DRA PAT Testing Ltd – Here to Help You
Who is DRA PAT Testing? – Richard Ayre
I’m Richard Ayre; In 2009 I did a complete career change after 10 years in banking, and retrained in electrical safety.
My uncle had a PAT testing company in the 1990’s in Seaham, back in the day when you could charge £5+ per item. He’d go to work, find all the equipment laid out on a table ready for him, and slowly work his way through them! He’d make a fortune and do hardly any work. It’s very different these days.
After the banking recession of 2008 everything changed in that world and I wanted out, it wasn’t the same anymore and I was unsettled. When the opportunity presented itself I retrained. Thanks to a training company in Sunderland I studied and qualified in the ’17th edition, Wiring Regulations’, Part P domestic electrical installers course, and the inspection and testing of electrical equipment City and Guilds 2377.
Choosing to specialise in PAT really allowed me to embrace my new chosen profession – I was able to get out and about, meet new people and go to new places – I loved it. Variety of workplaces is one of the best parts of my work, and my team say the same thing. We get to work in some amazing places, and some places most people never get to go. We also find our clients put a lot of trust and faith in us, as they allow us to go places in the work that even their own staff can’t go!
Now, 13 years on (2023) I look back and I am really proud of all I have achieved – that person that the bank overlooked for management promotion, running a successful business, with a team to be proud of.
I love going out and meeting clients, learning about the area we live in and visiting new businesses, how many people can say they have worked in a Police custody suite, a hotel, factory, S&M dungeon, swingers club, Airport airside, hospital, offices, military bases and so on?
These days I still like to get out and meet my clients, but my team do most of the PAT work – I split my time between office work, marketing, training my team and keeping my hand in with some PAT myself.
When you book us to do the PAT, we’ll send the best person for the job – our team can all do everything but each person also has their own specialism, you can even ask for me personally but my time is limited so you may have to wait a while ????
My team are trained to be like me, and to maintain my standards, and that shows in our reviews – we continue to get regular 5 star Google reviews, and our customers work with us long term.
We’re now established as the largest independent PAT testing company in the North East.
You may not know this – I am also the Operations Director for the national Portable Appliance Testing Trade Association.
Connect with me
Meet the Team
We have a dedicated, hard working team who ooze professionalism and come with plenty of experience. Working closely with our customers is important to us and helps to between us maintain hundreds of thousands of portable appliances. We have always strived to be the most recommended PAT testing company in the North East and with more 5-Star reviews on Google than anyone else we’re well on our way to doing that; if we’re not already there!
We are (left to right) – Kyle, Rob, Richard, Jane and Lee.
We are assisted by a select group of other team members who work with us nationally on ad-hoc projects, and are our office is managed by Chelsea.
Kyle Main, Electrical Inspector (PAT)
Kyle was our first employee, joining us after an electrical apprenticeship, in late 2017.
He’s an essential member of the team, who specialises in working with power tools, 110v especially but is proficient in all environments.
In his downtime he plays football, and likes relaxing at home with his cats ????
Rob Traynor, Electrical Inspector (PAT)
Rob joined us in January 2020, just before Covid kicked off. He came from a national PAT company who expected him to cover an area from Norwich across to Wales, and at any time of day get from one to the other if necessary! He was also expected to do ridiculous numbers every day to meet a basic wage. Moving to work with us he discovered a slower pace, better planning and was able to spend more time getting to know his clients which he revels in now. He still finds it strange that we want him to take time to speak to people and do repairs!
Rob lives in Blyth with his partner and young son.
Jane Potts, Electrical Inspector (PAT)
Jane joined us in summer 2022, from the “Gas”. She’s quickly immersed herself in the business and has become an essential member of the team.
Coming from Whitley Bay everywhere she goes she seems to know someone or has worked in their business!
In her spare time she likes to walk in the hills with her partner, and support her beloved Sunderland AFC! ????⚪️????⚪️
Lee Dudman, PAT Technician
Lee is our resident dancer! He works for us 3-days each week, spending his evenings and weekends teaching ballroom dancing; not many people get to say that.
Lee was brought in in the summer of 2022 to help out in a busy period and he’s never left. We couldn’t do without him now.
Chelsea Taylor, Office Manager
Chelsea left Uni with a Drama degree and somehow ended up working in recruitment. She joined the team as our Office Manager in 2022, and helps to manage the business admin. She’s also trained to do PAT so steps in to help in busy periods.
In her spare time she enjoys watching TV and walking at the Fish Quay. She’s currently spending most of her time planning her 2024 wedding to Kyle.
Peter Oldroyd, Electrical Engineer (EICR)
Pete works for us as a contractor, with his own company, he is NICEIC registered and does our EICR’s.
Contact us
Arranging your PAT testing couldn’t be easier, but we do need to know what the job entails. Get a price online right now using our appointment booking system, or email us to discuss your requirements and for a personal quote, or call us. Whichever option works best for you, it is available here. If you’re unsure and want more help we can come to see you before quoting.
Call 0191 666 1009
We are DRA PAT Testing
About us; D.R.A. PAT Testing Ltd is a small business based in Wallsend, just outside Newcastle upon Tyne, in North Tyneside. We are a team of 4; Richard, the owner currently mixing managing, admin and doing PAT jobs, and our 3 employed appliance inspectors Kyle, Rob and Jordan. “We are like any other local small business, in that we have pride and passion and want to do a good job for all our clients“.
“The team is well trained; I have high standards and expect everyone to offer the same high standards on their jobs. As a director for the national Portable Appliance Testing Trade Association having high standards is important to me. I hope you understand that we are like every growing business; as much as I want to do every job and meet every client it’s not always possible, but I will do my best to meet you sometime, and ensure through my team we provide you with an excellent service. I always oversee everything and will deal with you throughout the whole process.”
“When you choose to work with us you will be assigned an engineer to lead the project, whoever is best suited to that task. We tend to work with local businesses; we know our limitations and don’t like to spread ourselves too thin, so secondary schools, and call-centres tend to be our biggest clients (up to approx 5000 items on one site) but most of our work is in smaller high street offices, on business parks, in hair salons, for doctors and dental surgeries, primary schools and for landlords. We are proud to be the official contractors for the likes of Durham Constabulary, Nexus and HLA Coolrite. Whilst we can cope with multi-site work such as for our clients including Subway we tend not to take on national contracts as we’d have to get contractors to do the work and we can’t guarantee they’ll work to our high standards”.
“If you have just one item at home, want to bring equipment to us or need us to visit your site before quoting, all of this can be done. We can also advise you on choosing the right retest periods for your business needs. I like to visit a site before putting in a price, so if you’d rather we work this way I am more than happy to do so.”
“We carry out PAT testing on electrical equipment fitted with standard ’13amp’ plugs and any other electrical plug; we can do work with industrial appliances too, as well as equipment that has had the plug removed and is now permanently attached to the mains. We operate in line with guidance from the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) to ensure your equipment is checked correctly to ensure it is safe and you comply with the latest regulations. We regularly update our training and use industry leading North East based ‘Seaward‘ PAT testers to test appliances.”
“We also able carry out emissions testing on microwave ovens, and through our sister company we can manage your electrical installation inspections (EICR) too.”
“Our prices are very good; we charge a sensible price – we’re not cheap, but we’re far from expensive too. We have kept pretty much the same pricing structure since we started, and it offers good value for money and affordability. The price includes all our travel and admin costs (it takes time to produce the report back at the office too), and our time to repair faulty equipment that may otherwise fail the inspection. When you consider all that it really is very reasonable, and although PAT testing prices tend to be ‘per item‘ ours are based on how long we expect the job to take and so fall into our hourly or day rate levels. In fact if you’d rather agree that rate up front we’d prefer it, and it usually works out cheaper for you, especially if you don’t know how much equipment you have!”
“So, if you want to work with us, to get started just get in touch. I can give you a price over the phone, by email or come in to see you, I drink my coffee black and tea white, no sugar in either; we can have a nice chat about your situation and find a solution to suit us both.”