Unsafe Situations & the GIUSP: A CCN1 Guide

When you find a gas fault, you need a consistent way to decide how serious it is and exactly what to do about it. That's what the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (GIUSP) gives you — a shared decision framework every Gas Safe engineer follows, so the same fault is treated the same way by everyone. This guide explains the classifications and the actions. It's revision material; only a Gas Safe registered engineer may act on gas faults.

The two classifications

Immediately Dangerous (ID) — an installation or appliance that, if used, is or would be an immediate danger to life or property. Examples: a flue spilling products into a room, an open flue with no combustion ventilation, or a loose connection on a communal flue. An ID situation must not be left in use.

At Risk (AR) — one or more faults that could, in the future, become a danger. The appliance isn't an immediate threat, but it shouldn't continue in use until put right. Many real faults are AR rather than ID.

If something is unsafe but doesn't meet the bar for either, you still advise the customer in writing of the non-compliance and recommend it's corrected — you simply don't apply a formal classification to it.

The procedure: make safe first

The overriding duty is to make the situation safe. In practice that follows a clear order:

1. Identify and classify the fault as ID or AR.
2. Seek the customer's permission to turn off the affected appliance or installation.
3. If permission is given: turn off, attach a warning notice/label to the appliance, record it, and advise the responsible person in writing.
4. If permission is refused on an AR situation: you can't force it off, but you must warn them clearly and ask them to sign to confirm they accept responsibility, then record and report as the procedure requires.
5. If it's ID and permission to disconnect is refused: the situation can't be left as-is. Where you can make it safe you do; where you can't, you contact the National Gas Emergency Service so it can be dealt with.

Warning notices and records

When you turn an appliance off under the GIUSP, you attach a warning notice (a label) to it stating that it must not be used, leave a copy with the customer, and keep your own record. This protects the customer — who knows not to switch it back on — and protects you, by documenting the unsafe situation and the action taken.

Where RIDDOR fits — and where it doesn't

RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) is a separate legal reporting duty. Certain serious gas incidents — for example a death or major injury, or a dangerous gas fitting — are reportable to the HSE under RIDDOR. It's important not to confuse it with the immediate make-safe duty: GIUSP is what you do on site; RIDDOR is a reporting obligation that may follow. Registered businesses also report certain dangerous fittings to Gas Safe Register.

Judgement matters

Classifying isn't box-ticking. The same physical fault can be ID in one setting and AR in another depending on whether the appliance is in use, who's exposed, and how immediate the danger is. The procedure gives you the framework; your competent judgement applies it. When in genuine doubt, treat the situation cautiously and make it safe.

1. GIUSP = IGEM/G/11. Two classes only: ID and AR. NCS withdrawn as a class in 2015.
2. ID: immediate danger to life/property — must not be left in use.
3. AR: fault(s) that could become dangerous — shouldn't continue in use.
4. Always seek permission to turn off; label, record and advise in writing.
5. AR refused: warn and get a signature accepting responsibility.
6. ID refused / can't make safe: call the National Gas Emergency Service, 0800 111 999.
7. RIDDOR is a separate reporting duty to the HSE — don't confuse it with the on-site make-safe action.