PAT Testing
What is PAT Testing?
PAT stands for Portable appliance testing and is an important part of any health and safety policy.
There are 4 main sets of legislation that are applicable to inspection and testing of in-service electrical equipment.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Act Regulations 1999
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
The Health and Safety Executive states that 25% of all reportable electrical accidents involve portable appliances. The Electricity at Work Regulations place a legal responsibility on employers, employees and also self employed persons, to comply with the provisions of the regulations and take reasonable steps to ensure that there poses no danger from the use of equipment. Therefore this means that implementation of a systematic program of maintenance, inspection and repair should be maintained.
How often should you PAT Test?
Insurers are insisting that companies PAT Test yearly despite the guidelines set by the HSE, so we would advise that our customers seek advice from their insurers to ensure they are PAT Testing as regularly as they should. The HSE have provided guidance as to the acceptable time scales for PAT Testing different types of appliances and it down to the business to decide how frequent this should be. Any PAT Testing company that advises you that you MUST do it yearly may be incorrect however the frequency is depicted by your insurers and the level of risk your work place imposes.
For self employed, small to medium businesses we provide an instant certificate and log of all test results the same day as we carry out the PAT Testing so there is no need to wait a week for this. Very often the certificate s needed urgently and therefore we make sure we offer this free of charge on completion.
Do I have to test newly purchaed electrical items?
Generally a brand new item will come with a one year warranty and not require PAT testing within the first year, however if not tested please keep proof that its less than a year old if there are any issues.
FAQ's
Generally a brand new item will come with a one year warranty and not require PAT testing within the first year, however if not tested please keep proof that its less than a year old if there are any issues.
All items need testing individually and this means if the power cable is removable then this will need its own PAT Test, the same for Extension blocks and adapters.
Yes all items will need to be turned off for testing unless agreed otherwise and a visual inspection can take place. A PAT test requires the item to be plugged into our machine to determine insulation resistance and earth bonding.
This is not a problem all of our engineers carry testing adapters for all plug types ranging from 110v site tools to 3 phase electrical inputs, all of our test certificates will indicate if it is a different plug type for testing.
