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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	NIA_SGN0047
Title	Gas Risk in No Access Properties
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Refining, transport and storage of oil and gas) 100%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 100%
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given SGN
Award Type	Network Innovation Allowance
Funding Source	Ofgem
Start Date	01 April 2014
End Date	01 December 2015
Duration	20 months
Total Grant Value	£23,331
Industrial Sectors	Technical Consultancy
Region	South East
Programme	Network Innovation Allowance
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , SGN (100.000%)
Web Site	http://www.smarternetworks.org/project/NIA_SGN0047
Objectives	The objectives of the project are to produce: Risk assessment for no access properties in the event of reported carbon monoxideRisk assessment for no access properties in the event of a reported gas escape (methane)Reporting of findings from each risk assessmentWork procedures for using and applying risk assessments The success criteria for the project are: To provide a basis for reducing risk arising from CO and methane build up in inaccessible properties. To improve procedures for dealing with inaccessible properties. To provide a basis for reducing for reducing costs associated with emergency service activities.
Abstract	The role of our First Call operatives (FCOs) is to investigate and safely manage reported gas escapes for both methane and Carbon Monoxide (CO). Situations where gas may be present in an inaccessible location such as inside a locked premise are encountered daily on all GB networks. These situations arise when members of the public call the national gas emergency number (0800 111 999) to report a possible gas escape but when the FCO arrives he/she traces the source of the gas to be inside a locked property. This can present significant safety challenges. For methane gas escapes inside ‘no access’ properties, our FCOs are reliant on initial checks with gas detection equipment in and around properties. If gas readings are detected and the gas supply can be isolated from outside the FCO will do so and remain on site until the readings have vented. A notice is then left for the customer, requesting them to contact SGN on their return. If unable to isolate the supply, depending on the level of the readings, the FCO may wait for a locksmith and police to attend site before exercising the rights of entry. If the FCO has to force access to the property immediately we then call a joiner and the police afterwards. However, in some properties, such as high rise flats, this can be problematic as ingress points do not always exist or are often not easily accessible for FCOs. Therefore, the FCO needs to make an informed assessment based on visual signs as to whether ‘immediate action’ (i. e. forced entry) is required. In the case of potential CO inside a ‘no access’ property, there is no detection device which can be used and therefore the operative has to base his/her judgement on visible signs of CO such as condensation on windows or sooting around the flue. On average SGN encounters between 100 - 150 gas escapes (methane and CO) each day in ‘no access’ properties. Depending on the initial findings by the FCO, these callouts usually take 30-45 mins to deal with. In the majority of these calls-outs, no gas readings are detected during the first visit and in these cases SGN can visit a property 3 or 4 times (leaving a postcard on each occasion) before either gaining access with the owner’s permission or the SGN manager decides to terminate the job until the customer contacts us again. Therefore, in both instances, safety is heavily reliant on the personal judgement of the operative and the situation can be time consuming and costly to deal with. The current procedures used by FCOs to decide whether to force entry or revisit properties are based on risk assessment of the situation a limited number of factors. The procedures tend to result in many false positive decisions; forced entry and revisits are used in situations where it is then found there was no safety risk. This project aims to address the problems outlined above by developing a more sophisticated risk model to enable FCOs to make use of more factors to assess the situation objectively This will allow the FCO to determine the exact level of risk and identify what measures, if any, could be applied to reduce that risk to an acceptable level, consequently increasing safety whilst reducing onsite investigation times and reducing the number of unnecessary revisits and forced entries. The exact level of risk to our operatives, the public or a property posed by possible methane or CO inside a locked premise has never been quantified. In each case, the risk is a correlation between likelihood and consequence and can be quantified by assessing a number of contributing factors such as property type, ventilation, appliance type and service history, visual signs, position of Emergency Control Valve (ECV) etc. Where this data is available it could be taken into account by FCOs in risk assessment and used to make more informed decisions about the safety of a situation and the most appropriate action to take as a result. SGN will employ technical consultants, DNV GL, to develop a quantified risk assessment (QRA) for inaccessible properties to investigate the level of risk arising when access to a premise cannot be obtained in the event of a reported gas leak (methane) or when carbon monoxide (CO) could be potentially present. Their expertise of the gas industry allows them to provide our project with technical assurance, advisory and risk management services required when dealing with demanding environments, which in this instance are inaccessible properties. The risk assessment developed by DNV GL will give quantitative estimates of the levels of risk and explain the parameters defining them. It will also provide a numerical value for the probability that a defined harm will result from the occurrence of a particular event. A pragmatic approach will be used in the simplification of the results to aid wider dissemination and incorporation of results into the revision of relevant work procedures. This project will find out whether it is safe to update procedure or not i. e. won’t be increasing risk to unacceptable levels.Note : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	15/08/18