Notice to RGIs – COVID-19
As you are all aware our nation is facing an unprecedented situation in relation to COVID-19. We are receiving many queries in relation to the normal day-to-day work that is carried out by RGIs and what the recommendations are in terms of entering people’s homes to carry out your work.
RGII strongly recommend that all RGIs follow the HSE guidelines for protecting yourself, in relation to social distancing, personal hygiene, respiratory hygiene and coughing/sneezing etiquette.
In relation to gas work specifically that RGIs carry out on a day-to-day basis in people’s homes, we recommend that you carry out your own risk assessment before arranging work and entering any property.
The following are guidelines only for risk assessment, please use your own discretion when assessing the necessity to schedule work and enter;
- Has the customer been to an affected area in the last 14 days?
- Have you been suffering from any symptoms in the last 72 hours?
- Has the customer or persons present suffering from any symptoms at present or within the last 72hrs?
- Is the dwelling/premise in which the work is being carried out, one which Covid-19 could be present or at a higher risk (Hospital, Doctor’s surgery, Health centre, Nursing home, etc.)?
- Is the customer unwilling to allow you enter their premises?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, we recommend you re-evaluate the necessity for work to go ahead.
If you have arranged a call to a property and have agreed that you will enter to carry out work, please consider the following measures while working in households;
- Ensure you are wearing any Personal Protective Equipment you deem necessary
- Where possible, ask that persons inside the house re-locate to a different room while the work is being carried out
- If persons cannot move into a different room, ask that they always keep to the recommended social distances from you
- Be especially mindful of vulnerable persons, and ask that they move to a separate room if possible
- If you deem required, disinfect any surfaces that you will need to touch before beginning work (boiler control panels, heating control panels, thermostat knobs, gas control knobs, electrical switches etc.)
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth – if you touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your contaminated hands, you can transfer the virus from the surface to yourself
- Practice good respiratory hygiene, that is, when coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – discard tissue immediately into a closed bin and clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water
- Carry out the work with due regard to; your own personal safety, IS813/ISEN1949, Manufacturer’s Instructions and all the above
- Issue the certificate as normal
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly using soap and water or use alcohol-based hand-sanitiser once you have left the premises, remove, dispose and/or sanitise any PPE used
The most important action we can take to protect ourselves from COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is regular hand-washing and good respiratory hygiene. Read a step-by-step guide from the HSE on how to clean your hands.
If you have specific COVID-19 queries or questions, please refer to your doctor or the HSE guidelines.
Certificate Sales & Returns
Please call 01 4997998 to place an order for certificates. Please email any queries to info@rgii.ie. Please note the company remains functional and emails will be addressed daily. Please also note there is currently a delay of 2-3 days for processing certificate orders. RGII are also aware that An Post are currently experiencing delays with post.
If you wish to order certificates, please email info@rgii.ie, with your RGI number in the subject line and your cert order in the body of the email, requesting a call back. Please allow 3-5 working days for a call back. Please note there may be restrictions on numbers of certificates available for purchase during this time.
During the Taoiseach’s address on St. Patrick’s night, he indicated that there is new emergency legislation due to be enacted tomorrow, Thursday March 19th. Following the announcement of the details of any policy changes, we will be reviewing our current Business Continuity Plan in order to act accordingly with any required business procedural changes in order to comply with National COVID-19 Policy. We have a remote working plan in place to ensure that all business operations can be completed, primarily via email within extended timelines, due to a three- day quarantine on opening post and limited office access, for essential on-site only tasks.
Annual Inspection & Audit
RGII will continue to carry out inspections unless instructed otherwise by the authorities.
We ask for you to work with us to ensure your Inspection & Audit obligations are met.
We need to ensure that all appropriate measures are in place during the inspection for the safety of everyone involved.
Where possible, we ask that if you have installation work or other gas works where no persons or public are present in dwellings (e.g. building sites, renovation work), that you contact your Inspector to arrange an inspection as soon as is practicable.
As always, our inspectors remain on-hand to answer any technical queries by phone, queries can also be raised by filling out the following form.