Compliance
TR19 Compliance: What Facilities Managers Need to Know
A practical guide to TR19 Grease compliance for facilities managers responsible for commercial kitchen extraction systems.
Bright Hygiene • 5 min read
What Is TR19 Grease?
TR19 Grease is a standalone specification published by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) in 2019. It specifically addresses fire risk management of grease accumulation within kitchen extraction systems. It is separate from TR19 Air, which was released in 2023 and covers general ventilation hygiene for indoor air quality.
While TR19 Grease is technically guidance rather than law, it is widely recognised by insurers, local authorities, fire services, and Environmental Health Officers as the benchmark for grease hygiene management in the UK. If your extract system doesn't meet TR19 Grease standards, you could face enforcement action, insurance issues, or both.
What TR19 Grease Covers
TR19 Grease addresses the entire extract system from canopy to discharge point. This includes canopy hoods and grease filters, ductwork (both horizontal and vertical runs), extract fans and motors, access panels and hatches, and the external discharge point.
The standard requires that all these components are maintained in a clean condition, with grease deposits measuring less than 200 microns. Deposits exceeding this threshold require the full system to be cleaned, and post-clean verification must confirm levels below 50 microns using a Deposit Thickness Test (DTT) or Wet Film Thickness Test (WFTT). TR19 Grease also sets requirements for adequate access panels, so that the system can be properly inspected and cleaned.
Your Responsibilities as a Facilities Manager
As a facilities manager, you are responsible for ensuring that extract systems under your control are cleaned to TR19 Grease standards at appropriate intervals. This means appointing a competent specialist contractor, establishing a cleaning schedule based on hours of operation and risk assessment, ensuring the contractor provides photographic before-and-after reports, retaining all cleaning certificates and reports for inspection, and addressing any remedial work identified during cleaning.
You don't need to understand the technical details of ductwork cleaning yourself. But you do need to ensure that whoever you appoint does, and that they can demonstrate TR19 Grease compliance in their work.
Common Pitfalls
The most common mistakes we see are: cleaning only the visible parts (canopy and filters) while neglecting the ductwork behind, using general cleaning contractors who aren't trained or equipped for extract work, not keeping records of cleaning history, and ignoring access panel requirements that make future cleaning impossible or incomplete.
Any of these can leave you exposed in the event of a fire, an insurance claim, or an inspection.
How Bright Can Help
Bright Hygiene has been delivering TR19-compliant extract cleaning for nearly 50 years. We provide full system cleaning from canopy to discharge, photographic reports documenting the condition before and after, risk-based scheduling recommendations, and ongoing support with compliance documentation.
If you manage commercial kitchens and want to make sure your extract systems are properly maintained, get in touch for a free, no-obligation survey.
