Safety Through Technology 1
The future of gas safety is here... 1 Issues in the industry... 2 5 Introducing Gas Tag... 6 Eliminating the possibility of rogue gas work... 7 The four elements... 8 9 How does Gas Tag work?... 10 11 The benefits of Gas Tag... 12 15 Gas Tag: Safety Through Technology... 16
The future of gas safety is here 1
Issues in the industry Landlords will be fully aware of the risks associated with the poor installation and maintenance of gas appliances installed at their properties. These risks can be minimised through compliance with industry regulations - but how can landlords be absolutely sure of compliance in their properties? A common issue within the industry is what is known as drive-by servicing, where the engineer completes the paperwork without ever having actually entered the property. 1 in 3 gas fires 1 in 6 British homes have unsafe 1 gas appliances 1 in 13 cookers! Checks by the Gas Safe Register have shown that these unsafe gas appliances include 1 in 11 boilers 2
Unregistered gas fitters carry out 1.1 million illegal jobs every year 2 Out of the 1.1million illegal jobs carried out every year, nearly 2 in 3 (61%) left victim s homes unsafe. 1 in 5 gas appliances inspected were deemed so dangerous that they had to be disconnected immediately Officially, every year in the UK, carbon monoxide poisoning leads to around: 50 deaths 200 near fatal injuries 4,000 hospital visits 3 3
Governance Within social housing, gas safety has been an ongoing problem. Providers of social housing have felt the regulatory repercussions and incurred penalties for their poor gas safety compliance. G3 Downgrades In many instances, housing associations have received governance downgrades and/or large fines for lack of proper appliance maintenance. No Access In financial terms, the issue of gas engineers being unable to access properties to carry out mandatory maintenance alone is expected to cost social landlords in excess of 500 million pounds over the next ten years. Deaths and Injuries In human terms, this issue could needlessly cost many lives and cause countless injuries over the same period of time. 4
Accountability One of the major problems in the industry is the fact that the gas? Locally Stored Nearly all paper or digital gas safety records are stored locally, making compliance audits and monitoring difficult and expensive or in some cases, where records are lost, impossible. The current system also leaves huge gaps in efficiency and accountability. A locally stored system makes it costly and difficult for landlords with hundreds or thousands of properties to audit works carried out or, sometimes, those not carried out Auditing The costs associated with retrospective checking are huge and there is no certainty that the signature on a gas safety record reflects actual attendance or work carried out. For some, this is a breeding ground for dangerous short cuts and, for the better engineers, it means inefficient working practices with no way to demonstrate the consistent quality of their work. Central Database The lack of a central database of gas work is at the heart of the problem. It was this problem that Gas Tag set out to solve, combining the experience and insight of directors drawn from the heating, software, financial services and IT industries. 5
Introducing Gas Tag 6
Eliminating the possibility of rogue gas work Any engineer carrying out work on gas appliances must be Gas Safe Registered. Gas Tag has been designed to stop unregistered gas fitters from recording any work through the system. Engineers download the free Gas Tag App and login to Gas Tag using their Gas Safe Register credentials, which are checked in realtime against the Gas Safe Register database. Anybody not on the database will not be able to access the Gas Tag system and will not be able to record any work. Gas Tag registered work will integrate with existing systems through the Gas Tag Cloud API integration. 7
The four elements Gas Tag is a patent pending system that has 4 elements: 1 2 The Gas Tag A small tag packed with electronic wizardry, which is attached to the gas meter at every Gas Tag Property and is the focal point of all work carried out. The Gas Tag App An intuitively designed, multi-platform app which validates that engineers are Gas Safe Registered. The Gas Tag app allows the engineers to complete all works, time/date stamps records and geo-tags the engineers to prove that they are on-site when they complete the work. 8
3 4 The Gas Tag Cloud A dedicated Cloud based database where the data is captured and stored safely and securely. The Gas Tag Portal A web-based dashboard which allows the landlords to monitor their property portfolio in real-time with the ability to view KPIs and drill down into the detail, as well as providing immediate visibility of their overall compliance. 9
How does Gas Tag work? Properties are fitted with the patent pending Gas Tag. Using the Gas Tag App, verified Gas Safe Registered engineers will sign in when undertaking any work at a property, by simply tapping their device against the Gas Tag. This links directly into the Gas Tag Cloud and, as well as time and date stamping the records, it guarantees, via geo-tagging, that the engineer is actually on the premises and that the work has been completed. During the work, the engineer must take photographs, which are automatically attached to the service or installation records, proving that all work on that property has been carried out in a safe, compliant and professional manner. Because the Gas Tag is unique to each property, the task of completing gas safety records is made easy as the majority of the fields will be automatically populated. All that s needed are the mandatory checks, an update to the readings and a signature from the engineer, saving hours of paperwork and filing. 10
GAS COOKER LAST SERVICED BY: A.N. ENGINEER Gas Safety Records are safely stored in the Gas Tag Cloud database, where landlords can monitor their properties in real time, via the Gas Tag Portal. Tenants can be emailed a copy of the gas safety record. The Gas Tag Portal will allow landlords to easily review an up to date asset register and most importantly, proactively view their overall compliance. Working with manufacturers, Gas Tag will also ensure that appliance warranties remain valid. Should an engineer determine that work done previously on an appliance is potentially unsafe, they can flag this to the landlord through the Gas Tag App and the engineer responsible for that work can be instantly identified. In the event of an engineer being unable to gain access to a property, Gas Tag will prove that the engineer has been there, via the geo-tagging feature. 11
The benefits of Gas Tag Landlords Proof of Competence Only Gas Safe Registered engineers can access and carry out work through the Gas Tag system. Single Version of the Truth Whether it be full time staff, contractors or sub-contractors, all work carried out on any of the landlord s properties is captured through Gas Tag; meaning that all certification, details and photographs of any work carried out will be recorded in the same place and will be automatically added to the statistics and KPIs. Safer Tenants Ensuring that properties are regularly serviced by qualified engineers minimizes risk and can ultimatley save lives. Admin Savings The real-time KPI dashboard means that landlords can save time and money on administration costs while securing hugely improved outcomes for compliance monitoring. All work carried out is uploaded and available to view in real time via the Gas Tag Portal, allowing landlords to view KPIs, Gas Safety Records and evidence of all work at each property, including photographs. Reduction in Appliance Replacement Photographs and readings of all appliances will give a true representation of appliance conditions and allow the landlord to make better informed decisions about the need for replacement. GAS HOB LAST SERVICED:??? GAS FIREPLACE LAST SERVICED: THIS YEAR 12
Elimination of Fraudulent Records The validation of the engineers, the geo-tagging of all work and, where necessary, the removal of paper gas safety records takes away the ability for rogue engineers to fraudulently complete or back-date gas safety records. On-site and On-time The geo-tagging and time / date stamp features provide peace of mind that the work has been carried out at the correct address within the correct timeframe to avoid missing the legal requirement for an annual gas safety check. Targeted Auditing Gas Tag provides the ability to review all work via the Gas Tag Portal so records and photographs can be reviewed via a desktop, allowing problems to be quickly identified and targeted auditing to be carried out on the properties with obvious issues. Elimination of Void Records Any mistake on a gas safety record renders that record void, requiring another check to take place. This adds significant cost due to re-visits by the engineers. Gas Tag pre-populates the majority of the information on the records and prompts the engineers for every other element in the process, dramatically reducing the risk of void records or errors. Access to Real-Time Property Data The work carried out on the landlord s property will be completely up to date, stored and available to review via the Gas Tag Portal as soon as the engineer completes the job. This information provides an instant visual check of the current status of even the largest property portfolios. Properties at risk are highlighted and can be targeted for rapid remedial action. Proof of Attempted Entry Gas Tag geo-tags engineers at the point of attempted entry. This information is passed on to the landlord as proof of the location, date and time the engineer tried to gain entry, thus helping to legally prove that the engineer has attempted to gain access to quickly resolve disputes with tenants or potential fines for non-compliance. Smoke and CO Alarm Annual Tests Alarms will be tested and verified to prove they are working on an annual basis all of which is captured by the Gas Tag system. Extensions on Appliance Warranties Warranties on boilers and other gas appliances can be prolonged by Gas Tag, as there will always be a record of a correct, up-to-date maintenance schedule. Manufacturer Warranty Validation Working with manufacturers, Gas Tag provides an easy way to validate the full parts and labour warranties on your appliances for the duration of the warranty, by providing proof to manufacturers that they have been installed correctly and have been maintained on an annual basis by qualified engineers. 13
Tenants Confidence in the Job The Gas Safe registered engineer is held accountable for all work carried out that properties gas appliances. Protects Tenants from Rogue Tradesmen Gas Tag s automatic engineer verification takes away the potential embarrassment for the tenants who may not feel comfortable requesting proof of an engineer s Gas Safe registration. Rogue gas fitters are unable to access the app and are not able to carry out any work through the Gas Tag system. Increased Safety and Accountability Gas Tag increases the safety of all rented and social housing where the product is used. Tenants will be protected from the three main causes of gas related death and injury within their home; carbon monoxide poisoning, fire and smoke inhalation. 14
Engineers Time Saving Pre-populated gas safety records will save time and allow Gas Tag enabled engineers to complete more work, more quickly and more accurately. Centrally Stored Electronic documentation is permanently centrally stored and backed up, so there is no need for any paperwork or filing by engineers or landlords. Eliminating Risk of Error The application will always prompt the next sequential part of the process therefore eliminating the risk of error or omissions of the service or documentation. Improved Standards Database interrogation is fast and the Gas Tag portal can mine huge quantities of data in seconds. The system will help to promote and improve the quality of engineers, raising standards and reputations. Engineer Protection The Gas Tag system captures details and photos of all work that an engineer carries out and can protect an engineer from challenges regarding poor workmanship. Improved Engineering Gas Tag will enable training issues to be identified, with problems flagged and gaps in skills pinpointed so they can be resolved by target subject matter training to engineers who are not 100% compliant. Detailed Records The application will hold details of all servicing and repairs, which will enable any attending engineer to quickly understand what type of work was previously undertaken to assist them with decision making. 15
Gas Tag is the smart, simple way to ensure that the right work is carried out on your gas appliances at the right time, by the right engineers, ensuring your tenants are safe and your properties are well maintained. 16
For more information email us at info@ Sources 1. http://www.rjsheating.co.uk/about/news/gas-safe-urges-need-for-annual-gas-boiler-servicing 2. https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/news/news-2016/more-than-a-million-households-put-at-risk-by-illegal-gas-fitters/ 3. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/carbon-monoxide-poisoning/pages/introduction.aspx 17
+44 (0) 330 229 0277 info@ Liverpool Gas Tag Floor 6 4 St Pauls Square Liverpool L3 9SJ London Gas Tag 24th Floor The Shard 32 London Bridge Street London SE1 9SG 18