Articles

Articles placed here are designed to assist LA's with recent changes and issues. Our articles are published regularly and may prove of interest:

• September 2011 Article 2: Trials & Tribulations of the CIEH Certificate in IPPC examination

  MCAL have been running this examination very successfully for the last 3 years. It is a robust, vigorous examination exploring the candidates knowledge, understanding and implementation of EPR processes. This is not an examination to be taken by those new to EPR. We recommend candidates have at least 2 years experience carrying out inspections and dealing with paperwork and legislation pertaining to the EPR regime.

  It consists of the candidate giving a 10-15 minute presentation with associated slide show followed by an approximate 45 minute question session. This is a professional examination and will therefore require a good deal of application/revision by the candidate. Please do not think you only need to turn up to get your pass!

  Some helpful tips for potential candidates:

  Tip 1
  Initial submission of paperwork can be the first pitfall. You should always present on the most complex of your installations. If you are unsure of that process and do not fully comprehend the activities on site it will become evident in the examination. So choose wisely!

  Other areas to cogitate - Is the paperwork current? Have you inspected each of the sites within the last 12 months? Are the current permits pertaining to all of your submitted installations enforceable? If they are old, badly written, lacking current changes, information, legislation, or are unenforceable you need to think how you would improve them and make that evident in your submitted report(s). If the permits are particularly gruesome it is suggested that you rewrite and submit them along with the old permit, thus illustrating to the examiners that you comprehend the importance of writing enforceable permits. This is a common problem in submitted documentation, so please check through your permits before submitting!

  Once the first hurdle is over and your submitted paperwork is accepted, it is important to prepare yourself adequately for the examination itself.

  Tip 2:
  Make your presentations interesting and engaging (not slide after slide of plain text from which you just read please!).

  Practice your presentation many times so that you do not run over the 15 minute cut off point. Examiners will ask you to stop if you go over this time. We cannot over-emphasise the importance of practicing presentations enough. If you have to trap someone in a room to get them to listen to you rehearse it over and over whilst holding a stopwatch then do it! Whilst presenting, do not deviate from your rehearsed script, you'll be amazed how easy it is to go off at a tangent and time has suddenly dissipated. Stay focused! Try not to let your nerves get the better of you. Just remember the examiners want you to do well and are not ogres.

  Tip 3:
  Don't just learn everything there is to know about the installation you are presenting on and forget about the other installations you have submitted. This is another common problem. Ensure you know all of your processes and associated legislation etc very well.

  Tip 4:
  How well do you know the general EPR regime? You need to demonstrate a good grounding even if no-one can possibly know it all back to front and upside down.

  Tip 5:
  Relax and smile!

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• August 2011 Article 1: The effects of the BREF note on SG6 (11)

  Earlier this year DEFRA published a recvision to SG6(11) for surface treatment using organic solvents.

  This revision takes the requirements of the BREF note and places them into the Sector guidance. Previous versions of SG6 concentrated on the SED requirements and it should be noted that these remain and are mandatory.

  The revised version places the BREF requirements into the note and adds these to the other VOC emission limits table (Table 6b). Note that the BREF limits are different to the SED limits not only numerically but also the units of measurement are different.

  Local Authorities with any A2 solvent using processes need to be aware that, rather stealthily, a requirement has been placed into the guidance for all operators to submit a report to their local authority by 31st December 2011 setting out the steps they will be taking to comply with the BREF emission limits.

  The usual method of ensuring this occurs is to vary the existing permit to include a condition requiring the report to be submitted, however the requirements set out in the SG note are not delineated in detail and reference to the BREF note is necessary to fully understand the requirements.

  For more information or to discuss your A2 solvent installation in more detail, contact martin@cranfieldassociates.co.uk.

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