Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)

Legislation

In April 1990 "The electricity at work regulations" came into force. These regulations were made under the health and safety at work act 1974. And set out safety requirements for electrical equipment.

The act specifies that employers and self employed are liable for the correct use of electrical appliances and for the overall safety of the equipment, which is to be used by any member of staff and members of the public. For example:

Offices, Staff rooms, Hotels, Caravans, Shops, Hospitals, Banks, Workshops and any equipment that is hired out such as small plant hire. Also things like mobile discos.

Failure to comply with the requirements can lead to prosecution and may void any insurance claims made against your company, Leaving you to pay the said fines / compensation that could arise from any electrical fault or accident, to employees or members of the public.

What Needs To Be Tested

Any appliance that is plugged into the mains power should be tested, from hand tools, radios, irons and kettles to heavier items like air-conditioning units, oil-filled radiators, dishwashers and fridge freezers.

I.E.E. recommendations state that detachable cords have to be tested and classed as a separate item and labelled accordingly. In the case of I.T. equipment, the test which is required for the leads cannot be applied to the appliance due to the sensitive components and circuits within the item. So one PC with monitor and a printer will require 5 to 6 individual tests. Appliances such as photocopiers and mail processing machines and all manner of office equipment should and can be tested. You must indicate to us whether you require your server to be tested as you will be required to power down all server and comms equipment, alternatively we can carry out a visual inspection (usually carried out for servers due to interruption to business).

Staff property

In some places of work, members of staff bring radios, mobile phone chargers and other such items to make their working day more enjoyable. As the item is plugged in to your supply and on your premises, then it becomes you responsibility. So any such items should be tested, and engineers will test them unless instructed not to do so.

How often the testing should be done

Frequency of test and visual inspection differ for types of premises, and are derived by carrying out a RISK ASSESSMENT. The I.E.E. provide a suggestion for frequency of the above mentioned, however we find that most premises have an annual combined visual and test carried out independently along with their own visual inspections and / or testing through out the year as required.

It is recommended that items which are frequently used should be tested more frequently i.e. vacuum cleaners, tea urns, kettles and hand tools every 3 to 6 months or so, dependent on the type of premises and the outcome of the risk assessment. Items that are static such as fridge freezers and personal computers should be tested every 12 to 48 months again dependent on the type of premises and the outcome of your risk assessment. In order for the testing to be cost effective, we would recommend in most cases that you have all your items tested annually independently (Remembering that this is like an MOT for electrical safety) with provisions to have your own periodic inspection in place and a user check, every time the appliance is used.

You are also advised to check your insurance policy as more and more insurers are now placing requirements for having your electrical testing and documentation up to date.