Why PAT Test?
In addition to the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, The Electricity at Work Regulation 1989 requires employers to maintain electrical systems. This is interpreted by the Health & Safety Executive to mean inspection and testing of any equipment having a cable and plug.
Not only does PAT testing fulfil your legal obligations and the duty of care for employees, it may also be a condition of your insurance. A regular programme of PAT inspection will minimise the chance of accidents and consequent costly damages, fines and bad publicity. It is unlikely your insurance company will pay out if you are not complying with law.
Must we do PAT testing?
The requirements of the Electricity at Work Regulation are mandatory. In the event of an accident employers will be required to demonstrate and produce a record of responsible maintenance of electrical appliances including inspection and test results.
What if we don’t do it?
In most businesses the greatest asset is staff; it is well established that it pays to look after employees. As well as potentially severe penalties for infringing legislation, there is also the risk of civil personal injury claims to consider. Ignoring the Electricity at Work Regulation may even invalidate insurance cover.
How can you save us money?
Initial costs of a detailed inspection and test are admittedly often higher than anticipated but once potential hazards are identified and a risk assessment done, we analyse our results see what frequency of testing is necessary. Further refinements to testing frequency will depend upon the pattern of faults found. HSE guidelines say that operation of the maintenance system over a period of time, together with faults found, should be used to review the frequency of inspection
Just carrying out a blanket annual testing programme does not guarantee compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations. It is necessary to take an intelligent look at how often equipment is unplugged and plugged, how it’s handled and to inspect and test accordingly. In environments where equipment is static and rarely moved, the length of frequency can be steadily increased. Conversely for high use portable machinery – like power hand tools – where wear and tear is high and faults and failures frequent, much more frequent testing will be required.
Do you carry out interim testing?
Yes, we will be happy to revisit a site to test new acquisitions and retest appliances subject to high use, as appropriate.
Will PAT testing provide an asset register?
By their very nature portable appliances can wander on larger sites and are then often not available when required. A well-managed, regular programme of inspection and testing of portable appliances not only ensures safety as required by law but also has the advantage of producing an asset register with vital locational information.
Will testing cause disruption?
Inspection and testing doesn’t have to be troublesome. It should be an efficiently executed and well-established routine; certainly not as distressing and harmful as an accident to an employee or member of the public and the subsequent claim for damages or legal action against those responsible.
Can’t we do it in-house?
The majority of organisations who outsource portable appliance testing have the ability and resources to carry out the function ‘in-house’. Nevertheless they employ a PAT contractor in order to gain specialist expertise, to remove management hassle and often lower costs. A PAT specialist will be more competent, almost certainly more experienced and above all efficient and backed by well-practised procedures.
What qualifications do PowerPlug engineers have?
All PowerPlug engineers are City & Guilds trained and qualified to undertake PAT inspection and testing to meet the requirements of the IEE Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment. IT testing is carried out to BSEN standards.
How does pricing work?
The standard industry costing method for portable electrical appliance inspection and testing is price per test, rather than hourly rate. Calculation of cost is therefore relatively simple.
How often should we PAT test?
Not all appliances suffer the same wear and tear so frequency should be based on risk assessment according to the nature of the appliance and its pattern of use. Guidance can be obtained from the HSE. Costly ‘blanket’ testing can be avoided by setting up a well-managed system based on faults found.
What about personal electrical equipment?
This is a common problem. Someone will bring in an extra heater, or a spare kettle or their own phone charger. Each item plugged into mains electricity in a workplace environment is subject to the Electricity at Work Regulation whether or not it is in the ownership of the business or the individual member of staff. It should be inspected and tested.
What about kitchen and cleaning equipment?
PAT testing is not just a matter for the office, workshop or factory floor. The requirement to carry it out extends to every item of portable electrical equipment in the workplace, including any kitchen equipment like kettles and toasters as well a cleaning equipment, like floor polishers and vacuum cleaners.
Can you test our mobile engineers’ equipment?
We have a long experience of working with organisations with a large numbers of mobile maintenance engineers. Our tried and tested methods of working will ensure minimum downtime.