Warning notices and labels

Making an appliance safe is only half the job. The label and the warning notice make sure everyone who might use it knows it's unsafe, and they're your record of what you found, what you did and what you told the customer.

The "DANGER DO NOT USE" label

Fix a "DANGER DO NOT USE" label in a prominent position on every appliance or installation you classify as Immediately Dangerous, and on At Risk ones that you've turned off. The procedure recommends a minimum size of A7 (105 × 74 mm).

• If the appliance is out of sight, for example in a cupboard, fix a second label somewhere prominent, such as on the compartment door.
• Where an At Risk situation is one that turning off won't make safer, don't fit the label (see 14.3).

The warning notice

Complete a warning notice for every ID and AR situation. For ID and turned-off AR situations it must make the words DANGER DO NOT USE stand out. Where turning off won't help, it must instead make clear who the responsible person should contact for further investigation.

Whatever format you use, IGEM/G/11 sets out what it must contain as a minimum. In summary:

• the gas user's name and address, and the landlord's or responsible person's where that applies
• the date
• which appliance or installation is unsafe, where it is, and what's wrong
• the category: ID or AR
• everything you did, including any third parties you told
• what needs doing to put it right
• any RIDDOR situation you found and reported
• your name and identifier, and the name, registration number and contact details of your business
• contact details for the gas emergency service and for Gas Safe Register
• what the categories mean
• space for the gas user's signature.

Signing and copies

1. Ask the gas user or responsible person to sign the notice, as a record that they received and understood it.
2. Give them a copy before you leave, and keep a copy for your records.
3. If they refuse to sign, or aren't there, record that. If nobody is there, leave a copy on site to warn anyone who might use the appliance.
4. If the user isn't the owner, for example a tenant, also give the owner (such as the landlord or managing agent) details of the unsafe situation in writing.

Bonding notices

GSIUR also requires you to tell the responsible person when equipotential bonding may need connecting to the gas installation. Where you can't confirm that bonding is adequate where it's needed, HSE's guidance is to tell the responsible person in writing. A bonding notice, as described in BS 6891, does this and advises them to have the bonding checked or fitted by an electrically competent person. Bonding is covered in Module 7.

Sources: IGEM/G/11 Ed. 2 6.1(d)–(f), 6.2.1(d)–(h), 6.2.2labels, notices IGEM/G/11 Ed. 2 Appendix 6minimum contents IGEM/G/11 Ed. 2 3.3.2bonding CCN1 Issue 16 §8assessed

▸Tutor notes

• Give learners a blank warning notice and a scenario, and have them fill it in. Then check it against the minimum contents above.
• Role-play a customer who refuses to sign. What does the engineer write, and what do they leave on site?
• CCN1 §8 (knowledge item 6) also asks learners to identify other notices and labels: medium pressure supply labels, and advisory notices such as appliance use, "work in progress" and landlords' records. IGEM/G/11 doesn't describe these, so the site doesn't cover them yet.