What is Portable Appliance Testing?
Portable appliance testing often known as (PAT) is a test conducted by our qualified engineer who uses an electrical testing unit to measure the integrity of each electrical appliance on site.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations requires employers to have measures in place to ensure they comply with health and safety law.
Under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 requires that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition. Breach of this Regulation in the event of an incident or electrocution of an employee may lead to death, injury, compensation claim and prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) or local enforcement agency.
The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) defines the general principles for the management of health and safety at work in the UK. The act puts a duty of care on employers, the self-employed and employees, to ensure the safety of all persons using the work premises.
Section 6.1 sets out the duties of any person who supplies any article for use at work to "perform such testing and examination as may be necessary to ensure safety"
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 state that maintenance is required for any equipment which would cause a risk to health and safety if a fault occurred. Also, the Housing Act 2004 requires an inspection of portable appliances if they a provided as part of a rented dwelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
- In addition to the requirements of PAT, electrical equipment is also subject to the requirements of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). Therefore, it is important that employers regularly test their electrical equipment by employing a qualified contractor and in accordance with the regulations. This helps promote a safer workplace.
- Some stationary electrical equipment and IT appliances being used by employees should be PAT tested every 12 months. Portable and handheld equipment which falls under Class II should be tested every 6 months, and Class I equipment should be tested every 6 months. Some larger fixed items which our engineer will identify, will require a test schedule every 3 years. Generally speaking, our clients request an annual PAT testing schedule.
- PAT testing is a recognised procedure for inspecting and testing electrical equipment to determine whether it is safe for continued use or if maintenance is required. Guidance on the procedures for PAT testing is provided by the Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, published by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET). The Engineer will then perform a series of tests, visually and using their PAT testing equipment, so that the appliance can be deemed as either safe to use or unsafe to use.
Many electrical safety defects can be found by visual examination, but some types of defects can only be found by testing. A PAT test involves a visual inspection to check the appliance casing and flex for wear or damage. Plugs are also checked for damage, correct wiring and ensuring that the correct fuse rating is used.
The duration of a single PAT test is usually around 2-5 minutes. However, the total timeframe for PAT testing depends on the size of the premises and the number of appliances that need to be tested.
A qualified and experienced PAT tester can test properly on average 150 items per day in an industrial setting and up to 300 items per day in an office setting. Of course, this is largely dependent on access to rooms and the equipment, so the number of items tested vary from site to site.
Following our engineers testing of your appliances they will not only put a test sticker on each appliance showing whether it has ‘passed’ or ‘failed’ and the date of the test but also produce an asset list of all the appliances tested on site.
Their report will record any items that are unsafe and that should be removed from the workplace but also any items which may be considered safe to repair. For example, damaged electrical cables that could cause electrocution would be recorded as unsafe for use and should be replaced.
Your site will be compliant subject to following the necessary recommendations of any such report and we will automatically contact to you in the future as to when the next test dates are due for your portable appliances.