Most, if not all, natural gas companies in the country enter the customer’s premises at the customer’s request to complete work that’s beyond the outlet of the natural gas meter. One of the most frequent requests is to initiate natural gas service. This work includes turning on natural gas at the meter to the house piping, completing a pressure check on the house piping, conducting a visual inspection of the house piping to ensure an appliance or plug is in place, and checking each appliance for safe operation. If an appliance is found to be unsafe, it is turned off and a written notification, commonly referred to as a warning tag or red tag, is given to the customer or other responsible adult.
The AEGIS Loss Control team often recommends the implementation or enhancement of red tag notification programs to member companies as a next step following a risk assessment.
The Elements of a Robust Program
The purpose of the red tag notification is to inform the customer, in writing, that the appliance is unsafe and should not be used until it is repaired by a qualified plumber or HVAC contractor. To accomplish this important notification effectively, we suggest the following:
How AEGIS Loss Control Can Help
Red tag programs are just one of many ways AEGIS Loss Control can assist member companies. Through our Focused Services℠ program, members can take advantage of the expertise and industry knowledge of an AEGIS Loss Control professional to assist with loss mitigation activities and implementing suggestions. Focused Services engagements typically follow a risk assessment, although members can request them at any time. The engagements are designed by a member of the AEGIS Loss Control team to assist the member company in enhancing, altering or developing a program that was evaluated as a potential area of improvement during the risk assessment. There is no charge for Focused Services engagements — AEGIS will provide the services of an AEGIS Loss Control professional for up to 10 days per year as a value-added benefit of membership in the mutual. When members work with the AEGIS Loss Control team to help improve an area identified during a risk assessment, they also directly contribute to improving the member company’s risk profile.
To learn more about how AEGIS Loss Control can help you implement or enhance your red tag program through a Focused Services engagement, contact Scot Macomber by e-mail or phone at 201.508.2739. Even though most members and AEGIS Loss Control professionals are working from home during the pandemic, red tag programs can easily be evaluated or created by meeting over the phone and sharing documents.
For more information about the full range of AEGIS Loss Control products and services, please visit our new website at www.aegislink.com.
About Quick Tips
Quick Tips is a new monthly publication from AEGIS Loss Control. Each month, we will send you useful information on industry observations, products and services that will help you maintain safe and reliable operations.
We send Quick Tips to the managers and operational professionals on our e-mail list, but please feel free to forward this to anyone in your organization who you feel may benefit. We are happy to add their names to the distribution list. Just let us know at quicktips@aegislimited.com.
Past issues of Quick Tips can be found here.
Focused Services℠ is a service mark of AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc.