A Written Scheme of Examination is a statutory requirement for any pressure system within scope of the Pressure System Safety Regulations 2000.
The aim of a Written Scheme of Examination is to ensure thorough examinations are carried out on pressure equipment to assess and evaluate the safe ongoing operation.
A Written Scheme of Examination details components of a pressure system that must be examined for potential defects or signs of weakness that could lead to system failure. This must include the pressure vessel, all protective devices and any attached pipework that could give rise to danger.
The Written Scheme will also set the timeframe between examinations and detail specialised safety measures.
The regulations define a Written Scheme of Examination as; -
Regulation 8 - Written Scheme of Examination
(1) The user of an installed system and owner of a mobile system shall not operate the system or allow it to be operated unless he has a written scheme for the periodic examination, by a competent person, of the following parts of the system, that is to say—
- (a) all protective devices;
- (b) every pressure vessel and every pipeline in which (in either case) a defect may give rise to danger; and
- (c) those parts of the pipework in which a defect may give rise to danger, and such parts of the system shall be identified in the scheme.
(2) The said user or owner shall—
- (a) ensure that the scheme has been drawn up, or certified as being suitable, by a competent person;
- (b) ensure that
- (i) the content of the scheme is reviewed at appropriate intervals by a competent person for the purpose of determining whether it is suitable in current conditions of use of the system; and
- (ii) the content of the scheme is modified in accordance with any recommendations made by that competent person arising out of that review.
It is a legal requirement for Duty Holders to ensure they have a Written Scheme of Examination in place for all machines in scope of the Regulations.