What is a PAT?
PAT, as you will have already deduced is the acronym for Portable
Appliance Testing. A portable appliance in itself is a particular
definition that describes the group of equipment that is usually
relatively small (Less than 18kg) and can be easily moved. Typical
examples of such equipment are, power tools, Microwaves, toasters,
vacuums etc.
However, “PAT” testing covers a whole range of electrical
equipment, which quite often is large and certainly would not be
moved in use, a good example is a refrigerator. It should also apply
to equipment that may be fastened to a wall or floor and possibly
“hard wired” to its means of supply.
PAT testing - Legal Requirements
The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASW 1974) is an Act set
by Parliament that places a duty of care on Employers & Employees
to ensure the safety of all persons using the work premises. This
Act is law, and to contravene this law is a criminal offence.
As HASW 1974 is an “enabling act” it does not enter
into detail of how you will achieve compliance but looks to other
Regulations to achieve it.
Regulations
For the purpose of electrical safety in the use and provision of
Electrical equipment, three Regulation sets typically apply.
Firstly, “The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations
1999” which places a duty on Every employer to make a sufficient
assessment of the risks to health and safety of employees while
at work and to all other persons while carrying out their work.
Of the assessed risks for any electrical equipment, it is quite likely that the number one hazard would be that of an electric shock.
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER
98) requires every Employer to ensure that all equipment including
electrical equipment is suitable for use, it is maintained in a
safe condition and is inspected to ensure it’s continued safety.
With respect to the risks from electricity, PUWER is likely to be
satisfied by the compliance with the Electricity at Work Regulations
1989. As it’s title suggests, this is specifically electrical
and requires all necessary precautions to be taken against the risk
of Electric Shock.
Compliance
As you can see there is considerable Legislation & Regulations
that place a duty on Employers and Employees for the safety of their
selves and others. Ensuring this compliance must not be a paperwork
exercise but a real initiative to ensure safety.
Carrying out frequent Inspection & testing to your electrical equipment will promote this safety.
At Electrotest Services all our Portable Appliance test engineers are trained to identify and report any defects that are found at a socket outlet serving the equipment currently being tested.
This inspection however, does present certain limitations. It does not identify a latent defect of say a wiring fault in a socket that does not have any equipment plugged into it.
We have found over recent years many of our customers have incorporated socket checking into their inspections as a good interim measure between their formal Mains Electrical Periodic Inspections.
We typically carryout the inspections of sockets at the same time as the PAT, however this time we check, test & record every available socket outlet within the premises. All sockets are barcoded with a unique number and undergo an external visual inspection supplemented by a test of polarity and a proven connection to earth.
Any defects found would be notified to the site contact at time of the inspection.