Pat testing or portable appliance testing is an important part of any health & safety policy. This information is intended as a guide to both the legal implications and to the technical requirements. The Health & 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 self-employed persons to comply with the provisions of the regulations and take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that no danger results from the use of such equipment. This in effect requires the implementation of a systematic and regular program of maintenance, inspection and testing. The Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) places such an obligation in the following circumstances:
◦ 1. Where appliances are used by employees.
◦ 2. Where the public may use appliances in establishments such as hospitals, schools, hotels, shops etc.
◦ 3. Where appliances are supplied or hired.
◦ 4. Where appliances are repaired or serviced.
The level of inspection and testing required is dependant upon the risk of the appliance becoming faulty, which is in turn dependant upon the type of appliance, the nature of its use and the environment in which it is used. The Institution of Electrical Engineers publish the "Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment.
On completion of testing, a detailed PAT Testing Report will be presented to your company. If testing is carried out over a number of locations nationwide, each site will receive a separate report for appliances tested. Our reports are well presented and easy to understand in the following format:
◦ A smart front cover shows your company details and the address of the site tested, along with the test date and the date of re-test.
◦ After this, we include an additional comments page. This page is useful and points out any issues that may require monitoring in between test dates. Feedback is taken direct from our test engineers on completion of testing.
◦ Finally, comes the detail of the inspection and test report, the Fail and Pass Registers. We start with a section on any failed appliances that could not be repaired during testing. This is a detailed section of the report and shows a reason for failure and also a recommendation of what to do with the failed appliance. The Pass section shows a description of all appliances that have passed inspection and testing, their unique appliance ID code and the appliance location at the time of testing. The appliance ID code relates to the code printed on the Pass sticker attached to the appliance during testing.
◦ Each site is presented with a certificate for display.
A friendly aftercare service is provided to ensure clients are happy with the service they have received and to ensure all PAT Testing has been covered. Our central database will alert us when your testing is due again at each site within your company. We will remind the relevant people when testing is due in advance. We base our service on good communication with our clients.