ACR Journal

31 The RAC Engineer’s Guide to Low GWP Refrigerants The F-Gas Regulation has been transposed into UK law and is now part of the British legal system. The certification and personnel competence requirements have all been set at the UK level. F-Gas company certificate All businesses that install, maintain or service stationary equipment containing or designed to contain F-Gas refrigerants have to have an F-Gas company certificate. As a result, F-Gas certification bodies such as REFCOM, the Register of Companies Competent to Manage Refrigerants, have grown in importance and have a key role to play within our industry. Setting standards is key. BESA, the Building Engineering Services Association, from which REFCOM was originally formed, now contains specialist groups to help shape our industry. These range from promoting and improving professionalism, to maintaining the highest technical standards that safeguard our environment. Improving compliance As the next step in raising standards, improving compliance should be on everyone’s radar, not just that of BESA. In an attempt to achieve this, REFCOM has designed an elite scheme that focuses on enabling manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of equipment and refrigerants to sign up to a voluntary code of conduct. The code is designed to ensure that sellers of refrigerants and pre-charged equipment understand the rules of who they can, and perhaps more importantly, cannot sell to. The code also states that they operate to the spirit of the regulation – not just the actual wording. If you haven’t already, I recommend becoming a member of this scheme. The regulatory landscape we now work in has professionalised our sector at a rate previously thought to be impossible. Registration, certification and compliance now play an integral part in enabling people to work competently in our skilled industry. thebesa.com refcom.org.uk For more information Make sure you comply!