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GRANT LAIDLAW
Grant Laidlaw is currently the owner of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy ( ACRA ) in Edenvale . He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and an associate degree in educational administration . He has a National Technical Diploma and completed an apprenticeship with Transnet . He has dual-trades status : refrigeration and electrical . He has been involved with SAIRAC for over two decades and served on the Johannesburg committee as chairman and was also president between 2015 and 2018 . Currently he is the SAIRAC national treasurer .
SMALL AIR CONDITIONING ,
AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS AND THE PER
By Grant Laidlaw
These systems are not exempt from the pressure equipment regulation ( PER ) and yes , you do have to issue certificates of conformance once you have worked on the pressure envelope .
Johan asks : Hi Grant , I am working with smaller air conditioning systems and automotive air conditioning . The systems are typically found in earth moving equipment . With regards to the pressure equipment regulations , are these smaller systems exempt ? If not , to what extent are they covered in the regulation , for example do I have to issue a conformance certificate when I have worked on the system ?
Hi Johan , for some reason there is confusion in the motor industry in that automotive air conditioning systems are exempt for the pressure vessel regulation ; this is not the case .
The reality is that the regulation applies to any system with an operating pressure of more than 50kPa . The operating pressure is determined by the refrigerant utilised in the system rather than the size of the equipment . But let us have a look at the regulation in greater detail . What we are discussing is the Department of Labour Occupational Health and Safety Act , 1993 Pressure Equipment Regulations - 15 July 2009 No . 323953 .
There is a substantial list of definitions in the act but let us focus on the ones that are relevant to your questions .
• " Authorised person " means a person who is registered as competent within the scope of work for which an organisation approved by the chief inspector has registered that person ;
• " certificate " means a written declaration of conformance to these regulations ;
• " construction " includes materials , design , fabrication , modification , repair , installation , examination , inspection , testing and certification ;
• " design pressure " means the gauge pressure used in the design formulae to determine the dimensions of the component parts of the pressure equipment ;
• " design temperature " means the temperature used in the design formulae to determine the dimensions of the component parts of the pressure equipment ;
• " fluid " means gases , liquids , vapours in pure phase and mixtures thereof and may contain solids in suspension ;
• " gas " means gases , liquefied gases , gases dissolved under pressure , vapours , and those liquids whose vapour pressure at the design temperature is greater than 50kPa above normal atmospheric pressure ;
• " gas system " means an assembly of tubes , pipes or similar ducts , fittings and valves for the reticulation , circulation and conveyance of a gas , excluding a pressure vessel or transportable gas container connected to the system ;
• " manufacturer " means any person who has overall control and is responsible for the construction of the pressure equipment ;
• " piping " means pipes , tubes or flexible pressure hose elements intended for the transport or distribution of any fluid at a pressure of 50kPa or above when connected together for integration into a system , including heat exchangers consisting of pipes for the purpose of cooling or heating air ;
• " pressure accessory " means devices with an operational function having pressure-bearing housing ;
• “ pressure equipment " means a steam generator , pressure vessel , piping , pressure accessory and safety accessory , transportable gas container , and fire extinguisher and includes , but is not limited to , an accumulator , a hot water geyser , and hyperbaric chambers ;
• " pressure vessel " means a housing designed and manufactured to contain a fluid under a design pressure equal to or greater than 50kPa ;
Continued on page 45
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