Until now, AIRS had been exclusively available to members of a single Energy Assessor accreditation scheme. However, with the need for increased efficiency, consistency and reliability in the industry becoming apparent, the decision has been made to widen access to this software. The online basis of the system allows accreditation schemes to monitor the reports being generated by assessors more easily, resulting in heightened quality control across the spectrum. This is seen as a significant improvement upon previous report formats, which were more difficult to monitor and slower to produce.

With an estimated 100, 000 air conditioning systems requiring inspection before January 2011, it is hoped that AIRS will make a highly positive contribution to the work of the air conditioning assessor. AIRS allows reports to be created onsite and stored online, allowing easy viewing access for assessors and clients alike. When ordering an inspection, clients can even input the necessary pre-inspection data directly into the online system, enabling an even more streamline, efficient service. Crucially, AIRS can also lodge completed reports directly into the Landmark register where required – it is currently the only application of its kind with this functionality.

The deal is very simple for the use of AIRS to assessors with other accreditation schemes. While the license to use the software is free, and all assessors will have completely free access to create, review and amend draft reports, there will be a small fee payable when the final report is completed and downloaded. A source revealed, “to enable us to sustain the working capabilities of AIRS and to provide technical management of the software and practical support to its users, a small fee is unavoidable. However, the fact that this fee is only payable upon completion of a report means that if you don’t use the software, you simply don’t pay a penny”.