Posted By Paul Tidswell I warn you from the very start this is not an easy question to answer! Now I work for a civilian company and part of my remit is to maintain the RPE held by the staff. This qualification was obtained through military procedures (we work for the military under contract) and has a life of two years (I have been on the re-certification course for this qualification last year). Now the contract for the military suppliers of this course has been removed and my question is this: Is their is a life period on the maintenance of RPE equipment qualification, or maybe this was generated in house? Hopefully someone who is experienced in the painting and finishing trade can answer this. Is this a mandatory requirement and what regulation do I need to look at? Paul

Posted By Tabs Most renewal training periods are set by the providers or by the trade bodies. They are normally set on the experience they have of people's recall of detail. I have done a quick search and found nothing specific to this role in law. However - you face criticism following any mistakes, if you choose to increase the period between training without good cause. I increased retraining on defib machines from 6 mths (St John's regime) to 12 months based on the fact that the First Aid Regs allow up to 36 mths between retraining. I felt comfortable with that, and at retraining sessions a year later my faith was proven. If the tasks are simple, or if they are guided (by a tick sheet, or written instructions for example) then perhaps you could review the period. Be guided by how well the task can be done by those at the 'end of their period'.

Posted By Paul Tidswell Thanks Helen It does look like we will have to fo direct to the company that supplies but lucky for me I still have a year left to sort this. Tabs and Geoff Thanks for that, so not a legal issue but I would say more a warranty/liability issue