News

• Illegal gas work carried out on a house in Torquay leaving an ‘immediately dangerous’ situation
• Investigation found multiple failings left by unregistered gas fitter
• HSE encourage householders to check the Gas Safe Register for qualified professionals

An unregistered gas fitter has been sentenced after carrying out illegal gas work at a house in Torquay that left the property in an immediately dangerous condition.

Exeter Court heard that Benjamin Owen, known as Ben, trading as BPS and ‘Ben the Plumber’, attended a property on Barton Hill, Torquay in February 2023 where he removed an old boiler and installed a new one.

Following the installation, the boiler did not work properly. The homeowners arranged for another company to check the installation when Ben Owen was dismissive of their concerns. When this plumber attended, they had serious concerns and called the emergency gas provider, who found a gas leak on the gas supply pipe and classified the situation as 'immediately dangerous', capping the gas supply.

Gas Safe Register was called and attended the site, where they found further defects in the gas boiler installation. A third company was employed by the homeowners to rectify the faults. When they started work, they discovered additional faults created by Mr Owen.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Ben Owen was not registered with the Gas Safe Register, which is a legal requirement. He had previously been a member of Gas Safe Register, but his registration lapsed in October 2021 when he failed to renew his membership. Since 20 October 2021, he was not registered to undertake any form of gas work.

Carrying out gas work without registration is illegal and potentially dangerous, as unqualified work can lead to gas leaks, fires, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Ben Owen, of Peter Street, St Hellier Jersey pleaded guilty to contravening Sections 3(3), 26(1) and 27(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, ordered to undertake 150 hours unpaid work and to pay costs of £1,000.

After the hearing HSE inspector, Simon Jones, said: "Ben Owen undertook gas work which he knew he was not registered to do and the work that he undertook was found to be dangerous, putting the lives of the homeowners and their four young children at risk.

All gas work must be conducted by registered Gas Safe engineers to ensure the highest standards are met to prevent injury and loss of life.

"We advise all householders to check that anyone they allow to work on their gas supply is Gas Safe registered. This can be done at the Gas Safe Register website."

HSE has guidance on managing gas appliances and equipment safely, as well as what to do in an emergency at www.hse.gov.uk/gas

To check if an engineer is legally permitted to carry out gas work, visit www.gassaferegister.co.uk

The prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Daniel Poole and Paralegal Michael Millman.

As 5G rolls out and telecom networks continue to evolve, engineers are working at height more frequently often in tougher conditions, with higher wind loads and tighter schedules.

That’s why smarter PPE and better system design are critical to building resilience across modern telecom infrastructure.

In Vertical Thinking: Is your telecom tower fall protection ready for the 5G era?, MSA Safety explores how the industry can:
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#Telecoms #5G #WorkingAtHeight #FallProtection #PPE #InfrastructureSafety #TelecomEngineering

Many sites face the same challenge. When drum handling equipment fails or is not matched to the task, schedules slip, teams wait, and the cost of lost productivity rises quickly. The good news is that these issues are preventable with the right approach.

In our blog, we look at the common causes of downtime in drum handling and explain how quality engineering, regular servicing and correct equipment selection make a measurable difference. We also cover our bespoke quick-release system, which saves time every time a task changes, and our hire service that keeps operations moving during repairs.

If you are responsible for productivity, safety or equipment reliability, you will find practical value in this article.

📘 Read the full blog: https://lnkd.in/eNBdbqGA

Hart Door Systems, the Newcastle upon Tyne-based manufacturer of several industrial door brands such as  Speedor the high-speed door is confident of another successful year writes Chris Dobson.

Despite international uncertainties on the political front and the ever present debate on climate change, the company believes its leading brands such as Speedor and Typhoon will continue to be in demand.

The company has had many successes at home and abroad during 2025 not just through our Speedor range of high-speed doors but through its range of high quality shutters too. Both these leading brands  deliver a choice of solutions for industry and commerce. The fundamentals delivered by Hart are quality throughout manufacture to installation as well as service back-up to comply with changing national and international safety standards.

Further, Hart is cognisant of Climate Change and the issues arising and the need to keep both Hart’s and our clients’ carbon footprints to a minimum by using the latest manufacturing technology to streamline the manufacturing process.

Looking more closely at the Speedor brand, as Britain’s original manufacturer of the automatic high speed door, Hart has always led the way with developments in commercial door technology by being aware of issues facing industry. The Speedor high speed door is a good example of a robustly engineered door system for frequent use in high-traffic situations.

This rapid roll door is robust, requires low maintenance and delivers exceptional wind resistance in exposed areas. While its high-speed opening and closing action improve efficiency, the energy-saving potential of this rapid roll door is high, controlling internal temperatures, escaping dirt, odours and noise.

Special features include; moisture-controlled electrics, mechanical components shielded from dust and dirt, and a unique guide system offering exceptional wind resistance up to class 5 as defined by DIN EN 12424.  There are several options with the Speedor brand namely ECO, Storm,  Mini, Conveyor and Cleanroom which together strengthen Hart’s overall high-speed door offer.

Speedor Storm is Hart’s bestselling door, ideal for challenging applications where reliability is essential. Its increasing success is based on its improved, rugged, design predominately for external use up to 8m x 6m/6m x 8m) often in robust operating conditions with high wind loads.

The company has  always had quality as its prime driver. Success is not just in high-speed doors but shutters such as our new Typhoon range, the fundamentals are quality throughout manufacture to installation and service to comply with changing national and international safety standards.

Hart Door Systems is a global business supplying a range of door and shutter systems to sectors such as automotive, agriculture, communications, consumer foods, energy, environment, exports, food, logistics, manufacturing, power, sport, transport and utilities.  To underline its global success Hart’s doors can found in nearly 40 international airports, from Newcastle upon Tyne to the Falklands, from Aruba to Vladivostok. This is a remarkable achievement.

www.hartdoors.com

EEMUA Asset Integrity Leadership Certificate course – for new and established leaders in industrial engineering – starts 2 March 2026 – https://bit.ly/3YBRBX6. The AILC course equips people in industrial engineering Leadership roles to effectively consider relevant data, and take proven, practical steps to ensure that company assets perform reliably,  benefitting business efficiency and industrial safety through improved planning and execution; and helping avoid incidents and major accidents on COMAH/Seveso III sites and other high hazard industrial installations.Required, developed and verified by industry,

EEMUA’s AILC course specifically covers leadership areas that national regulators focus on – Leadership mindset, Team engagement, Decision making, and Influence.In-depth, part-time, EEMUA’s AILC courses utilise blended methods for flexible and effective learning and use of Leaders' time and is tailored to the industrial engineering needs of each Leader, site and company – with a workbook that builds from Day-1 to realise immediate, practical benefits. To find out more please visit https://bit.ly/3YBRBX6.

With the success of the 2026 course that is currently running, a further Asset Integrity Leadership Course has been arranged, starting in February 2027  please find more information and registration details for the 2027 course at Asset Integrity Leadership Certificate February 2027'   or  https://bit.ly/4g9M9EW.Free from shareholders and owners, EEMUA is the industrial engineering community’s not-for-profit association that invests all its revenue into sharing practical, 'how to' guidance resources, events, training, and more ~ all developed and verified ‘by industry, for industry'.

Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make EEMUA’s many resources work best for you and your team.

The company SPM Special Machine is an Italian manufacturer rapidly gaining recognition worldwide for its innovative design and engineering of special electrical equipment intended for hazardous areas where flammable gases, vapours or explosive dusts may be present (such as petrochemical plants, refineries, mines, offshore platforms).

In this article, we will present some of the key products developed by SPM Special Machine, ranging from cable reels to slip rings, and finally the products specifically designed for mining applications, such as medium-voltage junction boxes and the ATEX motor-driven cable reel system.

Explosion-proof cable reels can be equipped with either spring-driven or motor-driven systems (electric, hydraulic, or pneumatic).

The cable drum is manufactured entirely from stainless steel and is designed to handle flexible power, control, or data cables.

A roller guide system or a cable distribution system ensures uniform winding and unwinding of the cable.The slip ring consists of low thermal-resistance sliding contacts housed inside a flameproof enclosure (certified Ex d, ATEX, IECEx).

The electric motor is a heavy-duty torque motor Ex d, which automatically manages all phases of cable winding and unwinding.

Another area of expertise for SPM Special Machine is spring-driven cable reels.With a construction entirely in AISI 316L stainless steel, these products are suitable for long travel distances and medium-power applications, and can be installed either vertically or horizontally.

SPM Special Machine Srl – Collettori rotanti elettrici e avvolgicavo

Explosion-proof slip rings are electromechanical devices that allow the transmission of power, signals, or data between a fixed part and a rotating part, specifically designed and certified to operate in environments with an explosion risk caused by flammable gases, vapours, or potentially explosive mixtures.

They are essential in industries where even the smallest internal spark could trigger an explosion—such as chemical and petrochemical plants, refineries, offshore platforms, and marine cranes.

The company offers a complete range of explosion-proof slip rings, capable of covering a wide variety of requirements in terms of current ratings, number of electrical circuits, and data-transmission performance.Key advantages of SPM Special Machine explosion-proof slip rings compared to competitors 

• Low thermal power generated by the sliding electrical contacts;
• Current ratings up to 1200 A per active phase;
• Operating voltage up to 20 kV;
• Modular ring configuration for power, auxiliaries, digital/analog signals, data, and even fiber-optic transmission (FO-Ring), with a total number of rings up to 200 ;
• Very compact Ex db enclosures, treated with dedicated protective coatingsExplosion-proof classification of the SREX series (SREX150 / SREX300 / SREX506 / SREX690);
• Ex d → flameproof enclosure (gas)* Gas group: IIB* Temperature classes: T4 / T5;
• Certification schemes: ATEX / IECEx.

The main strength of the SREX explosion-proof slip ringsThe excellence of the SREX series lies in the innovative sliding contacts, patented by SPM Special Machine.

These ring-and-brush assemblies are manufactured using high-quality materials, engineered to withstand harsh environments such as marine and mining applications, and feature very low thermal power dissipation, allowing their integration into extremely compact Ex d enclosures.

All these technical solutions are highly appreciated by SPM Special Machine customers during installation and operation in their plants.

SPM Special Machine Srl – Collettori rotanti elettrici e avvolgicavo