Someone has asked for it

DSEAR for pre-qualification, tenders and client audits

Increasingly the first time a business hears the word DSEAR is on a PQQ. Here is what the reviewer is looking for and how to give it to them without stalling the bid.

Why it is on the questionnaire

Major operators and their tier-one contractors are audited on their supply chain. If your firm handles fuel, solvents, gas cylinders, coatings, welding gases or dust on their site or your own, they want to know you have assessed the explosion risk before they let you near theirs. Around Milford Haven that means the LNG terminals, the refinery site, the power station, the port and everyone who works for them; further afield it is any principal contractor with a decent safety function. The question is usually worded "Do you hold a current DSEAR risk assessment?" with a request for a copy.

What the reviewer actually checks

That it exists and is dated. A surprising number of firms answer yes and cannot produce it.
That it covers your activities, not a generic template — your substances, your storage, your processes, your vehicles.
That any hazardous areas are classified and shown on a drawing or sketch with zones marked.
That ignition sources are identified and the equipment in zoned areas is suitable (the ATEX category question).
That there is an action plan with owners and dates, and that the high-priority items are closed or programmed.
Who wrote it and whether they were competent to. A named assessor with relevant qualifications carries weight; an unsigned PDF does not.
Review date. Anything more than a few years old with no review record is treated as expired.

What to send

Not the whole report as the first attachment. Reviewers are working through fifty PQQs. Send a one-page cover summary — scope, substances, date, assessor, review date, top actions and their status — with the full assessment behind it. Our reports are written with that summary page at the front for exactly this reason.

How quickly

A single-site assessment for a typical contractor — a yard, a workshop, a stores compound, a few vehicles — is a half-day visit and a report in five working days. Where a tender deadline is close we can usually prioritise; say so when you ring. The scoping call is free and tells you within ten minutes whether you are in scope at all.

If you also need the fire risk assessment

PQQs usually ask for both on the same page. Since October 2023 the fire risk assessment must be recorded in full whatever your headcount, and most firms handling dangerous substances need one. We do both in one visit, written to agree with each other, so the reviewer does not find the two documents describing the same store differently. See fire risk assessments for industrial units.

Questions we get asked

The client wants it in two weeks. Is that possible?

Usually. A single-site contractor assessment is a half-day visit and a five-working-day report. Tell us the deadline on the scoping call.

We only store a few cylinders and some paint. Do we really need one?

If the substances are flammable or can form an explosive atmosphere, DSEAR applies and there is no threshold quantity. A small-scope assessment is short and inexpensive, and it answers the PQQ question properly.

Can we use a generic template and sign it ourselves?

You can, but a reviewer will spot it, and a generic document that does not assess your actual site does not meet the Regulations. It is also the kind of thing that gets a firm removed from an approved list.

Do you provide a summary page for the PQQ?

Yes. Every report has a one-page cover summary — scope, substances, zones, assessor, date, review date and action status — designed to be the attachment a reviewer reads first.