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Gas
news
AS/NZS 5601.2
Amendment 3 draft
for public comment
By Enzo Alfonsetti, AG006 Committee
Chairman
If you undertake gasfitting work on
LP gas installations in caravans,
campervans, camper trailers, mobile
catering vehicles, trucks or trailers with
gas installations, boats, houseboats and
floating restaurants, then AS/NZS5601.2
Gas installations - LP Gas installations in
caravans and boats for non- propulsive
purposes is your reference standard.
On the 24th January 2018, a draft for
public comment for amendment 3 of AS/
NZS5601.2 was published.
The proposed amendment focuses
on new marking requirements, including
marking requirements that were in
AS5601:2004 but not when AS/NZS5601.2
was first published as a joint Australian
and New Zealand standard in 2010.
Of particular note is the introduction
of a gas compliance plate.
The amendment proposes that
gasfitters attach a gas compliance plate
to the body work of caravans and boats
for new gas installations and for
modifications to existing installations.
The gas compliance plate is proposed
to be metallic, durable, and UV and
corrosion resistant.
Some jurisdictions, including
Queensland and New South Wales, have
already made this a requirement by law.
The introduction of a gas compliance plate
requirement will:
» harmonise requirements across
Australia and New Zealand
» make it easier for Gas Technical
Regulators to identify imported caravans
or boats that have not been checked by
a local gasfitter.
There may also be an opportunity,
subject to further discussion, for road
authorities to consider sighting a gas
compliance plate before registering a new
caravan or boat.
The closing date for public comment
is the 28 March 2018.
The draft can be downloaded via the
Standards Australia website
sapc.standards.org.au/sapc/public/
listOpenCommentingPublication.action
You will be redirected to an SAI Global
website and will need to register (if you
have not already done so) before you
can download the draft standard for free.
If you want to submit a comment on the draft,
you can do that via the Standards Australia
website link.
Once again, you will need to register to
create a public account for access to the
Standards Australia Standards Hub.
Standards Australia
Committee AG-013 —
making a difference
By Tyler Mason, Gas Engineer, Type A Gas
Appliance and Component Safety
At times, we overlook the components that
build our gas installations and appliances
and render them mere pieces of the puzzle.
This is not the case with members of
Standards Australia Committee AG-013
Components for Use in Gas Appliances and
Equipment.
After an extended period of inactivity,
Standards Australia reconstituted AG-013 in 2015.
The committee was tasked to address
an Australia-specific marking that prevented
components from other parts of the world the
ability to comply with mandatory Australian
Standards. They also had the mammoth task
of revising the entire suite of Australian gas
component standards, last updated over 10 years
ago. Since its re-formation, the committee has
continued to kick goals.
To date, it has published 10 amendments
and a full revision, with an additional five revision
projects underway.
The committee also agreed to create a
policy that aligns with, and adopts international
ISO standards where Australia’s needs and
requirements are represented. Australia has
become a participating member of ISO/TC 161
Safety and Control Devices for Gas and/or Oil.
Ultimately, the committee hopes these
advances will provide a greater level of safety
assurance and create a vast range of modern,
leading-edge components available within
Australian gas appliances and installations.
Tyler Mason, Energy Safe Victoria’s
representative to AG-013, serves as a member of
the Australian delegation to ISO/TC 161, alongside
Ross Jamieson (SIT Gas Controls), head of the
delegation and representative from the Gas
Appliance Manufacturer’s Association (GAMAA).
In 2017, Standards Australia awarded AG-013
with the Outstanding Committee Award in
recognition of their outstanding work.
Class of 2017: members from the Standards Australia Committee AG-013 recognised for their
achievements addressing barriers between national and international standards.
GPIS
Management
Report 2016-17
published
By William Hajjar, Senior Engineer
Regulatory
The Gas and Pipeline Infrastructure
Safety Management Report provides
information about the degree of technical
compliance from gas and pipeline
industry partic ipants.
It also highlights the status of the
sector’s safety framework documentation,
its responses to auditing, monitoring, and
reporting, and ESV’s response to near-term
priorities.
The report is now available online.