A Short Guide on PAT Testing

by John W. Digital Marketing Expert

The term PAT Testing is commonly used to refer to the process of checking the performance and safety of electrical appliances and systems in the workplace.  The term itself acts as an (tautological) abbreviation of the term Portable Appliance Testing although the process is more generally termed In-service Inspection & Testing of Electrical Equipment.

 

Before looking at how PAT testing is actually performed it is worth considering the purpose behind it and the requirements that drive it.  The key purpose is to ensure the safety of electrical equipment but to this end it is also important that records are kept of the safety of individual electrical items and, following an assessment, when they are going to require follow up inspections.

 

There are many regulations that require the implementation of Pat Testing Peterborough, but the main piece of legislation is the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 which demands that employers ensure electrical equipment is maintained sufficiently to prevent danger.  More specific guidelines on assessing when and how often an appliance requires testing are provided by both the Health & Safety Executive and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

 

Initial Checks

The first steps in ensuring the safety of an electrical appliance should ideally be performed by the users of that appliance who should be prompted to carry out basic visual checks whenever they use it. Faults like frayed or loose wires can be identified (and remedied) at any stage by anyone, without specific training and should not therefore remain a danger until the next scheduled PAT test.

 

Before carrying out a specific PAT test a trained Electrical Vehicle Charging tester should also, using their expertise, first perform a visual check of the appliance to look for external evidence which will be present for the vast majority of faults. Once a formal visual check is complete a PAT test should be performed, again by a trained individual, using the appropriate testing tools (see below).

  

Who performs PAT TESTING?

 

The actual PAT testing can be carried out by anyone with sufficient training and/or who is deemed competent.  This may therefore constitute a member of staff in the workplace who has received training such as a City & Guilds qualification (although there is no one recognized qualification that testers require), or an external organisation.

 

There are obvious benefits to both; using internal staff may bring cheaper labour costs and greater flexibility however using specialist PAT Testing companies would bring benefit from a greater level of expertise - gained through the experience of performing tests day-in day-out - as well as negating the need to buy in the required Electrical Repairs In Peterborough separately.  As PAT testing is a task which relies, to a significant extent, on the judgement of the tester, the latter option may ultimately be preferable.

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Created on Jan 8th 2020 05:04. Viewed 443 times.

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