Duties of equipment manufacturers

Manufacturers of equipment covered by the PECPR Regulations are required to manufacture equipment with regard to the inspection requirements, which are identified in the equipment design, recognised industry standards or specified by an accredited inspection body as the situation requires.

Every manufacturer of equipment must take all practicable steps to ensure that:

• the equipment has been designed to a recognised standard and that it has been design verified
• the equipment is manufactured in accordance to the verified design
• any alterations to the equipment are approved by the designer and design verified
• fabrication inspection is carried out by an appropriately qualified equipment inspector at the manufacturing hold points specified by the designer
• the equipment is permanently marked with all necessary information in relation to its safe operation
• the information establishing compliance to the PECPR Regulations and the information necessary for the equipment's safe operation is provided to equipment suppliers and controllers.

In addition to any fabrication inspection requirements dictated by the relevant design code or standard, fabrication inspection requirements for pressure equipment will depend on the hazard level of that equipment. The hazard level is determined by the designer in accordance with the recognised industry standard.

All welding is to be carried out by persons holding the appropriate welding qualifications and using approved welding procedures.

Duties of equipment suppliers

Suppliers of equipment manufactured in New Zealand must take all practicable steps to ensure that the equipment manufacturers have complied with their duties.

Suppliers of equipment manufactured in another country must take all practicable steps to ensure that equipment manufactured overseas and sold in New Zealand is in compliance with the PECPR Regulations. Such equipment should have undergone an equivalent conformity assessment procedure, i.e. it has been designed, design verified, manufactured and inspected to the standards that are at least equivalent to the standards applicable to the New Zealand-made equipment.

Suppliers, when importing equipment for use in New Zealand, must take all practicable steps to ensure that such equipment has not already exceeded its designated design life.

Suppliers of equipment must take all practicable steps to ensure that the information establishing compliance with the PECPR Regulations, and the information necessary for the equipment's safe operation, is provided to the equipment controllers.

Inspection bodies

Inspection bodies must be currently accredited to a recognised industry standard (i.e. AS/NZS ISO/IEC 17020:2000 General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection) by a recognised accreditation body. A representative from the Department of Labour's Engineering Safety Group will attend these audits in a technical assessor's capacity.

In-house inspection bodies shall also be accredited as a Type B or C inspection body.

All inspection bodies are required to be recognised and registered by the Engineering Safety Group of the Department of Labour. Detailed conditions of recognition are given in the PECPR Regulations.

An accredited inspection body, depending on the scope of their accreditation in relation to the equipment, may:

• perform design verification
• issue/cancel certificates of design verification - equipment inspection
• allocate unique identifiers to the equipment
• issue, renew, suspend or cancel certificates of inspection
• suspend or cancel certificates of inspection issued by other inspection bodies
• advise the Engineering Safety Group of any certificate of inspection suspended, cancelled or refused issue on safety grounds.

Inspection bodies fulfil these duties through their design verifiers and equipment inspectors.

Design verifiers

A design verifier is a person employed or engaged by an accredited inspection body to carry out equipment design verification and who is the holder of the relevant certificate of competence from the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ). Some of the duties of design verifiers are to:

• carry out design verification on behalf of their inspection body
• make recommendations to the inspection body relating to the issue or cancellation of a certificate of design verification.

Equipment inspectors

An equipment inspector is a person employed or engaged by an accredited inspection body to carry out equipment inspection and who is the holder of the relevant certificate of competence from the Certification Board for Inspection Personnel (CBIP). Some of the duties of equipment inspectors are to:

• inspect equipment, on behalf of their inspection body, in the categories for which they are qualified
• determine if the equipment inspected is in a safe and satisfactory condition, and if the equipment will remain safe for the duration of the certificate of inspection
• report the findings of inspections to the controller or manufacturer, as appropriate
• examine the inspection and maintenance records of equipment, to ensure that it is receiving proper on-going care and attention
• examine boilers requiring a certificate of inspection by inspecting their interior and testing the boiler while in operation at safe working pressure
• advise controllers and manufacturers on safety issues relating to their equipment and any action necessary to make it safe
• carry out follow-up inspections where necessary to ensure that specified work has been carried out within the stated time and to notify the inspection body of the details if such work has not been completed in a safe and satisfactory manner
• make recommendations to the inspection body relating to issue, renewal, suspension or cancellation of a certificate of inspection.

Qualification issuing agencies

Qualification issuing agencies are responsible for determining the competency of persons intending to carry out specified activities covered by the regulations.

Specified activities for the purpose of the PECPR Regulations are:

• design verification
• equipment inspection
• operation of an attended boiler or limited attendance boiler.

This determination is achieved by means of assessment or examinations to ensure that the people they certify have knowledge, training, skills and experience to perform competently the specified activities. Qualification issuing agencies also evaluate the equivalence of the qualifications obtained outside New Zealand to local certificates of competence.

Qualification issuing agencies must be recognised as such by the Department of Labour's Engineering Safety Group.

Examples of qualification issuing agencies and their areas of responsibility:

• Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) - issues certification for design verifiers.
• Certification Board for Inspection Personnel (CBIP) - issues certification for equipment inspectors, welding inspectors and NDT (non-destructive testing) operators.
• Dairy Industry Training Organisation (DITO) - issues certification for boiler operators.

Want to know more?

The Health and Safety in Employment (Pressure Equipment, Cranes, and Passenger Ropeways) Regulations 1999 and the supporting approved codes of practice contain more comprehensive details and requirements on different equipment categories. Advice is also available from the Engineering Safety Group situated in the Department of Labour's head office, telephone (04) 915 4000, PO Box 3705, Wellington.

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