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Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) made easy
A very high percentage of fires in commercial premises can be related to some kind of electrical fault.
Hence it is easy to understand why insurance companies insist on regular safety inspections, quite aside from the requirement to comply with The Electricity at Work Regulations and a need for Fire Risk Assessment Compliance.
PAT testing is required of anyone with employees and requirements vary depending upon the type of business and range from regular 3 monthly inspections for construction sites to inspections every 2 years for light office use. We can help advise on a suitable frequency for your premises.
When inspections have to be done, we believe that they should be convenient and fit around you. Everyone’s needs are different so we like to work with you to minimise disruption. We understand concerns about cost and hidden extras and try to keep things as affordable, simple and straightforward as possible.
We only use fully trained, CRB checked, professional testers using up-to-date testing equipment and try to keep pricing as straightforward as possible.
All our reports can be transmitted electronically to speed up the process and make filing that much simpler plus we will keep a copy ourselves as a backup. Each customer is allocated individual bar codes so it is easy to trace your duty of care responsibilities.
We pride ourselves on our customer service and will send you reminders as well as keeping a secure computerised list of your equipment, which may be used as an asset list in the case of an insurance claim.
Why not give us a call on 01823 668623 to find out how we can help make PAT testing less painful.
We have less than 5 employees do we need to do it?
Yes - if you are providing electrical equipment that is used by employees or members of the public and it takes it power from a 110 V or 230V electrical supply - this includes chargers for battery powered equipment, you need to ensure that it is safe
Do I have to have PAT testing done?
You are legally responsible to provide electrical equipment that is safe - if it is not tested how do you know it is safe?
How much is it likely to cost?
Prices will vary depending on the access and how many items.
Most testing companies will quote a price per item. The problem with this is most businesses do not know how many items they have. One thing to note is that the detachable power leads used by a lot of equipment, according to the regulations, have to be treated as a separate item so for example a computer and monitor would normally be 4 items.
This makes it hard for businesses to judge what the testing is going to cost. To help we offer a free, no obligation, quotation service and will give you a fixed price quote with no hidden extras
How frequently do I need to test? Does it need to be every year?
You need to assess the risk based on the environment in which the equipment is situated, the type of equipment and who is using it. There are guidelines to help you decide, test periods vary from 3 months to 3 years, please give us a call to discuss
Does it need to be an electrician who does the test?
The regulations say that the person carrying out the test should be competent. They do not need to be an electrician but they should understand the equipment, the test and what the test is trying to check. A person who is qualified to City and Guild 2377 is generally regarded as competent
Can equipment be damaged during the test?
Yes electronic equipment could potentially be damaged by using the wrong test procedure. That is why it is important to make sure that the person carrying out the testing is competent, fully conversant with the test equipment and is has appropriate insurance.
Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)
This puts the duty of care upon the employers to ensure that employees and members of the public using their premises are safe. This includes electrical safety.
Electricity at Work Regulations (1989)
requires "All electrical systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any danger". This is taken as covering the fixed electrical installation as well as portable and transportable equipment connected to it. The Regulations also state "It is the duty of every employer and self employed person to comply with the provision of these Regulations."
