If you've come across the term PSSR and aren't sure what it means for your lab, you're in the right place. This page explains the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 in plain English, covering who they apply to, what the requirements are, and what you're expected to do.
The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, known as PSSR or PSSR 2000, are UK health and safety regulations that apply to anyone who owns or uses a pressurised gas system. If your lab has fixed gas pipework, you are almost certainly in scope.
The law requires you to have a written scheme of examination in place and to have your system inspected against it annually. Operating without one isn't a grey area - it's non-compliance.
Most people land here because something has prompted the question. They know they should look into it, but haven't had a clear answer yet.
This could be down to a number of situations:
New to a lab manager or H&S role and checking what the requirements are
Audit or insurance review raised the question
Someone in the team mentioned PSSR and no one knows what to do next
Had a gas system installed but no written scheme followed
Insurance company visits each year and assumed that covered everything
PSSR 2000 applies to fixed laboratory gas systems - not just hospitals or industrial sites.
If your lab has a fixed gas installation - cylinders connected to copper or stainless steel pipework or pipeline running through the building - the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations apply to you. Sector doesn't matter. Universities, pharma labs, food testing, forensics: the obligation is the same. PSSR covers any pressure system containing relevant fluids, which includes compressed gas, gases under pressure, and liquefied gas. Fixed installations that typically fall into scope include:
Fixed pipework or pipelines supplying gas to lab benches or instruments
Cylinder manifolds or gas cages feeding a building
Bulk gas storage with pressurised vessels or pressure receptacles
Compressor systems with pressurised tanks
Any installation that can't simply be moved along a corridor
If you're not sure whether your setup counts, a free site survey will tell you.
These come up regularly in conversation.
Under the PSSR regulations, responsibility sits with the owner and user of the pressure system - these are the dutyholders. In practice, that's often contested internally - between lab managers, facilities teams and department heads. But if your role includes health and safety in the lab, you're likely accountable. The Health & Safety Executive enforces PSSR, and the regulations are backed by an approved code of practice (ACOP) that sets out what competent persons are required to do. The HSE also provides guidance and a pressure system decision tool to help organisations assess whether their equipment falls into scope.
PSSR also places requirements on designers, manufacturers, importers and installers of pressure systems - not just the end user. If your system was designed or installed without the written scheme being set up at that point, the ongoing responsibility falls to you as the user. As dutyholder, your obligations typically include:
Ensuring a written scheme of examination is in place
Having the system inspected against that scheme annually
Keeping inspection records available for audit
Acting on any failures identified during inspection
Making sure components are replaced before they expire
A pressure system without a valid written scheme of examination is being operated illegally.
The day-to-day running of the lab won't feel any different - compressed gas components can outlast their service life by years without obvious signs of failure. The protective devices on your system, including safety valves, bursting discs and pressure gauges, need to be checked against defined safe operating limits. If something goes wrong, or if an auditor or a Health & Safety Manager asks for the paperwork, the absence of a written scheme is a serious problem with real consequences for the person responsible.
The process isn't complicated, and with the right guidance most labs get sorted efficiently.
The steps are straightforward:
Find out whether your pressure system is in scope (a site survey confirms this)
Commission a written scheme of examination from a competent person
Book your first PSSR inspection against the written scheme
Arrange annual inspections and ongoing maintenance to stay compliant
I just need to know my gas is legal and someone I trust is looking after it - that's really what it comes down to.
Speck & Burke are laboratory gas specialists with experience working on fixed pressure systems across the UK. Our engineers are BCAS-qualified competent persons, and we carry out both written schemes and PSSR inspections for labs of all sizes and sectors. We work with gases including nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, acetylene, compressed air and many others.
We produce bespoke written schemes based on a physical survey of your system - documenting every component, its safe operating limits, and the maintenance and inspection schedule required to keep it compliant.
The design and layout of your system determines what goes into the scheme.
Our engineers carry out hands-on pressure system inspections against your written scheme, testing protective devices including safety valves and bursting discs, checking pipeline integrity and recording pass or fail findings for every component.
Autoclaves and small pressure vessels are included where relevant.
We track expiry dates across your pressure equipment and flag upcoming replacements in advance, often bringing parts on the day of inspection so your system leaves fully compliant in a single visit.
No safety concerns get left unresolved until the following year.
PSSR stands for Pressure Systems Safety Regulations. The full title is the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR 2000), which is the year the legislation came into effect in the UK. It applies to anyone who owns or operates a pressurised system containing relevant fluids - including laboratory gas installations with compressed gas.
PSSR 2000 applies to any organisation with a fixed pressure system - regardless of sector. Universities, pharmaceutical companies, food testing labs, forensic labs and industrial workshops all fall into scope if they have fixed gas pipework or pipelines. The relevant question is whether the system is fixed and pressurised, not what industry you're in.
A written scheme of examination is a legal document that sets out what your pressure system is supposed to do, what its components are, their safe operating limits, and how they should be checked. Without one, you can't legally operate a fixed pressure system in the UK. It's the document your annual PSSR inspection is measured against, and it must be prepared or certified by a competent person.
An engineer visits your site and physically carries out a pressure system inspection of every component listed in your written scheme. That includes protective devices such as safety valves, bursting discs and pressure gauges, along with pipelines, pressure vessels and pressure receptacles where applicable. Each component is either passed or failed against its safe operating limits, and a full inspection report is issued. Any failures trigger a remedial quote to bring the system back into compliance.
No. Insurance inspectors check that you have carried out your legal obligations - they don't fulfil those obligations on your behalf. If your insurer asked to see your written scheme and inspection records and you didn't have them, the insurance company visit wouldn't protect you. This is one of the most common safety concerns we encounter when first visiting a new customer.
Annual inspections are standard for laboratory gas systems under PSSR 2000. The written scheme of examination specifies the required frequency for each component and the maintenance required between inspections. In practice, most labs are inspected once a year. The written scheme itself only needs updating if the pressure system changes materially.
Call us for a no-obligation conversation, or book a free site survey and we'll confirm exactly what your system needs.
Call now on 01259 222 600.
