F- Gases - BRL 100
COMPANY CERTIFICATION OF F-GASES ACCORDING TO BRL (ASSESSMENT DIRECTIVE) 100
INTRODUCTION
Against the background of the greatly increased worldwide awareness concerning the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions (Kyoto protocol) and ozone-depleting substances (Montreal protocol), (international) legislation has been tightened significantly in recent decades.
The derived European F-gases Regulation and Ozone Layer Regulation have had an impact on Dutch legislation, and have led to mandatory measures relating to the installation, maintenance and service industry with regard to equipment in which F-gases have been used.
BRL 100
The assessment directive BRL 100 version 2.0 adopted by the Director General of Public Works and Water management since June 2019 is the successor to prior regulations, and aims to prevent leakage of F-gases in the execution of installation, maintenance and service work. This new version will take effect on 1 January 2020, see Government Gazette no: 50334 of 12 September 2019. The related assessment directive BRL 200 version 2.0 concerns the knowledge of competence of personnel entrusted with the said activities.
SCOPE
The BRL 100 standard applies only in the Netherlands; the assessment directive is designed for certification of companies dedicated to the installation, maintenance or service, repair and decommissioning of (stationary) refrigeration equipment, air conditioning equipment and heat pumps in which F-gases have been used. Possession of this certificate is required by law for companies that perform work for clients (third parties).
STANDARD CONTENT
BRL 100 is a process certification directive based on the ISO 17065 standard. The directive includes review of a general part of the assessment directive. It contains requirements relating to the organisation and knowledge and competence of staff, as well as the design, introduction and maintenance of an underlying quality management system.
The quality management system – which is based on the principle of continuous improvement – focuses on aspects such as management responsibility, taking precautions to prevent leakage of F-gases and compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
In addition to carrying out the audit's points of attention described above, according to BRL 100, review also includes inspections in which the knowledge and competence of the staff and the follow-up of procedures and work instructions are tested in practice. The research methods used by the certification body are interviews and document research.
The inspections are carried out on the basis of recent projects and registrations.
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
In the event that an organisation does not yet have an F-gases certificate for enterprises, an initial audit will be conducted which, if successful, will lead to the issue of a provisional certificate. Within one year of the issue of the certificate, an (additional) inspection will be carried out which will result in a final certificate; an audit and an inspection will be carried out within two years thereafter and at least once every two years thereafter.
Organisations that already have an F-gases certificate for enterprises (based on the current or previous version of the Assessment Directive) will be audited and inspected at least once every two years.
ADDITIONAL STANDARDS
BRL 100 can be tested as a stand-alone standard or in combination with other standards such as ISO 9001 (quality) or VCA (safety), PED inspections and inspections of pressure equipment.