If you're searching for PSSR inspection services for laboratory pressure vessels, this page explains what an inspection involves, what dutyholders are legally responsible for, and what happens next.
The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) - supported by the ACOP for pressure systems - require that pressure equipment and pressure systems containing relevant fluids, including gases under pressure, are subject to regular inspection and testing by a competent person, in line with a written scheme of examination.
Pressure vessels, which store compressed gas at elevated pressure and carry significant stored energy, fall within scope. A statutory inspection isn't just a safety check. It's the documented evidence that your pressure equipment meets its legal obligations under this legislation.
Lab managers and health and safety leads often search for pressure systems safety regulations inspection information after a trigger event. Many don't have a clear picture of what the PSSR regulations require or who, as dutyholder, is responsible.
Some of the most common situations we hear about include:
Audit or HSE visit prompting a compliance review
New role and inheriting a gas system with no inspection history
Insurance query about gas system documentation
Out-of-date components flagged during maintenance or a routine check
Failing to locate any written schemes of examination or previous inspection certificates
Someone raising a question about pressure vessel safety
A PSSR inspection without a written scheme of examination to inspect against has no legal standing.
If your lab uses bulk gas supply, a compressor, or a cryogenic system, there's a good chance a pressure vessel is involved. These range from small pressure vessels to large units feeding gas through laboratory pipework, and all fall within scope under PSSR regulations. Examples of what this typically includes:
Bulk gas storage vessels on compressor or generator systems
Cryogenic tanks supplying high-flow laboratory processes
Any vessel with protective devices such as safety valves or bursting discs in the pipeline
Systems where gases under pressure are stored at higher pressure before distribution through pipework
Older installations with no record of previous inspection and testing
If you're not sure whether your pressure equipment falls under PSSR, a site survey will clarify it quickly.
A few assumptions tend to lead labs into compliance problems.
Under PSSR legislation, dutyholders - the owners and users of pressure systems - carry legal responsibility for compliance. In a laboratory, that typically means the organisation itself, with day-to-day accountability falling on the lab manager or health and safety lead. As dutyholder, your responsibilities typically cover:
Ensuring written schemes of examination exist before operating the system
Arranging regular PSSR inspection services through a competent person
Keeping the system within its safe operating limits as defined in the written scheme
Acting on any failures or remedial recommendations in the inspection reports
Maintaining an inspection schedule, record-keeping, and certificates available for audit or HSE review
The hazard of stored energy in a pressure vessel is real.
If protective devices such as safety valves fail, or vessel walls and associated pipework corrode and deteriorate, the consequences can be serious. Beyond physical risk, dutyholders who operate pressure equipment without valid statutory inspections are in breach of PSSR legislation. That creates liability for the organisation, and for the individual responsible for gas safety and maintenance.
Start by establishing whether written schemes of examination are in place for your pressure equipment. Without them, inspection and testing can't proceed correctly under PSSR regulations. Guidance on your exact obligations is available from Speck & Burke directly.
The process generally looks like this:
Locate or commission written schemes of examination for your pressure systems
Identify a competent person qualified to carry out PSSR inspection services
Book a site visit to inspect against the written scheme and safe operating limits
Receive inspection certificates and reports - pass or fail, with clear findings
Act on any remedial recommendations before the next point in your inspection schedule
You get a report with tangible results - this is what we found on the day. Anything that fails goes on the report and it's hard for anyone to walk away from.
Speck & Burke provides inspection and testing services for laboratory pressure vessels and gas systems across the UK, supporting dutyholders in industries from universities and pharmaceuticals to food science and forensic research.
We provide pressure systems safety regulations inspection services for laboratory gas systems and pressure vessels. Inspection engineers attend site, carry out inspection and testing against the written scheme, and apply non-destructive testing of vessel walls where needed.
Inspection certificates and pass/fail reports are issued with findings documented clearly.
If no written schemes of examination are in place, we prepare them before the inspection visit. The written scheme sets the safe operating limits and inspection schedule - it's a legal prerequisite for any PSSR-compliant pressure equipment examination.
Advice on what your system requires is available before any commitment is made.
Where inspection reports identify failures in pipework, protective devices, or components, we can quote for and carry out remedial work. Safety valves and bursting discs are prioritised.
Where budgets are constrained, a phased compliance plan provides support toward full compliance.
An inspection engineer attends site and carries out inspection and testing of each component against the written scheme of examination. For pressure vessels, this includes checking protective devices such as safety valves, and non-destructive testing of vessel walls for corrosion or thinning. Inspection certificates and reports are issued, typically within one to two weeks. Any pipework forming part of the pressure system is also checked.
Yes. A written scheme of examination is the legal document that sets out what your pressure equipment is, how it should perform, and what the safe operating limits and inspection schedule are. PSSR inspection services must be carried out against this document. If you don't have one, it needs to be prepared before any statutory inspection can take place. Speck & Burke can provide guidance on what yours should cover.
The written scheme specifies the inspection schedule. For most laboratory pressure vessels, this is annual. We flag components approaching their service life in advance, so maintenance and parts replacement can happen during the same visit where possible, keeping your pressure equipment compliant without additional call-outs.
You'll receive inspection reports and certificates identifying what failed and why. We provide a remedial quotation based on the findings. There's no legal enforcement from the inspection company itself, but dutyholders who operate non-compliant pressure equipment carry the risk. Safety valves are always the starting point for remedial work.
Insurance inspections check that statutory inspections have taken place - they don't replace them. Several labs have been caught out when an insurance inspector asked to see their written schemes of examination and inspection certificates, only to find neither existed. The two things are separate, and record-keeping matters for both.
Yes. A first visit typically involves preparing the written schemes of examination, establishing safe operating limits, tagging all relevant pressure equipment, pipework, and components, and carrying out the initial inspection and testing. From that point, inspection certificates are on record and future visits are straightforward.
Call us to arrange a no-obligation site survey - we'll tell you exactly what your pressure equipment and pipework need to be compliant.
Call now on 01259 222 600.
