Sooner or later, someone will ask to see your TMV records. It might be an inspector, your insurer, a client's compliance team, a new facilities manager or an internal auditor. Whoever it is, they're trying to answer one simple question: do you know where your valves are, and can you show they're working?
A good asset register answers that in minutes. A shoebox of old certificates doesn't. Here's what we think a register should contain, and the questions it should help you answer.
What auditors are really looking for
Different people audit for different reasons, but in our experience the questions boil down to the same handful:
- Do you know what you've got? How many TMVs, where they are, and what they serve.
- Are they the right type? Particularly whether valves serving vulnerable people are suitable for them.
- Are they being tested? At the interval your risk assessment or written scheme says, by someone competent.
- What did the tests show? Actual readings, not just "pass".
- What happened when something failed? Was the outlet taken out of use, repaired and retested?
- What's coming up? Which valves are due next, and is anything overdue?
If your records can answer all six without anyone having to go and look under a basin, you're in good shape.
What goes in a TMV register
Think of the register as two linked things: a list of the valves themselves, and a history of what's happened to each one.
For each valve
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Unique reference | Matches a label on or near the valve, so there's no doubt which one you mean. |
| Location | Building, floor, room and outlet. "Room 14 en-suite shower" beats "first floor". |
| Outlet type | Bath, shower, basin or bidet. It sets the target temperature. |
| Make and model | So the right spares and service kits can be ordered. |
| Certification | TMV2, TMV3 or both, and for which applications. |
| Date fitted | Helps judge when a valve is nearing the end of its life. |
| Set temperature | What the valve should be delivering at that outlet. |
| Test interval | Six-monthly, annual or whatever your results support. |
For each test
- Date and the name of the engineer
- Hot and cold supply temperatures
- Mixed temperature at the outlet
- The fail-safe test result (with the cold isolated, did the valve shut down?)
- The mixed temperature after the cold was restored
- Work done: strainers cleaned, descaled, cartridge replaced, recalibrated
- Any follow-up needed and the date of the next test
It's also good practice to note which thermometer was used and that it was in calibration. It sounds fussy, but a reading is only as good as the instrument that took it.
Why readings beat ticks
A sheet full of ticks tells an auditor that someone visited. It doesn't show whether a valve is slowly drifting towards trouble. Real readings, recorded over time, do.
That matters because HTM 04-01 uses results to set test intervals. You compare each test with the commissioning readings and previous tests, and a valve that's holding steady can stay on its interval while one that's moving needs more attention. You can only do that if the numbers are written down. We go into this in why TMV outlet temperatures drift.
Labels on the valves
A register is only half the job if the valves themselves can't be identified. A small, durable label on or next to each valve, carrying the same reference as the register, saves a surprising amount of time. It means an engineer, a maintenance technician or an auditor can stand in a bathroom and know exactly which record goes with which valve. It also helps spot valves that have been replaced without anyone updating the records.
Keeping it alive
Registers go stale in predictable ways. A new valve is fitted during a refurb and never added. A room is converted and the old valve stays on the list. Someone leaves and takes the spreadsheet password with them. A few habits help:
- Make adding valves to the register part of any installation or refurbishment sign-off.
- Update it after every test visit, not once a year.
- Keep it somewhere more than one person can get to.
- Check the "next due" column monthly so nothing slips.
A typical scenario
Imagine a hotel group's new compliance manager asking each site for its TMV records ahead of an insurer's visit. One site sends a neat list: every valve labelled and located, readings from the last three tests, two failures with repair notes and retest results, and a schedule for the rest of the year. Another sends a folder of PDFs from three different contractors, none using the same room names. Both sites might have perfectly good valves. Only one of them can prove it quickly.
Summer's a good time to tidy up
For a lot of organisations the summer months are a bit quieter, which makes them a good time to get the records straight before the autumn round of audits and budget meetings. If you're starting from scratch, a survey visit to find, label and test every valve gets you a clean baseline in one go.
We build and maintain registers as part of our work, and we send reminders before tests fall due. See our asset registers and reminders page, our TMV compliance guide, or read scalding risk in care homes for how records fit into the bigger picture in care settings.
Want your TMV records sorted?
Tell us about your site and what records you've got now. We'll survey, test and build you a register that's easy to keep up to date.