Booked on a job he can't do
The office books a commercial catering job for your engineer. He's great with domestic boilers. His commercial catering category lapsed last year when he didn't renew it, and nobody noticed. It's picked up on the morning of the job, and the office scrambles to find someone else.
The same week, an analyser comes due for calibration. It's in a van. Nobody knows until the engineer mentions it.
Neither problem is anyone's fault in particular. The information exists on paper somewhere. Nobody's job is to watch it.
Why renewals are missed
Each engineer holds a set of ACS categories: core domestic, appliances, maybe commercial, LPG or others. Each has its own renewal cycle. Gas Safe registration is renewed per business, with categories listed per engineer. Analysers need regular calibration. All of this lives on certificates in a folder and on stickers on equipment.
| Record | Common problem |
|---|---|
| ACS categories per engineer | Folder, not checked against jobs |
| Gas Safe card categories | Not compared with bookings |
| Analyser calibration | Sticker on the device |
| Other training | Certificates on phones |
Categories also change as the business changes. You take on some commercial work, an engineer adds a category, another lets one lapse because they rarely use it. The office's idea of who can do what is often a year or two out of date.
What lapses cost
An engineer doing work outside their current categories is a serious matter for your business and your registration. Jobs rebooked on the morning cost the day. Lapsed calibration means readings taken with an instrument out of date. And renewals left late are harder to schedule around a busy diary.
Which categories each job needs is for you and your registration body. We make sure the records are current and visible.
It also affects subcontractors. If you use self-employed engineers, their categories and analyser calibration matter to your business too, and they are even less likely to be tracked than your own team's.
Customers and commercial clients may also ask for evidence of competence before a job, particularly for commercial or LPG work. Producing current certificates quickly is part of looking like a firm that runs properly.
The register we build
- Engineer records: each engineer's ACS categories and expiry dates, Gas Safe card details and other training, with scans.
- Analyser register: each analyser's serial, holder and calibration due date, with its certificate attached.
- Expiry warnings: engineers and the office get reminders ahead of each expiry, at intervals you set.
- Job category tags: job types in your job software are tagged with the categories they need.
- Allocation check: when a job is allocated, the system warns if the engineer doesn't hold the tagged category or it expires before the job.
- Loan tracking: when an analyser goes for calibration, the spare's allocation is recorded.
We set it up by photographing each engineer's current certificates and each analyser's calibration sticker, and your office confirms the details before the reminders start.
Current records, right engineer, every job
Renewals are booked well ahead. Jobs are allocated to engineers who hold the categories. Analysers are calibrated on schedule, with the certificate on file. And when anyone asks for evidence, it's a click away.
It also helps with planning training. The owner can see where the team is thin on a category and plan who should add it, instead of discovering the gap when a job comes in.
Engineers also appreciate the reminders. Most would rather book a renewal assessment in a quiet month than be told it has lapsed in the middle of winter.
Is this your team?
- ACS certificates sit in a folder that nobody checks.
- Jobs have been booked for engineers without the right category.
- Analyser calibration is tracked by stickers.
- Renewals are arranged at the last minute.
- You can't quickly show who holds which categories.