03-02-2012, 10:51 PM
(03-02-2012, 08:13 PM)Yorkie Wrote: At the risk of sounding cynical, I dare say that there are so-called 'heating professionals' who can't even spell 'combustion analyser' let alone know how to use one. Whether the traning module will add to their fund of knowledge, only time will tell.
At the rate things are going, in the not too distant future it will be mandatory to hold qualifications in colonic irrigation!
Agreed. Unfortunately, left to themselves, regulators have a strong vested interest to keep increasing both the remit and the depth of their regulations in order to justify their existence. And in this space they can always use the trump card of "safety". In this respect, CORGI wasn't too bad as it had the interests of its members to think about (which was actually the reason it lost the regulatory-type function). Now the Gas Safe Register is standalone and has a "Chief Executive" and the full panoply of corporate infrastructure, they have to keep adding requirements if they are to grow their little "empire" and further their careers.
The problem is, increased regulation doesn't automatically result in increased safety - what tends to happen is that as the rules get more complex, and harder to comply with, more tradesmen start to ignore them. And not just the silly regs, too much regulation makes it more likely that people will start to ignore the lot. Furthermore, more cowboys move in to undercut those who do work to code as householders regard the legitimate tradesmen as extortionately expensive.
The secret of good regulation is making sure it is pragmatic and appropriate to those who have to comply. And a lot of what we see now isn't either.
Jeremy
