Our technicians at PHX Water are incredibly proud of the number of professional accreditations we currently hold. These demonstrate to our customers that we know exactly what we are talking about and that their water supplies are in safe hands.
Holding an accreditation means that we have demonstrated our knowledge in these fields and undergo regular training to further our knowledge and skillset.
Today we will talk more in depth about the different accreditations we hold and why these are so important.
City and Guilds: Certified Legionella Risk Assessors
A large amount of the work that we do involves carrying out legionella risk assessments to public and private water supplies, to ensure the water is safe for consumption and there is no presence of legionella in the supply.
Legionella is a particularly dangerous bacteria, as it can lead to Legionnaires disease if consumed. Legionnaires Disease presents as a particularly severe form of pneumonia and affects high risk groups the most such as young children and older people.
It is important therefore that you can be confident in the people carrying out your risk assessment to spot any legionella in the water to give you and your family peace of mind.
City and Guilds provide expert legionella training to businesses such as ours through practical skills-based courses, classroom lectures and online seminars. These courses include everything duty holders, the responsible person and health and safety risk managers need to know about the prevention and control of the water borne disease.
All City and Guilds accredited courses are provided by industry veterans with several years’ experience in the legionella control, water treatment and regulatory compliance sectors. Their knowledge is invaluable to the training of our technicians both new and experienced.
IOSH High Risk: Confined Space Entry Trained Personnel
Part of our role involves going into water tanks to clean and disinfect the spaces. Most of these tanks are incredibly confined and therefore it is extremely important to the health of our technicians that they are adequately trained in how to navigate these spaces safely.
Some of the risks that can occur in these confined spaces are:
- Serious injury from a fire of explosion
- Loss of consciousness arriving from an increase in body temperature
- Loss of consciousness or asphyxiation arising from gas fume, vapour or lack of oxygen
- Rise in the level of water (drowning)
- Asphyxiation arising from a free flowing solid (grain, coal, ash, lime, earth, etc)
IOSH provide our technicians with sound knowledge of what measures to take when entering these confined spaces and how to work inside them safely.
All of our projects are risk assessed before entering any kind of confined space and we ensure we have emergency procedures and rescue plans in place should any accident occur.
EUSR Nation Water Hygiene Trained: UK Mains Water Operatives
All UK Water companies require those working in clean water sites or working on the clean water network to hold a National Water Hygiene EUSR Registration.
This scheme is developed in collaboration with all UK water companies so you can be confident that the content covers all the required knowledge and awareness of good water hygiene practises. The topics covered include:
- The importance of water
- Water as a carrier of disease
- Potential contamination and its consequences
- Preventing contamination
Completing a National Water Hygiene training programme and assessment results in an EUSR registration for three years. Therefore, our technicians are regularly being reassessed to show their knowledge is up to standard and aware of any new changes in regulations and health and safety processes.
Scottish Water: DOMS Certified & Trained Mains and Sampling Technicians
This accreditation relates to our water sampling and testing practises. Through the training provided by Scottish Water, our technicians learn the correct practises including:
- Identifying suitable points from which to take water samples
- Select suitable sampling equipment and vessels
- Prepare selected sampling point for taking samples
- Disinfect bacteriological sampling points
- Recognise potential sources of contamination of the sample
- Carry out chlorine residual measurements on sampling points
- Record necessary details of sampling
- Store and transport samples in accordance with procedures
- Carry out all operations safely and hygienically
By holding this certification, it demonstrates that PHX Water technicians can carry out effective water sampling, and you can be confident in the results that we produce.
CCNSG Safety Passport: Work on Construction/Large Industrial Sites
To be able to work on large commercial premises and industrial sites, our technicians are required to complete CCNSG Training which covers the safety protocols you must have in place to be allowed into these locations.
Construction sites and industrial premises often have a high volume of high-risk equipment, chemicals and plant, and it is important to know how to navigate these safely and ensure none of our own practises interfere with any of the existing works.
A CCNSG Safety passport is valid for three years, meaning our technicians regularly go through new and updated training to ensure they are complying with the latest health and safety guidance and risk assessments.
To hold a engineering construction industry safety card, our technicians must demonstrate sound knowledge of safe behaviours at work, risk assessments, manual handling, reporting of injuries, working in confined spaces and working at height, and much more.
First Aid Training
All our technicians at PHX Water are adequately first aid trained and know what the appropriate measures are if a colleague or themselves are injured in the workplace.
