PSSR examination scheduling: written schemes and due dates
PSSR examination scheduling for inspection bodies: how written schemes set the dates, the one-postponement rule, 28 day reports and outage planning.
Key takeaways
- PSSR has no default interval: the written scheme of examination sets the nature and frequency for each part.
- The date on the last report is the operating deadline, and only one postponement per examination is allowed.
- Reports are due within 28 days of the examination, or before the next date if that comes sooner.
- Most PSSR examinations depend on the client's shutdown, so the plan must follow outage calendars as well as due dates.
Under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, examination intervals come from the written scheme of examination, which a competent person draws up or certifies. Each report states the date after which the system may not be operated without a further examination. That date can be postponed once, by written agreement with the competent person and written notice to the enforcing authority before it passes.
How does PSSR examination scheduling differ from other statutory work?
PSSR examination scheduling starts from a document, not a fixed interval. The Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR) require the user of an installed system, or the owner of a mobile system, to hold a written scheme of examination before operating it. Regulation 8 says the scheme must cover protective devices, pressure vessels and pipelines where a defect may give rise to danger, and those parts of the pipework where a defect may give rise to danger.
The scheme must specify the nature and frequency of examination, any special preparation needed for a safe examination, and, where appropriate, an examination before first use. So two identical air receivers at two clients can have different intervals, because each scheme reflects its own operating conditions. The planner's source of truth is the scheme and the last report, item by item.
For how PSSR sits alongside lifting, electrical and ventilation regimes, see statutory inspection scheduling across regimes.
What sets the date for the next PSSR examination?
Regulation 9 requires the user or owner to have the parts in the scheme examined by a competent person within the intervals the scheme specifies. The competent person's report must then state the date, within the limits set by the scheme, after which the system may not be operated without a further examination. From that point, the date on the report is the deadline the plan must hit.
The flow below shows how one examination produces the inputs for the next.
- 1Written schemesets parts, nature and frequency
- 2Preparationclient isolates, drains and opens plant
- 3Examinationcompetent person examines listed parts
- 4Reportwithin 28 days, states next date
- 5Next due dateenters the plan for booking
Regulation 8 also requires the scheme to be reviewed at appropriate intervals by a competent person and modified if they recommend it. When a scheme changes, reload the intervals into the plan straight away. A shortened interval that stays in a PDF and never reaches the schedule is a common way to miss a date.
When can a PSSR examination be postponed?
Regulation 9(7) allows the date on the report to be postponed to a later date by written agreement between the competent person who made the report and the user or owner. Three conditions apply: the postponement must not give rise to danger, only one postponement is allowed for any one examination, and the user or owner must notify the enforcing authority in writing before the date specified in the report.
For planners this is a safety valve, and it should be used as one. If the plan relies on postponements to absorb capacity problems, the body loses its only fallback for genuine problems such as a delayed shutdown or late parts.
The document required by PSSR regulation 8 that identifies the parts of a pressure system to be examined and specifies the nature and frequency of examination and any preparation needed. It must be drawn up or certified as suitable by a competent person.
How should planners handle outages and shutdowns?
Many PSSR examinations need the system out of service: vessels drained, isolated and opened, pipework made safe. That means the client's production calendar decides when the work can happen, often months ahead. Steam boilers, process vessels and refrigeration plant are usually tied to planned outages, while small air receivers can often be done in a routine visit.
Work backwards from the due date. If a client's annual shutdown sits in August and a vessel's date is in October, book the shutdown. If the shutdown falls after the date, raise it with the client early, because the answer is either an earlier outage or the single postponement, and the postponement needs the competent person's agreement and a notice to the enforcing authority in time.
Worked example
A food manufacturer has one steam boiler, three air receivers and a refrigeration plant, all under one written scheme. The boiler and refrigeration plant need the two-week summer shutdown; the receivers do not. The planner books the boiler and refrigeration examinations inside the shutdown, allocates a competent engineer for each class, and schedules the receivers on a routine visit two months later, clustered with two nearby clients. The client gets one disruptive window a year and one short visit.
What should the PSSR examination scheduling checklist cover?
Use this before confirming any PSSR booking. Each line maps to a regulation or a frequent planning failure.
- ✓Current written scheme on file, with the date it was last reviewed
- ✓Every part listed in the scheme has its own due date in the plan
- ✓Due dates taken from the last report, not from anniversaries
- ✓Preparation requirements confirmed with the client (isolation, draining, access)
- ✓Booking fits inside a confirmed outage where the system must be shut down
- ✓Engineer competent for the equipment class and independent of its maintenance
- ✓Any postponement agreed in writing and notified to the enforcing authority before the due date
- ✓Report issue date tracked against the 28 day limit
Competence and independence checks are the same logic you would apply in a competence matrix for auditors: match the person to the equipment class before the date is offered.
What happens after the examination?
Regulation 9 requires the competent person to send the written report within 28 days of completing the examination, or before the date specified in the report if that is sooner. The report must state which parts were examined, their condition, any repairs or modifications needed and by when, the date for the next examination, and whether the scheme remains suitable.
Regulation 10 covers imminent danger. If the competent person believes the system will give rise to imminent danger unless repairs or changes are made, they must make a written report forthwith, give it to the user (and owner for a mobile system), and send it to the enforcing authority within 14 days of completing the examination. The system must not be operated until the work is done.
For the planner, three follow-ups come out of every report: the next due date, any repair deadline that needs a re-check, and any scheme change. Capture all three the day the report is issued.
How do you keep hundreds of schemes on track?
At scale, the difficulty is the number of independent clocks: every part of every scheme, each with its own date, preparation needs and outage dependency. Spreadsheets tend to hold one date per client, which hides the part that is due first. A better model stores each part as its own item, links it to the site and outage calendar, and flags anything within a set number of weeks of its date with no confirmed booking.
Good practice also separates the report writing capacity from the examination capacity. Engineers who spend a week on outages need time afterwards to meet the 28 day report limit, so the plan should protect that time. ScheduleAI treats these as constraints in one model; see how constraint-based scheduling works and due date tracking.
ScheduleAI is the audit scheduling software certification bodies use to plan ISO programmes from stage 1 to recertification.
ScheduleAI stores each part of a written scheme as its own item with its report date, books examinations inside client outage windows, checks engineer competence and independence, and leaves every booking for planner approval.
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How often must a pressure system be examined under PSSR?
PSSR sets no single interval. The written scheme of examination specifies the nature and frequency for each part, and the last report states the date after which the system may not be operated without a further examination.
Can a PSSR examination date be postponed?
Yes, once per examination, by written agreement between the competent person and the user or owner, if it does not give rise to danger and the enforcing authority is notified in writing before the date.
How long does the competent person have to issue the report?
Within 28 days of completing the examination, or before the date specified in the report for the next examination if that is sooner.
Who draws up the written scheme of examination?
The scheme must be drawn up, or certified as suitable, by a competent person, and reviewed at appropriate intervals.
What happens if the examiner finds imminent danger?
They must issue a written report forthwith, send it to the enforcing authority within 14 days of the examination, and the system must not be operated until the required work is done.
Do PSSR and LOLER examinations share scheduling rules?
They share the idea of a legal due date but differ in detail; see LOLER thorough examination scheduling.