PAT testing, how much?

[iansheff]

Wee used to have a report sheet to fill in and give the readings on there and then put a sticker on saying the appliance had been tested.

[Beccyboop]

Hmmm it seems like many of you have no idea what your talking about again. Stickers are no good whatsoever without the corresponding report . Fact.

 

My advise would be to take to to your local tool hire shop such as HSS or champion hire. They will do an over the counter service for you.

 

Hmmm I'd better tell the charity shop that then as there wasn't any sort of report done, just the test on the lamp, stuck sticker on and off I went.

 

Is the following statement correct:

Any competent person can carry out PAT Testing. This means you need to understand what you have to do and why you need to do it. It is for this reason that The PB500 Easy PAT Tester Kit comes with an instructional DVD, which takes you through all the steps required We also offer portable appliance testing courses to offer face-to-face instruction on how to test and ensure the safety of your electrical appliances.

[Obelix]

It depends on the circumstances. I've seen contractors turfed out of venues because of lack of stickers and/or a report that they haven't been bothered to send prior to the job. Now you can argue the toss from now until the cows come home about what constitutes a test but policy is policy. I prefer to test my stuff properly as its often unattended but for a sewing machine that's being used at a college, this seems a little excessive. Get some students from the appropiate course to check the lot!

 

If they asked for a certificate and a report then that's fair enough of course. But if they say PAT testing and then change the goal posts, or mean something else then that's not acceptable. Far too many places want a safety report and call it PAT testing, erroneously so they can hide behind "Well it's the Govt not us being mean and requiring this.". It's just a means of deflecting criticism.

[Pinnacle PAT]

The label will have a unique number printed on it, who tested it and the date tested. The report that corresponds to this label will show earth bond, insulation, leakage results etc. Cheap test equipment that flashes green or red isn't worth a bean as no actual results are recorded thus couldn't be produced in the event of fire or injury. People that buy and use these £100 testers may think they are doing all that's required but they may find themselves in hot water should an accident or fire occur as they can't prove testing

[Obelix]

Assuming that those tests are made. That's the point - there is no requirement to do this, even the HSE are quite happy for a low risk item to be visually inspected. Whenever I hear stuff like this, cui bono springs to mind - who's making the money out of peoples fear hmm?

[Pinnacle PAT]

I'm not getting too involved on this anymore as I've gone over this before numerous times and there's a thread about this already.

 

It's all down to proof of testing. A visual inspection is required by all members of staff at regular intervals but do they do it and is it recorded? The answer is usually no. The number of appliances in office environments that could potentially kill (black power supplies the most common) is quite alarming

[Obelix]

The number of light fittings that could fall on your head and kill is quite high too. Should they be stickered?

[dosxuk]

There's so much nonsense in this thread it's almost amusing. As normal, the battle lines are drawn between the "You must have a qualified electrician charge a fortune to carry out the highly complicated PAT, and anything less than a certificate on vellum is not acceptable" and the "PAT testing is something anyone can do, it's only sticking a sticker on the equipment, it's another Government scam" parties. BOTH ARE WRONG

 

There is no point in anyone using a PAT testing machine of any sort, and just sticking a sticker on if the machine says OK. You'd be almost better off not testing it at all, especially if something went wrong and you end up explaining in court why you didn't predict the equipment was going to fail. A piece of equipment with a green sticker and no paperwork may as well have the sticker pulled off.

 

A proper PAT testing regiment should be used as part of a suite of actions to ensure electrical safety. There is no need to test everything - the law only says that electrical equipment must be safe to use - it doesn't specify the PAT as the be-all-and-end-all of electrical testing (it's not). Provided it's all documented, you can basically do what you want.

 

One of the posters above said that hoovers are low risk items, when in fact they are one of the most likely pieces of equipment that are liable to fail / be broken - primarily because they're dragged out every day, yanked round the place, chucked in a cupboard and rarely get inspected. Most offices, if there's one piece of equipment with the wires visible coming out of the plug, it's going to be the hoover.

 

Many of the responses on this thread and it's like demonstrate that most people don't understand the point of PAT testing. Personally I blame the HSE for it's poor advice, especially in the past (the "You must PAT test everything" days), and the cowboy PAT testers who test everything, even the stuff which doesn't need testing, with it being very much in their interest that their customers don't realise the actual rules / requirements.

 

In the case of the OP, I agree it's excessive to require a simple sewing machine to need PAT testing, however - if it's being moved around regularly, to a venue which sees all kinds of wonderous bits of electrical equipment being brought in, I can understand their requirement to have it tested.

 

[Normal disclaimer - I don't do PAT testing myself and I'm not qualified to. I have however been risk accessing electrical safety specifically around portable equipment for over a decade, and have been involved with PAT testing thousands of pieces of equipment (normally producing the reports)]

 

even the HSE are quite happy for a low risk item to be visually inspected.

 

I think your idea of low risk is different to that of the venue's involved and HSE's.

 

I piece of mains voltage electrical equipment being regularly moved from building to building would not normally fall into a low risk category. A computer at a desk which isn't moved after it's installed would do.

 

The number of light fittings that could fall on your head and kill is quite high too. Should they be stickered?

 

What does that have to do with electrical safety of portable appliances?

[Obelix]

One of the posters above said that hoovers are low risk items, when in fact they are one of the most likely pieces of equipment that are liable to fail / be broken - primarily because they're dragged out every day, yanked round the place, chucked in a cupboard and rarely get inspected.

 

That's why you inspect them - and that's why the HSE uses them as an example of equipment that can be visually inspected and that is sufficient. They suggest every three months that the cord and plug is checked for security/damage, and the case is inspected for damage as well.

 

It doesnt mean that you have to have someone come in and sticker them up - the HSE guy I was talking to said that it was preferable to have that regime, rather than a yearly check as it would mean issues are spotted much quicker. Cheaper too, so people are more likely to do it.

 

---------- Post added 05-09-2013 at 12:49 ----------

 

 

What does that have to do with electrical safety of portable appliances?

 

It's an example of how you can use FUD to scare people into handing over money when it's quite unnecessary.

[dosxuk]

That's why you inspect them - and that's why the HSE uses them as an example of equipment that can be visually inspected and that is sufficient. They suggest every three months that the cord and plug is checked for security/damage, and the case is inspected for damage as well.

 

A visual inspection requires more than just looking at the outside. It also requires opening the plug / socket / case (where appropriate) to ensure that all terminals are wired correctly and secure.

 

Interestingly, you say they use them as an example of equipment that can be visually inspected, yet their guidelines for "Maintaining portable electric equipment in low-risk environments" states "Other equipment, eg a floor cleaner or kettle, may need a portable appliance test, but not necessarily every year."

 

As I said, you can pretty much decide to do what you want, but you must have those decisions risk assessed and documented. If someone gets an electric shock off a damaged kettle in the staff room, it's no point just telling the man from HSE that you didn't test it because you didn't think it needed it, he'll be wanting to know how you came to the decision that it didn't need testing.

 

It's an example of how you can use FUD to scare people into handing over money when it's quite unnecessary.

 

Well I have to risk assess hanging stuff above thousands of people's heads too, and I wouldn't put it down to FUD. LOLER is even more rigourous than the electrical safety regs.