Statutory Gas Safety Testing Across 24/7 University Campuses for Mitie & UCA

SEM Facilities was recently appointed as a trusted subcontractor by Mitie – the UK’s leading facilities management and professional services company – to deliver statutory commercial gas testing. Mitie manages a vast, diverse, blue-chip customer base including critical government assets, hospitals, and educational facilities, and we are proud to support them in maintaining these high-profile estates.

For this project, the end-client was the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), with works focused specifically on their Epsom and Farnham campuses.

The Challenge: Ensuring Compliance on a Highly Populated, 24/7 Campus

By law, commercial premises and properties rented to tenants must undergo an annual gas safety check. This requires meticulous inspection and testing of all gas appliances and installations on-site to ensure full compliance with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The ultimate goal is to secure a valid Gas Safety Record for the owner and landlord.

The primary operational challenge for our engineering team was the environment itself. The UCA Farnham and Epsom campuses are heavily populated and inhabited 24/7 by thousands of students and staff. All testing and inspections had to be meticulously planned and executed to ensure absolute safety and minimal disruption to university life.

Our Solution: Systematic Testing and Comprehensive Certification

Navigating the logistical complexities of a busy, fully occupied campus, our Gas Safe engineers successfully completed the contract exactly on schedule and strictly on budget.

Following the thorough inspections across both the Epsom and Farnham sites, we issued extensive documentation to certify statutory compliance. The resulting Gas Safety Record successfully signed off on:

A full description of each gas appliance tested on-site.
The precise results of the safety checks carried out on each appliance.
Documentation of any safety issues identified during the inspection.
Clear outlines of any action or remedial work required to ensure ongoing safety.
Full details of the accredited engineer who performed the checks, including their signature and the date of the inspection.
Complete details of the landlord and the property.

About the End-Client: University for the Creative Arts (UCA)

With a history spanning over 150 years, UCA is the second-largest provider of creative education in Europe and the UK’s No.1 specialist creative university for graduate employment (with 96.9% of graduates in employment or further study within six months, per the 2018 DLHE survey).

Voted ‘Modern University of the Year 2019’ and ranking in the Top 35 of all UK universities by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, UCA hosts over 7,500 students across 120 courses. Alongside Farnham and Epsom, the university operates campuses in Canterbury, Rochester, Hampton Court, and Maidstone, plus distance learning via the Open College of the Arts.

Project Summary at a Glance

Direct Client: Mitie (Facilities Management).
End Client: University for the Creative Arts (UCA).
Locations: Farnham and Epsom Campuses.
Service Provided: Annual commercial gas safety inspections and testing.
Operational Challenge: Safely executing campus-wide testing around thousands of staff and students in a 24/7 live educational environment.
Compliance: Full adherence to the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Outcome: Project completed on time and on budget, with comprehensive Gas Safety Records issued.

Secure Your Educational Estate with SEM Facilities

Managing a busy university campus requires an engineering partner who understands the nuances of live educational environments. Whether you are a principal FM contractor like Mitie, or managing an estate directly, our accredited engineers deliver discreet, safe, and highly compliant testing and maintenance services.

Need a trusted commercial engineering contractor for your campus? Get in touch with our expert team today on +44 (0) 203 4750 999 or email admin@semfacilities.co.uk to discuss your compliance and maintenance requirements.