PAT Testing information – useful information regarding portable appliance testing
Does new equipment need PAT Testing? Do new electrical goods need PAT tested before using? They shouldn't. New equipment should be safe when manufactured, and are tested before leaving the factory, so there should be no need for you to have to PAT test them before using them. Assuming the new equipment has been bought from a bonafide [...]
Depending on how severe the situation is, the penalty for failure to meet legal obligations on electrical appliance safety can be as high as 2 year's imprisonment, as well as unlimited financial penalty. Of course, we are not judge or jury so these figures may have changed/may change. Don't take the risk to save a little bit of money, [...]
Realistically speaking a PAT certificate expires as soon as the test is over and someone starts using the appliance again, because the results obtained can't predict the future, but in reality most people consider a PAT testing certificate to last around one year. However, how long the time period should be until the appliances are tested again very much [...]
We get these questions asked a lot; perhaps you have other questions - ask them in the comments section and we will respond. Why do electrical appliances need PAT testing? Electrical appliances need PAT testing to maintain safety standards - an appliance that is not safe is dangerous; a dangerous appliance starts fires or gives the user an electric [...]
Yes it does; you are responsible for electrical equipment used at work, whether you have supplied it or not. What would happen if that appliance caught fire or caused an accident - would you be protected if you hadn't checked the appliance was safe? Consider this: You take action to ensure your equipment is maintaining safety standards by [...]
If I had to give you the answer to this question, I would say "better safe than sorry, get it tested", but ultimately the final decision is yours. Most people say that you don't need to get new equipment PAT tested but it is up to your company policy If you are confident that the new equipment you have [...]
If we fail an appliance we will advise you what to do; either repair it or dispose of it. PAT Testing is as much about finding faulty appliances and fixing them as it is about confirming appliances are safe. If an appliance fails it may be repairable; if we can repair it we will do, but if not we'll [...]
How often do you see a PAT tester testing your equipment without unplugging it? It is not possible to test a portable appliance without unplugging it A technician that doesn't unplug an appliance is simply looking at it, or doing even less - he sticks a sticker on and charges you for it. An internal fault won’t be found [...]
Socket Testing - is it really needed? Socket Testing - is it really necessary? Socket Testing - is it really necessary? Your electrical wall sockets should be tested by an electrician when they do an electrical installation certificate report; you hope they were installed correctly and so it's just [...]
In order to perform a Portable Appliance Test an appliance needs to be shut down and unplugged; this includes server systems. If you don't shut down the server the PAT engineer can't carry out the appropriate tests, so there is no way of knowing if the server is safe. PAT engineers who put labels on servers and record [...]
