Documents Library

Policies and Procedures

A collection of IDEST policy and procedure documents. Explaining IDEST Impartiality procedures and how Complaints and Concerns are handled

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Signed copy of IDEST policy Statement.

Updated 4th Feb 2022. Includes the latest requirements for INSPECTING and TESTING Transportable Pressure Receptacles (Cylinders) for Breathing Gases manufactured from Steel and Aluminium to, BS EN ISO 18119:2018 +A1:2021, and Composite Materials to BS EN ISO 11623:2015

Complaints and concerns form. To be submitted to the Admin Manager in the event of a complaint, or concern, being raised against IDEST or any IDEST Centre.

The purpose of this procedure is to describe the policies and the procedure to follow in the event of a  complaint or appeal about an IDEST decision, inspector or any other member of IDEST. The Complaints Form D029 can be downloaded from a link in this document P011.

IDEST’s Impartiality Statement and its Complaints & Appeals processes explained.

Torque Newsletters

Archive of IDEST Torque Newsletters

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May 2017

• Keeping procedures up-to-date
• The Great Northern dive Show
• Lost IDEST Test centres
• New IDEST Test Centres
• Complaints
• Calibration Certificates
• Canary Court Decision

 

August 2017

• Keeping up the standards
• Shore Hardness explained
• Job Sheets – Content & Usage
• Requests for images of unusual valves
• Ambient temperature 20 ˚C
• Use of a pressure snubber
• Dive Team cylinder valves spares update
• MDE Nylon 66 white HP inserts

November 2017

• Oval thread gauges
• Cuts and gouges
• Renewal dates
• Visual or hydro
• Use of acids for cleaning cylinders
• ISO 18119 update
• Quarterly failed cylinder returns forms

February 2018

• Preparing for GDPR
• IDEST website launched
• IDEST training centres
• Shy on postage
• Aluminium Oxidisation
• Cylinders must be leak tested
• Paying IDEST invoices
• IDEST quadrant stickers
• Calibration certificates
• Are your documents up-to-date?

May 2018

• Scanned documents to IDEST
• Oval thread gauges
• Date of certification for new technicians
• Non-IDEST stamps
• Air Services
• Test chamber ‘O’ ring & grove
• Standard documentation
• Birchley Products has new owner

August 2018

• New ISO Standards coming
• New IDEST quadrant sticker
• Standardised job sheets
• Unmarked thread gauges
• What If…?
• Are you sealed?
• Birchley Products – new owner

November 2018

• New ISO Standard published
• Signage for cylinder discharging
• Blocked valves
• Leak Tests
• Action in case of a complaint
• Scanning documents to IDEST
• Cylinder stamping must be legible
• Have you moved?
• Come and see my etchings
• Does the whole system fail?
• Birchley Products update

February 2019

No issue produced

May 2019

  • REVISED Tech Info Sheet T004
  • Cylinders Marked ‘Breathing Air’
  • BS EN ISO 18119:2018 Advice
  • Valid Calibration Certificates
  • Inspection Date Reminders
  • Additional Centre Information
  • Are You Moving?
  • π Marked Cylinders
  • Mis-match Checks
  • Control or Safety?

August 2019

  • Sending Calibration Certificates on renewal
  • Certificates made out to wrong company
  • Who manufactured your thread gauges?
  • When to install your safety device
  • Pi (π) Marked Cylinders
  • Changing to the new Quadrant
  • Over pressurisation control of hydrostatic test rigs

November 2019

No issue produced

February 2020

  • Periodic Inspections/PIs (Visuals)
  • Metal stamping after hydraulic tests
  • New quadrant labels
  • Checking of G5/8″ threads
  • Working under ISO 18119 constraints
  • ‘Calibrated’ or ‘uncalibrated’ torque wrench
  • Using the correct logo?
  • Hydro or a visual? – can’t decide
  • Price increases for 2020
  • BREXIT – how will it affect us?
 

May 2020

  • New addition to merchandising
  • Recent UKAS Audit Feedback
  • New Price List from 1st April
  • Are you selling Air Guns?
  • Display stands for leaflets
  • IDEST NEWS being circulated
  • Inspection deficiencies to be listed
  • Change to inspection requirements
  • Torque wrench calibration checks
  • Incompatible cylinder “O” ring grove and valve flange.
  • IDEST Test Centre Update
 

August
&
November
2020

No issues produced

2021

No issues produced in 2021

January 2022

  • Introducing our new Chairman
  • Larger labels available
  • Placing label orders and pro-forma invoices
  • Annual renewals
  • UKAS & ILAC calibration laboratories
  • 18119 Certification of IDEST Centres

April 2022

  • Obituary for Steve Burton
  • New email addresses
  • Rendering a cylinder unserviceable
  • Inspection deficiencies
  • Why calibrate torque wrenches
  • New kids on the block?
 

August 2022

• Wall thickness measurement
• IDEST maintains accreditation
• Transition countdown…
• Potentially Unsafe Air Gun Valve
• New IDEST Administration Office
• IDEST Quadrant Labels

December 2022

  • No ISO 18119, no IDEST approval
  • Technician registration on IDEST website
  • Mismatched threads kill a Dutch Dive Instructor
  • Valve thread failure near miss!
  • ISO 22434 updated 2022 version
  • Twinset valve mystery
  • IDEST attend the UK DIC
  • Business to Business (B2B) Testing
  • UKAS Intensive Audit IDEST to ISO 17024
  • Risk Assessment prior to IDEST Inspection
  • Au revoir Gordon Lambert
  • IDEST Welcomes Jack Ingle

March 2023

• ISO 18119 implementation period ends
• IDEST labels
• Booking-in Forms and Certificates
• Cylinders Stamped
‘Breathing Air’
• Centre stamps with letter plus number
• Poor Quality Air Gun Cylinders
• Fallout from low-cost compressors
• Articulating Industrial Endoscope
• Further training / YouTube Channel
• Composite Cylinders -Minimum storage pressure
• Go Diving Show, March 2023
• Flying hoses!
• Formula 1 Powerboat cylinders
• Cylinder valves with built in flow restrictors
• Save the date!

PLUS EXTRA DOCUMENT
click here

June 2023

• Member meeting success
• Loss of the Titan submersible
• ISO 17025 vs. ISO 9001
• DOT Cylinder Guidance
• Composite Cylinders failures
• 300 Bar valve – modified
• Valve / Cylinder Matching
• IDEST Property! – Quadrant Labels
• Tamperproof Oxygen Labels
• IDEST’S Latest Video
• IDEST Training – Quiz yourself!
• Inhouse Training
• Risk Assessment – Water ingress
• An Inspector rants!

September 2023

• BS EN ISO 11623 updated
• UKAS audit IDEST
• Directive on eyesight acuity
• Composite re-test marking
• Your next inspection
• Certificate renewal dates
• Red Quadrant Label
• Oxygen service
• More internal rust?
• Mini Diving Equipment
• Pi (π) and Rho (ρ) marks
• IDEST is the “worst thing”
• Bad ideas!?
• Welcome Mike Wall
• Admin contact change

Technical Information Sheet

A library of Technical Information Sheets issued by IDEST

T001

Personal Protection Equipment for centre technicians

T002

Creating Master to Working gauges Comparison charts

T003

Oxygen Cleaning of dive cylinders for  use with Nitrox and Mixed gases

T004

How to correctly stamp diving cylinders after hydro testing

T005

Understanding Thread Gauge Classes

T006

Valve maintenance at the  cylinder inspection

T007

Valve/cylinder mismatch by THREADS

T008

Valve/cylinder mismatch by PRESSURE 

T009

Availability of parts for APEKS-AP1158 valve

T010

Shore-hardness
explained

T011

Not available – currently being updated

T012

An understanding of Calibration Certificates

T013

Extending Calibration periods for thread gauges

T014

Hydro or Visual – can’t decide

T015

Correct Quadrant Labels for hydros and visuals

Safety Notices

Safety notices to download and use in the workshop for your technician and public safety.

Ultrasonic Cleaning

Stamping

Degassing

IDEST Documents

This is a collection of useful documents that are available for the technicians working in IDEST assessed inspection and test centres.  They cover a range of requirements from IDEST policy statement to documents that would be useful in a cylinder inspection or test centre.

To open the document, click on the title.

New updated version that covers facilities in the UK, Holland, Ireland, ANSI and Cyprus.

This is the current list of UKAS accredited test laboratories, that should be used for the calibration of your test equipment, such as Thread Gauges, Torque Wrenches and Master Pressure Gauges.  Not every laboratory can calibrate every item of equipment, so check which labs can deal with your requirements.

This latest version covers facilities in the UK, Holland, Ireland, ANSI and Cyprus.

Do you want to become or maintain an IDEST Cylinder Inspection or Test Centre technician.  Download this document to find out what is involved.

This document was issued by IDEST to all approved  Inspection and Test Centres, on 26th April 2019, in order to help clarify the situation when interpreting the latest Standard BS EN ISO 18119:2018.

From 1st July 2009, the HSE requirement for a “competent person” to carry out cylinder testing was clearly defined.  This document gives full explanation as to the type of certification required depending on the number of technicians being used.

IMCA amended their Code of Practice D018, to fall in line with the other industry sectors with regard to periodicity of cylinder inspection and testing.  This is a revised 2023 version of the Periodicity Chart.

If your Test Centre is approved to inspect and test Composite Cylinders, then the Blue IDEST Quadrant MUST NOT be put on those cylinders.  Instead, a test sticker must be used that contains all the required information outlined in the Standard ISO16230. Click on the title above to download a suitable label.  This will need to be amended to contain your company details and IDEST Test Centre number. It must also include the country location e.g. UK or GB, to comply.

RED Safety label available FOC

It has been identified that Test Centres are receiving units where the pressure rating of the cylinder does not match that of the valve.  This is considered poor engineering practice. To help address this situation IDEST has produced a RED Safety label that centres can request. They a r FREE OF CHARGE and come in a sheet of SIX labels. if your centre receives any such units do not hesitate to contact Admin on admin@idest.co.uk

This is the letter/form to complete, if your centre does not use thread gauges for checking diving cylinders or valves on a frequent basis.  IDEST allows centres to use a Tracker Sheet for each set of gauges,, that will not exceed 250 uses within a 3 year period.  Once a gauge has been used 250 times, or three years have elapsed, whichever occurs first, then the gauges must be re-calibrated.  These gauges do not then need to be recalibrated every year.

Whether you are interested in an Initial Inspection to become an IDEST Inspection Centre  or Test Centre, or you need to arrange a triennial re-inspection, this document needs submitting to the  IDEST Administration Office.  Download and complete this letter/form and email it to – admin@idest.co.uk

You can download the IDEST Statement concerning this Standard, the use of existing blue quadrant stickers and the cessation of using the letter ‘V’ for Visual Inspections (PIs)

Download this Zip file, which contains all the new files, procedures and forms, required to migrate to the new cylinder testing standard BS EN ISO 18119. 

This WORD document can be downloaded and used to record Failed Cylinders that your Centre has has each quarter.  The completed form must be saved as part of your company records and a copy sent to admin@idest.co.uk.

This latest document explains why it is imperative that you have your thread gauges, master gauge and torque wrench calibrated by a UKAS approved Calibration Laboratory.  IDEST will not be accepting calibration certificates for these items from non-UKAS approved labs.

To identify the current IDEST Inspection and Test Centres, please refer to the above list.  This list will be updated on a regular basis, as changes take place.

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Information Leaflets

Four leaflets that explain the work of IDEST, Cylinder Testing and Marking.  All available from IDEST Administration Office or download here and print

All About IDEST

All about IDEST

Marking Cylinders

markings

Testing Cylinders

testing

Airgun v Diving