Brits too trusting when it comes to gas safety

From 1 April 2009, Gas Safe Register TM replaces the CORGI gas registration scheme in Great Britain* and launches a campaign to make the nation gas safe.  New research from Gas Safe Register reveals that when it comes to gas safety, Brits are far too trusting.

Alarmingly, over half** of Great Britain’s population said they took it on trust that their gas engineer was properly registered and never checked that they were. A trust which if broken can make the difference between life and death.

With 14 people dying from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning last year due to badly installed, repaired and maintained gas appliances, keeping the public safe is Gas Safe Register’s top priority. The ‘make Britain gas safe’ message is simple. Be safe, use a registered engineer and always check the card.

Pete Eldridge, chief executive of Gas Safe Register said: “As the new hallmark for gas safety in Great Britain, Gas Safe Register will make it much easier for the public to be gas safe because in the wrong hands, gas can kill. Our message is simple. To keep you and your family safe, always use a Gas Safe registered engineer when you have any gas work done in your home.”

Pete Eldridge continued:

“We will raise public awareness of the importance of always asking for the ID card and checking the unique licence number. Different types of gas work requires different skills, so it’s important that you check the back of the ID card to make sure your engineer is qualified to carry out the work you want them to do.”

Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health & Safety Executive said:

“We welcome the new Gas Safe Register that will give a fresh impetus to this important area of public safety.  There will be new publicity initiatives on gas safety as a result of the change, whilst reducing the costs to registered gas engineers.”

Gas Safe Register will offer the public an improved service making it easier to find and check an engineer. To find a Gas Safe registered business and to check each individual engineer to see what work they are qualified to do visit www.gassaferegister.co.uk or call the dedicated helpline on 0800 408 5500.

Every Gas Safe registered engineer has a photo ID card with a unique licence number, and details of the work they are qualified to do. To check this information simply enter the engineer’s licence number on the website or call the helpline.

The new register will aim to reduce the number of gas-related deaths and injuries every year caused by incorrectly installed, badly repaired and poorly maintained gas appliances by raising awareness that appliances should be inspected regularly by a qualified engineer. Shockingly almost a fifth of households (19.05%) with a gas boiler had not had it serviced for at least three years. Gas Safe Register recommends that all gas appliances are safety checked and serviced at least once a year.

From 1 April, all work on gas installations or appliances must only be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Gas Safe Register’s top tips to keep you and your family gas safe:

1. Always use a Gas Safe registered engineer for any gas work in your home – and check their ID card.
2. Make sure your gas appliances are safety checked and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines, or at least once a year.
3. If you live in rented accommodation, your landlord must arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out a safety check every year on all gas appliances. You should be given a copy of the safety certificate before you move in or within 28 days of the safety check. If you don’t have this certificate, ask your landlord.
4. Install an audible carbon monoxide alarm, which will alert you if dangerous levels are present in your home.
5. If you smell gas or think there might be a gas leak: turn off the gas at the meter, extinguish naked flames, open windows and leave the area. Seek medical advice if you feel unwell. Call the Gas Emergency Freephone number 0800 111 999.

Find and check a Gas Safe registered engineer by visiting www.gassaferegister.co.uk or by calling 0800 408 5500.

Employers must attempt to put themselves in the shoes of the most talented jobseekers if they wish to attract high-quality candidates into hotel, restaurant, pub and catering manager jobs, it has been suggested.

Matt Kaiser, vice-president and talent strategist at NAS Recruitment Communications, claims this principle applies regardless of the sector, meaning hospitality recruiters may wish to take note.

He suggests that unless firms can begin to appreciate how the economy, new technology and changing demographics affect the jobseeking decisions of talented graduates, they are unlikely to be considered as a potential workplace destination.

Mr Kaiser says: “It is important to look at the candidate experience and see your organisation through their eyes. Understanding the thought processes of your talent target is no easy matter, but it is a critical component of successful recruiting efforts.”

According to the recent People 1st State of the Nation Report, demand for graduates is set to grow in the hospitality sector, with 69,000 more managerial jobs predicted to become available in the sector in 2017 than in 2007.

It says a large proportion of talented graduates currently enter other sectors such as finance and retail, meaning catering recruitment needs to improve in order to attract the brightest and best into hotel, restaurant and pub manager jobs.

Contract catering jobs provider the Compass Group says it is experiencing success with its food Centre for Excellence initiative.

The firm currently has three centres across the country showcasing healthy, fresh and cost-effective dining options - at Procter & Gamble in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Vodafone head office in Newbury and at Simons Construction in Lincoln.

Compass says it is more important than ever for caterers to deliver nutritious and good value food in the workplace as the recession ensues.

Joy Dinsdale, UK North site services leader for Procter & Gamble UK and Ireland, said employee feedback relating to dining room standards, healthy food offerings and general service has been consistently positive since this effort began.

He added: “We all know how hard it is to please employees in the dining room; this is the result of much hard work by the team.”

Last month, Autograph announced plans to offer more contract catering jobs around the UK after signing a four-year deal to provide dining services to the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Better times are ahead for the UK hospitality sector, according to one recruitment expert.

Speaking to Recruiter magazine, Collins King & Associates’ director Gary King said the majority of firms believe the worst of the recession is now over, raising hopes that a greater number will be looking to recruit over the coming weeks and months.

He stated: “We had our worst time at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. It is going to be slow at first but things will pick up pace from the end of the summer.”

Commenting on the recruitment outlook in general, Mr King claimed there are a number of companies with good expansion plans.

Last month, Nina Johnson-Bennett, managing director at Management Search Executive, proposed that jobs opportunities were now “coming in” as the economy begins to recover.

The opening of a new Travelodge facility in Scarborough recently helped create around 20 hospitality jobs in North Yorkshire.

A new study has indicated that UK hotels have responded well to the recession – good news for those seeking hospitality jobs.

STR Global reports that the room occupancy rate for hotels in the UK was shown to be 69 per cent in April 2009, the best amongst the countries surveyed.

Nigel Pocklington, managing director for Hotels.com EMEA, stated that the decision to reduce prices had been a good one for the industry.

He added that the relatively weak value of sterling in had also played a part, stating: “When you factor in the fact that the euro or dollar are a lot stronger, then a 12 per cent discount for a UK traveller would actually work out as a 30 per cent discount for a foreign traveller.

“All of a sudden the UK is a destination that is very attractive from a price point of view.”

Mr Pocklington added that hotels were also creating special promotions for UK tourists to encourage them to continue spending during the recession.

Two weeks ago, the Advertiser reported that hotel jobs could be created in Norwich as part of the £120 million redevelopment of a derelict riverbank site on St Ann’s Wharf.

The European Union (EU) Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The Directive deals with the collection, treatment, recovery and recycling of electrical and electronic waste products. The WEEE Directive’s aim is to transfer the responsibility for disposal of up to 6 million tons of potentially hazardous WEEE produced within the EU annually to producers of these products. Producers will be required to recycle equipment at end of life instead of disposal to land-fills. This is also referred to as “producer responsibility”. Companies selling electric or electronic devices in the EU will be required to mark new products with a durable marking or label to indicate separate collection of the device at the end of its useful life, and also be prepared to take back and recycle these products. Failure to comply with WEEE legislation will result in fines. The Directive was supposed to take effect 13th August, 2005, however, Germany’s requirements take effect in March, 2006 and the UK has indicated that its regulations may take effect in January, 2006. Holland, Belgium and Sweden should be on time as they already operate national WEEE recycling schemes.

The categories of electrical and electronic equipment covered by the directive include large and small household appliances, IT and telecommunications equipment, consumer equipment such as television sets, lighting equipment, tools, toys, leisure and sports equipment, medical devices, monitoring and control instrumentation, and automatic dispensers such as vending and ATM machines.

Miele GB was established in 1963 when Karl Heinz Wedekind was entrusted by Rudolf Miele to set up a sales and marketing subsidiary in Great Britain. Originally operating with a small staff from offices in Great Portland Street, the company moved to larger premises in Acton in 1972 and, in 1981, to its current purpose-built offices in Abingdon.

When the building was completed it provided an office area of 20,000 sq feet, which included a second floor built as a shell for future expansion, and 56,000 sq feet of warehouse space. In the intervening years, through the acquisition of two adjacent warehouses, the Miele site has expanded to cover 13.5 acres, our storage capacity has been increased to 120,000 sq feet and the opening of our new customer centre, the Miele Experience Centre, in 2005 released much needed office space on the ground floor of the main building.

Miele, manufacturer of premium domestic appliances, achieved its highest turnover ever in the 2007/2008 business year, which ended on June 30. The family-run company, headquartered in Gütersloh, Germany, increased turnover in the period under review by 2.5% to €2.81-billion, compared with €2.74-billion the previous year.

The Miele group as a whole topped the €2-billion mark five years ago, however turnover outside Germany alone, this year, exceeded the same figure for the first time. Staff levels over the past five years have also risen worldwide by 1041 to a current 16,163. Miele subsidiaries have increased their headcount in marketing, sales and service.

Germany heads the league table of the 10 strongest Miele subsidiaries worldwide, followed by the Netherlands, Great Britain, the US, Switzerland, France, Austria, Australia, Belgium and Russia.

The largest percentage growth, though, came from Eastern Europe. All Miele subsidiaries there, from Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Ukraine, and Hungary to Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia, reported healthy two-digit growth. Pleasing, too, was progress made in regions in South America and Asia where Miele sees great potential for future growth.

Within Europe, Miele achieved high double-digit sales growth in many regions. Success was spearheaded by Turkey, followed by Norway and Finland, but healthy growth also came from Miele subsidiaries in Denmark and Ireland in the north down to Greece, Portugal and Italy in the south. Great Britain also reported strong growth in local currency.

Despite a general drop in spending in traditional markets in mainland Europe, Miele remains confident. With a model range including premium cooking and steam cooking appliances alongside refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers, laundry-care machines and floorcare products as well as commercial machines and medical devices, Miele is well positioned to grow.

Miele is also helped on its way by excellent test reports, superb quality and a whole host of unique selling propositions such as the honeycomb drum on washing machines and tumble dryers and the in-door salt container on dishwashers.

Lec Commercial has just launched its new ‘efficienC’ high efficiency stainless steel bottle coolers. Designed for use in all bars and pubs, these ECA registered fridges are available in 60cm or 90cm and, with energy costs spiralling, these are ideal as they are 30% cheaper to run*!

Extremely robust, the high quality stainless steel fridges have been built to withstand conditions in the busiest of bars, ensuring years of use and reliability. Furthermore, their stylish appearance means they’ll effortlessly compliment any interior.

The ‘efficienC’ fridges are easy to use and offer self-closing doors so you can get on with the important part of your business - selling what’s inside the fridge! Other benefits include an external temperature display, electronic controls and lockable doors for peace of mind.

*Compared to standard Lec Commercial bottle coolers.

CORGI and HSE have advised against using Gas Interlock Systems (GIS) with override features. In response to these developments, Mechline has included in its offer new GIS models to help operators meet the new requirements. For catering information sheets and updates, visit the HSE site.

Models: M-G01N, M-G02, M-G02R, M-G04R and M-G05R.

On installation of a completely new extraction/ventilation canopy
On installation of a completely new gas pipework run
On installation of a completely new cook line or layout

With any fitting of Category ‘B’ equipment e.g. combination ovens, deep fryers, grills, charcoal griddles. This includes replacements to an existing layout