Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)Guidance NotesPressure Equipment Regulations, 2009Regulation 2 - Scope of Application |
| (1) | These Regulations shall apply to the design, manufacture, operation, repair, modification, maintenance, inspection and testing of pressure equipment with a design pressure equal to or greater than 50 kPa, in terms of the relevant health and safety standard incorporated into these Regulations under section 44 of the Act. |
| (2) | Regulations 3, 4, 5, 9(1), 9(2) and 9(3) shall not apply to pressure equipment in use or on order prior to the publication of these Regulations, which equipment shall be designed and constructed according to the requirements applicable at the time of order. |
| (3) | The following pressure equipment shall be excluded from these Regulations: |
| (a) | Piping for the supply, distribution and discharge of water below its boiling point at atmospheric pressure and associated pressure equipment and headraces such as penstocks, pressure tunnels, pressure shafts for hydro-electric installations and their related specific pressure accessories; |
| (b) | aerosol dispensers; |
| (c) | pressure equipment intended for the functioning of road and rail vehicles, excluding a fuel gas system; |
| (d) | pressure equipment comprising casings or machinery where the dimensioning, choice of material and manufacturing rules are based primarily on requirements for sufficient strength, rigidity and stability to meet the static and dynamic operational effects or other operational characteristics and for which pressure is not a significant design factor, and such pressure equipment may include — |
| (i) | engines, including turbines and internal combustion engines; |
| (ii) | reciprocating steam engines, gas turbines, steam turbines, turbo-generators, compressor engines, pumps and actuating devices; |
| (e) | open metal-making pots and blast furnaces |
| (f) | housing for electrical machinery such as switchgear, control gear, transformers and rotating machines; |
| (g) | tyres and flexible pressurised casings used for recreational purposes; |
| (h) | fixed electrical hot-water storage container of water capacity from 15 litres to 450 litres operating at a maximum pressure of 600 kPa manufactured to the requirements of SANS 151, which shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of SANS 10254. |
Notes:
| (a) | Order placement means the date that the contract is placed by the user for basic engineering design |
| (b) | Any health and safety standard in SANS 347 may be used as if it was incorporated in previous Regulations. Equipment that was manufactured and certified to a Health and safety standard under previous acts/regulations prior to implementation of PER are deemed to be certified. |
| (c) | The intention of PER 2(3)(a) was to exclude piping and pipelines used for the transport of water. |
| (d) | The intention was to exclude only piping and pipe lines used for the transport of water, but not to exclude gas filled accumulators used for the regulation of pressure surges. |
| (e) | Locomotives (steam generators on rail or road) were not intended to be excluded. |
| (f) | Existing pressure equipment that was manufactured prior to PER that requires to be replaced must follow the rules of the PER. Pressure Equipment that was regulated under previous regulations may be repaired and modified with full AIA involvement and does not need to be categorised. |
| (g) | An existing pressure vessel that was not regulated under previous regulations but could now fall within the scope of the PER does not need to comply to PER provided that any modification to be done will not cause the pressure vessel to have been regulated by the previous regulations in force at the time of construction. If the pressure vessel after the modification falls within previous regulations, the pressure vessel now needs to comply to the PER requirements. |
| (h) | Equipment categorized as SEP as per the relevant SANS 347 graphs are regulated but need not meet any other regulatory requirements, but shall be manufactured to SEP rules as required in SANS 347 |
| (i) | PER does not regulate external pressure (vacuum.) |
| (j) | PER only regulates pressure equipment with a design pressure equal to or greater than 50 kPa irrespective of any contradictory definition given in the PER. |
| (k) | Pressurised road tankers, rail tankers, intermediate bulk containers (IBC’s), ISO container and multi element gas containers are regulated by the PER. |
| (l) | Equipment manufactured prior to 23 October 1992 and which was designed, constructed and manufactured in accordance with regulations in force at that time do not require a certificate of manufacture (see regulation 2 of VUP). Re-certification to the PER is not a requirement. |
| (m) | Hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, or actuators meeting the requirements of PER 2(3)(d) are not regulated |
| (n) | Refrigeration and air conditioning compressors of the semi-hermetic and open drive type are excluded |
| (o) | Hermetic compressors are classified as pressure vessels and for categorization purposes the free volume of the refrigerant shall be used for categorization. |
| (p) | Plate heat exchangers shall be classified as pressure vessels and shall be categorised as per SANS 347. |
| (q) | Imported pressure equipment with a design pressure of 50kPa that is not conformity assessed and is exempted from the PED, does not meet the requirement of the PER. |
| (r) | All flexible hoses that fall within the scope of the PER shall be manufactured, modified or repaired in accordance with approved health and safety standards and shall meet the conformity assessment requirements of SANS 347. |
| (s) | Internal pipe coils in atmospheric storage tanks shall be handled as piping. |
| (t) | Beer kegs are regulated by the PER. |
| (u) | Fuel gas vehicles are regulated by the PER. |
| (v) | The intent of Regulation 2.(2) was not to make any of the Regulations within the PER retrospective. |
| (w) | The Water referenced in 3 (a) above is raw water and potable water. |