PAT(Portable Appliance Testing) testing.

jojo

jojo

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OK, apparently, I need to PAT test all my electrical equipment at work for health and safety reasons. I've done some research and have noted that there is no qualification needed to do PAT testing of my own equipment in house.

Quote taken from PAT Testing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the UK, There is no formal qualification for persons carrying out PAT Testing. The Electricity at Work regulations of 1989 simply state that inspecting and testing must be carried out by a competent person, however does not mention a benchmark for competency. It has become accepted practice, however, for individuals operating as PAT Testers to hold a City and Guilds qualification. PAT Testers in the UK do not need to be electricians or have a background in the electrical industry
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I would say I'm pretty competent with electrical testing, as in I know how to hold and use a voltmeter. lol I'm sure I'm able to do a polarity tests and Earth Continuity on the few pieces of equipment I have that's classed as portable. That should be acceptable as a form of PAT testing right? I can get the 'pass' labels from fleabay.

Or should I actually pay a qualified PAT tester to do the testing for me, which is only valid for 12 months, and they would need to be called out annually?
 
nope you need to get someone in
i did try it your way but no they wasnt havein any of it
 
The way I read the article is that you can do it yourself (in-house) but you will need to buy a special PAT tester to satisfactorily perfom all the required tests.

You cannot do an insulation resistance check with a multimeter.
 
Normally have to pay someone about £3 a tool which only lasts 3 months on the sit I'm on so I got 1000 pat test stickers of eBay and just copy the bits but change the dates as appropriate, obviously don't put them on tools with broken leads etc
 
I reckon it'd be pretty cheap if you were to get a professional to do it.
So you have an idea of cost, our office was fully PAT tested a few weeks ago and it cost us £290. That included 30 PCs, 30 monitors, 10 printers, a kitchen full of appliances, a TV, and various other small things. And we're based in central london so the prices are always hiked.
Yours would be a lot less than that I'm guessing.
 
I'm actually thinking of taking a PAT day course now, £109, that would be a good investment for life, considering I need no experience to take the course in the first instance! :)
 
If i had a pat tester I'd do it, i've got my city and guilds and everything.
 
You need to be a competant person, that usually means some kind of certification. You will also need to buy a PAT tester, make sure you get one capable of doing electronic devices as not all do it.

I used to do it for living and it's easy enough to do, you need to keep all documents up to date to show anyone that asks as well as a sticker on ANYTHING that plugs in.
 
I used to pat test before Uni, awful, awful job. I went round all Morrisons supermarkets doing a store a day. I was the 'unqualified one' who basically wrote stickers all day and texted my mates. The 'qualified one' used to plug it in and press a few buttons ha.

Hope you find someone to do it at a reasonable price mate. Some people are a rip off as they know it's the law to do it so make you pay.
 
jojo said:
I'm actually thinking of taking a PAT day course now, £109, that would be a good investment for life, considering I need no experience to take the course in the first instance! :)
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But can you do a PAT test on your items in your own company? Would the law/insurance look upon it as biased?
 
eoeumc said:
But can you do a PAT test on your items in your own company? Would the law/insurance look upon it as biased?
Click to expand...

I was thinking of doing the course as a side line, not just for my own personal benefit within my place of work. Maybe I'm seeing it differently to everyone else, but it looks p!ss easy, and I have more than a few friends/family that would benefit from me having the qualification, even if it's only beer money I'm asking for.
 
jojo said:
I was thinking of doing the course as a side line, not just for my own personal benefit within my place of work. Maybe I'm seeing it differently to everyone else, but it looks p!ss easy, and I have more than a few friends/family that would benefit from me having the qualification, even if it's only beer money I'm asking for.
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It is **** easy.

You just need a bit of paper to say you are capable of doing said thing which is **** easy.

And the kit that makes it **** easy.

And you're sorted....
 
As far as I know its not leagally compulsory but your insurance company will no doubt demand it? Cant remember how much we pay to get it done but looking at the prices of the machines on ebay.... LOL
 
Khufu said:
As far as I know its not leagally compulsory but your insurance company will no doubt demand it? Cant remember how much we pay to get it done but looking at the prices of the machines on ebay.... LOL
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This is the thing, my shop insurance was renewed last month, and there was a rather huge booklet that came with the policy, and everything needs to be upto date for me to be covered. And in the small print is all these little things they insist I need.
 
Hi jo you can do it yourself no worries...how many employees do you have? if under 5 you dont need pat tests but it is always good practice to periodically check all electrical items.
I get mine done by myself and have all the lables etc, (we manufacture electrical appliances though) as i am over the threshold...
 
It is simple to electrical biased people, but no safety inspection is "**** easy" as its safety inducing!

As much as a machine can do most of the work, its up to the actual operative to inspect the flex on each item for wear/length, correct fuse ratings of each device, check that all plug tops conform to British Standards with markings etc.

Theres a bit more detail to it than pressing a button on a machine and letting it do the work!
 
Whilst never having done the testing myself I have watched many a guy come around an office with 50+ people all with computers and screens and phone chargers etc. and plug everything that doesn't move into his fancy bit of kit.

Never once have I seen any of them check the fuse rating in the plug !
 
s3dave said:
Hi jo you can do it yourself no worries...how many employees do you have? if under 5 you dont need pat tests but it is always good practice to periodically check all electrical items.
I get mine done by myself and have all the lables etc, (we manufacture electrical appliances though) as i am over the threshold...
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Hi S3, is this true? wasted £80 if it is!
 
mike foster said:
Whilst never having done the testing myself I have watched many a guy come around an office with 50+ people all with computers and screens and phone chargers etc. and plug everything that doesn't move into his fancy bit of kit.

Never once have I seen any of them check the fuse rating in the plug !
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Well, like most folk that think its "**** easy", would seem that said person/company arent doing their job properly! Go on the course and see whats involved yourself, unless you are keen on electrocution!!!!

Oh, and by the way, the Potable Appliance Test is meant to include all electrical units that are PORTABLE, mostly!!!!!!!!
 
Last edited:
Foxmeister said:
Well, like most folk that think its "**** easy", would seem that said person/company arent doing their job properly! Go on the course and see whats involved yourself, unless you are keen on electrocution!!!!

Oh, and by the way, the Potable Appliance Test is meant to include all electrical units that are PORTABLE, mostly!!!!!!!!
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Well you are a tetchy little one aren't you !!!?

I never said it was '**** easy' (although it is to anyone with an ounce of sense); that was down to someone else with a bit of 'common'.

Yes indeed, it is intended for portable appliances, I spotted that almost immediately from the wording, but in fact if you have ever been into large offices you will be aware that most computers and screens on desks do not in fact move and neither do the mobile phone chargers hidden away under them.

As a final thought, it could be that Portable Appliance Tester actually means that the tester is portable and intended to test ALL appliances.

Good day
 
To be honest, the only thing I can class as 'portable' in my whole building is the kettle, the mini blender and the mobile phones(personal), everything else just stays the same place and would be a pain to move, as they are so baulky! Interesting argument though.
 
im a maintenance manager for a private healthcare, and the laws says im only allowed to visually pat test any electrical item bought into our buildings and then it has to have a sticker appiled saying it has been visually checked.

then every 12 months we have to have an outside contractor come in and pat test everything, he then passes or fails the items and applies relevant stickers.

not all items have to be done annualy some items are only checked 3 or 5 yearly , but whatever happens you have to have an approved outside person to do the test for insurance purposes etc

we use these people Hawkesworth Appliance Testing

alan
 
mike foster said:
Whilst never having done the testing myself I have watched many a guy come around an office with 50+ people all with computers and screens and phone chargers etc. and plug everything that doesn't move into his fancy bit of kit.

Never once have I seen any of them check the fuse rating in the plug !
Click to expand...

Foxmeister said:
Well, like most folk that think its "**** easy", would seem that said person/company arent doing their job properly! Go on the course and see whats involved yourself, unless you are keen on electrocution!!!!

Oh, and by the way, the Potable Appliance Test is meant to include all electrical units that are PORTABLE, mostly!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

mike foster said:
Well you are a tetchy little one aren't you !!!?

I never said it was '**** easy' (although it is to anyone with an ounce of sense); that was down to someone else with a bit of 'common'.

Yes indeed, it is intended for portable appliances, I spotted that almost immediately from the wording, but in fact if you have ever been into large offices you will be aware that most computers and screens on desks do not in fact move and neither do the mobile phone chargers hidden away under them.

As a final thought, it could be that Portable Appliance Tester actually means that the tester is portable and intended to test ALL appliances.

Good day
Click to expand...


I always checked the fuse rating as most appliances come with 13 amp fuses, we used to add the visual inspection and replace the fuse/Plug to a unit conforming to 1363a C/W sleeved pins (iirc) s part of the service package so ensure most items are able to pass without being removed from site/failed.

It is actually quite easy if you do sort yourself out and do things in the correct order.
Do visual check while making paperwork, serial number,class of appliance etc , set tester off, while doing the rest of the paperwork,label. Pass/Fail Job done not hard when you know what you are doing as stated. And yes i know electricity is dangerous etc

Portable is anything that plugs in for the purpose of this test. So anything hard wired needs to be tested by someone else.
 
mike foster said:
Well you are a tetchy little one aren't you !!!?
Click to expand...

Not at all mate, just stating that the company/people you see doing the work arent doing the complete job for what they're payed for and to untrained people make it look like a quick machine test is all that is needed. Bad workmanship is what annoys me about the electrical industry, because if someone gets it wrong and doesnt do their job properly, its likely that another party will pay that price with their life due to dangers involved with electricity. Plumbers worst scenario is floods etc that will cost but electricity can end peoples life when it goes wrong.


As a final thought, it could be that Portable Appliance Tester actually means that the tester is portable and intended to test ALL appliances.

Good day
Click to expand...

The term portable in this case refers to any item that plugs into the fixed wiring.
 
And ways less than 20kg i believe....
Anyway as an employer i like to have it on my concience that they have been checked....flexes get checked more frequently than pat testing
 
What is a portable appliance?
It is any kind of electrical equipment which derives its power via a flexible cable and/or plug top. They may be 415 volts and/or below, irrespective of age. As a general rule any appliance with a plug on.

The most common being:
• 13a plug top
• 110v (yellow)
• 230v (blue)
• 415v (red)
• 3 phase equipment is 415v

Examples of these are:
Kettles, heaters, printers, extension leads, photocopiers,
drills, welders, desktop computers etc.



What are the requirements? How are appliances tested?
This is where our service is invaluable, our dedicated team of engineers will work efficiently and discreetly (out of hours if necessary and at no extra cost) within your environment.

• Each appliance is checked for condition
• Fuse and cable ratings are checked
• Using proven testing equipment our engineers then perform the required electrical tests on the appliance
• Each appliance is uniquely numbered and identified, this is vital to enable a Health & Safety Inspector to match test data with that of the individual appliance
• All test data is held on our database and a copy sent to you
 
PAT testing isn't required by the law, it's just for company policies and insurance.

A meter and the City & Guilds course to do it yourself would cost around £500, otherwise it's usually around £3-£5 a item to get a tester in.

Anything that plugs into a socket is a Portable Appliance.
 
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