Documents Library
Policies and Procedures
A collection of IDEST policy and procedure documents. Explaining IDEST Impartiality procedures and how Complaints and Concerns are handled
Click on document title to download
Signed copy of IDEST policy Statement.
[file date: 24/03/2025]
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 11623:2023
[file date: 07/03/2025]
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.
[file date: 22/03/2025]
The purpose of this procedure is to describe the procedure followed 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 on this webpage.
[file date: 21/12/2023]
IDEST’s Impartiality Statement.
[file date: 24/03/2025]
Torque Newsletters
Archive of IDEST Torque Newsletters
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
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!
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
- Know your scope for testing
- Cylinder failure reporting
- Red Quadrant reintroduced
- Hydrotest Safety
- Screens for proof testing
- New valves to be CE marked
- Modified Cylinder Valves
- AP Progressive Valves
- Fire extinguisher failure
- M26 Connection Guidance
- Gauges 250 uses / 3-years
- Scheme Committee
- UKAS accreditation of IDEST
- Non-UKAS Calibration?
April 2024
• Unauthorised stamp use
• eBay stickers
• Failing a warranted cylinder
• Punching quadrant labels
• IDEST Price Increases
• PI or Rho cylinder charges
• Correct cylinder stamping
• VCA test centre complaint
• Tales from an inspection
• Care of pressure gauges
• Excess pressure control
• Death by cylinder corrosion
• Feedback and errata
• Enter to WIN £100!
July 2024
• Website technical issue
• Gauge Solutions feature
• Competition Survey results
• Stamp Marking
• Composite test intervals
• Valve CE marking, follow-up
• Equipment for sale
• Hydro Pot Incident
• Valve marking information
• Torque wrench myths
• Cylinder and valve drawings
• ISO 17020 Announcement
• Gauge Comparison Sheet
• ISO 18119 amendment
• Sending documents to IDEST
• Valve servicing
October 2024
• Indemnity Insurance
• New style Quadrants only!
• Acceptable Tests
• Trained versus Competent
• Old Apeks valves resurface
• Paperwork and You
• Scheme fees
• Meeting at Stoney Cove
• Eye test common sense
• Gauge 250 uses / 3-years
• Hydro Pot Incident, follow-up
• Website lists of centres
• More valve woes
• Cylinder neck corrosion
• Zanzibar opportunity
• Market place cylinders
• PSI-PCI on Chinese Cylinders
• SLC revisited
• Laser engraving or marking
• Mini-Cylinder Valve Torque
January 2025
• Go-Diving Show 2025
• Website map improvements
• UKAS Audit Nov-2024
• UK Risk assessment updated
• Cylinders shipped in kit form
• Are your connections safe?
• Inspection of manifolds
• Neck corrosion survey result
• DOT-3AL cylinder ‘escape’
• AP mini-cylinder torque
• IDEST Ltd Training Centres
• Scheme Committee Meeting
• ADR 2025
• ISO 18119 Amendment 2
• IDEST Labels, final warning!
• IDEST Test Centre Update
Technical Information Sheet
A library of Technical Information Sheets issued by IDEST
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.
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. Always specify ISO 17025 calibration on your purchase order.
This latest version covers facilities in the UK, Holland, Ireland, ANSI and Cyprus. [file date: 13/02/2024]
Do you want to become or maintain an IDEST Cylinder Inspection or Test Centre technician. Download this document to find out what is involved.
[file date: 05/03/2024]
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. [file date: 10/11/2015]
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. [file date: 04/01/2023]
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. [file date: 08/01/2024]
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 are 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.
[file date: 05/02/2024]
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 [file date: 16/03/2025]
Download this Zip file, which contains specimen policies, procedures; forms; templates; checklists etc. These are core documents that can be adopted and customised for your cylinder testing to aid compliance with BS EN ISO 18119. We update templates and other files regularly so please check back here often. [file date: 26/03/2025]
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. The data is collated by IDEST as a key input to the UK Dive Industry Committee risk assessment. [file date: 25/03/2025]
ISO 18119, in the absence of any local regulation, sets the internal examination (visual) period to annual. This document presents a generic risk assessment, conducted by the whole of the UK diving industry, to provide clear direction as to acceptable intervals for the internal examination of
cylinders. Working in accordance with the stipulations of this risk assessment allows internal (visual) examination intervals to potentially be increased to a maximum of 2.5 years. [file date: 16/10/2024]
To identify the current IDEST Inspection and Test Centres, please refer to this list, or our Centres map. This list will be updated on a regular basis, as changes take place. [file date: 18/03/2025]
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