Readiness check

Is your crew ready for the annual backflow assembly field test?

The annual test is the only routine check a backflow assembly ever gets, and the assembly gives no display, no alarm, and no warning when a check quietly fouls. Most bad results trace back to setup and paperwork, not the assembly: an unbled gauge reads a good check as a slow leak, an out-of-cal gauge or a missing certification number gets a clean report bounced, and an unverified upstream shutoff throws off every number. Run this check before you hook a single test cock so you read the assembly right and submit a report the program accepts the first time.

1. Is a certified backflow assembly tester the program accepts on the job, with the certification number ready for the form?Yes. The tester holds a current certification the program for this address recognizes, and the cert number is ready to write on the report.Someone holds a tester cert, but we have not confirmed it is still current or that this program accepts it.No certified tester on site, or only a plumbing license, which the program usually will not accept.

2. Is the differential gauge calibration current, with the calibration certificate in the kit for the report?Calibration is current and the certificate rides with the kit, ready to attach with the calibration date on the report.The gauge was calibrated at some point, but we have not confirmed the sticker is still in date or that the certificate is with us.Calibration is expired or unknown, which voids the reading no matter what the needle shows.

3. Have you confirmed the assembly type and recorded make, model, size, and serial from the nameplate?Yes. Type is confirmed and make, model, size, and serial are recorded from the nameplate before we set the gauge.We know it is an RP, DC, PVB, or SVB, but we have not read the full nameplate details yet.We arrived without confirming the assembly type or capturing the nameplate.

4. Has the customer been told the water is going off, with the shutoff window coordinated on a critical service?Yes. We notified the customer ahead of time and coordinated the interruption window, especially on a clinic, restaurant, process, or cooling line.We plan to tell them when we arrive, without arranging a window in advance.No notice given; we intend to close the shutoff without warning.

5. Do you isolate the assembly and confirm the upstream shutoff actually holds before reading?We close the downstream shutoff, then the upstream, and confirm the upstream valve is holding and not weeping by.We close both shutoffs but do not verify the upstream valve is actually holding.We start reading without confirming the assembly is isolated at both ends.

6. Do you flush the test cocks of grit and bleed all air until the kit runs solid water before you trust a number?We flush the test cocks, connect the high and low hoses, and bleed the gauge and hoses until they run solid water with no spitting.We connect and begin reading, only bleeding the gauge if a number looks off.We read the gauge without flushing the cocks or bleeding the air out of the kit and hoses.

7. Have you confirmed which test procedure and gauge the program accepts for this assembly type, so you read the parts in order?Yes. We confirmed the procedure and gauge format the AHJ accepts for this assembly type and will read the parts in the required order.We run one standard procedure for every assembly without checking what this program accepts or whether it matches the type.We run whatever sequence we remember, or read an RP sequence on a DC and skip the relief opening.

8. Do you know the report form, the submittal deadline, and where the report goes for this address?Yes. We know the form the program uses, the submittal deadline, and where to send it for this address.We know a report is due but have not confirmed the exact deadline or where it goes.We have not checked the deadline or the submittal destination for this program.