Specialist equipment manufacturer Mechline Developments has again joined forces with leading
spare parts supplier First Choice to support the 10th Gas Safety Week, which runs from the 14th to
20th September.

Gas Safety Week provides a platform for organisations across the UK to work together to raise
awareness of gas safety, and together Mechline and First Choice want to remind the foodservice
industry of the dangers of poor quality and poorly maintained gas appliances and gas hoses, which
can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

The foodservice and hospitality industry has a responsibility to keep staff and customers safe from
the dangers posed by gas appliances. It is imperative that foodservice operators make sure that
their gas appliances are safety checked every year and serviced regularly, also, that the person
employed to do the work is Gas Safe Registered and therefore not working illegally.

First Choice takes pride in being home to specialist training division, First Choice Training, which
delivers professional training courses and assessments under the Nationally Accredited Certification
Scheme for Gas Fitting Operatives (ACS) (certificates of which are accepted by Gas Safe Register).
The ACS ensures that individuals are assessed against a set of national criteria based on current
standards, best working practice and technology. First Choice Training run a course in their Covid-
compliant training centre specifically for catering engineers, which is facilitated by catering
engineers with over 100 years of industry expertise. Courses are available for both aspiring
engineers and those technicians wishing to broaden their knowledge of service and maintenance
with commercial catering equipment.

Julian Fisher, Marketing & Development Manager at First Choice, comments: “We are delighted to
once again be joining with Mechline to support Gas Safety Week. We are focused on the
development of Gas Safe training courses that enhance gas safety in the workplace – and
Mechline’s Dormont gas hoses are widely regarded as the safest, strongest and most trusted gas
hoses, and are a popular choice among engineers as their quality withstands the stresses of a
commercial kitchen.”

As Martin Dagnall, Head of First Choice Training explains: “We have worked tirelessly during
lockdown implementing a comprehensive range of additional safety measures to make the training
centre Covid compliant. We are working hard with our manufacturer partners to offer added
flexibility for all our Gas Safe courses, for the ‘new normal’, and ensure the working environment is
as safe and efficient as possible for attendees and trainers alike.”

The First Choice Gas Safety training courses remain a popular choice with leading equipment
suppliers, as Neil Pearson, Service Director at Jestic Foodservices Solutions explains: “We have been
extremely impressed with the professionalism and focus on the catering industry which we simply
do not get elsewhere, we have made the decision to send all of our technicians to First Choice. This
increases their knowledge and confidence which helps customer service in the field and our
technicians are back at work after just 2 days.”

Poor quality gas hoses can be just as dangerous as poorly maintained ones, and this is why
Mechline recommend Dormont gas hoses, the only commercial gas hose to carry the BSI Kitemark –
the most recognised symbol of continuous quality and safety.

As Nick Falco, Product and Technical Director at Mechline explains: “We carry out all the assembly
of Dormont gas connectors at our factory to ensure the highest performance and safety standards
to suit the UK’s specific market and technical products. Furthermore Dormont gas hoses have
retained the prestigious BSI Kitemark for over 22 years – testament to our rigorous audit testing
process, where every hose and quick-disconnect coupling is tested to the high specification set out
by BSI, rather than just one sample complying on one original test date (as it the case with other gas
hoses on the marketplace, which only comply with the BS669 Part 2:1997).”

To view Mechline’s full range of Dormont gas hoses visit: https://www.mechline.com/brands/dormont

To view First Choice’s ACS training courses visit: https://www.firstchoice-cs.co.uk/training-categories/acs-gas-qualifications/;

and for its choice of Mechline spares and equipment: https://www.firstchoice-cs.co.uk/manufacturers/mechline/