme, they will be required to purchase a standalone declaration in order to be able to apply the “Quality Mark”. The Declaration will be available to purchase online on the Gas Verification Accreditation Scheme website. The fee per Declaration is £95 + VAT. Quantity discounts are available on application.
Once paid for, the Declaration will be available to be downloaded and appended to the validation report. Each certificate will have a unique reference number. The unique reference number will be publicly available for viewing on the register of accredited personnel as each unique number will be assigned against the accredited person’s name. Each accredited person will be required to create an account on CL:AIRE’s website to allow tracking of the "declaration of compliance" and to assist with auditing. A single declaration will be purchased per validation report, with a separate declaration for residential, commercial/retail, education or healthcare sites. A residential declaration may cover up to a maximum of 50 plots.
CL:AIRE will maintain a record of all declarations bearing the “Quality Mark”. Each declaration will have a unique reference number and will be linked to an individual accredited person. The Declaration will gather the following information:
- Site Name
- Site Address
- GPVS Declaration Reference
- Site Type & Plot Number
- Verification Report Title
- Verification Report Identifier
- Clients Name
- Name of Accredited Person
- Accreditation Number
- Contact Details
- Company Name
- Completed declaration
- Signature *
- Date
*The Declaration is manually signed by the SGPV after the completed PDF is downloaded. The final declaration is required to be scanned and appended to the front of the validation report it is supporting.
The purpose of the declaration of compliance is to provide assurances to the client that the validation report has been prepared in accordance with industry standards and prepared by an accredited person.
The declaration does not hold the same status as formal certification of construction under Building Act 1984 (England & Wales) and Building (Scotland) Act 2003.
Go to Purchasing a GPVS Declaration for further details.
Stage 6 – Process Review
The accreditation scheme is designed to improve the competency of personnel and the quality of verification and validation reporting preparation for gas protection. Companies offering Gas Protection Verification Services (and the individuals they employ) do so with the benefit of appropriate insurance (eg public and professional indemnity insurance). Liability for reports (and any advice they may contain) remains with the producing company or individuals.
In order to ensure standards are maintained, CL:AIRE will ensure that both proactive and reactive mechanisms are in place to capture feedback with the aim of ensuring that the scheme objectives are met and continually improve over time. Feedback mechanisms and scheme auditing will be in place, including a range of sanctions available for non-compliance. See Appendix 3 for further details.