Office PAT testing - how many appliances do we have? How many appliances do we have in our office? It happens a lot - we're contacted for a price for PAT testing an office; the prospective client tells us how much equipment they have, we price it and when we turn up to do the job, it's a lot more than expected. So how do we prevent this happening? When this happens it can cause problems for you and us.. The job is going to take us longer than expected so may affect what we have planned next The job is going to take us longer than expected so will disrupt you more The job is going to cost you more The job is going to earn us more :) You're going to realise you have under-budgeted for the work :( Office PAT testing is our bread and butter - we're experts at it, so trust in us and we'll help you maintain a safe office without the shock of an invoice twice the expected amount. One thing we always do if we're on a job and think it's going to be bigger than planned; with [...]

PAT Testing for home workers If you need PAT testing and you're working from home, that's fine, we can help. We can wear face masks, and wipe surfaces we have touched; we'll do what is necessary to keep you covid-secure and electrically safe. How do you arrange it? Just like anything else you need to arrange; just call 07897240878 or email richard@draelectricals.co.uk Do you need PAT testing when you work from home? If you work for a company and they require you to work from home then they are responsible for you, even when you are at home; because you are still working - so the Health and Safety at Work act still applies. So your employer must get the electrical appliances they provide you with checked to make sure they are safe. Do you work for yourself, from home? This question is a lot harder to answer; if only you work in the business and you work from home, if you're competent to assess that your equipment is safe to use then there is no real reason to get it tested. However, if you employ people or you have clients, and they [...]

Lockable Socket Covers Use lockable socket covers to protect important plugs from being accidentally switched off. Great for server systems or computers you don't want turned off by accident. Also great to protect children at home.  Everywhere we go there is at least one plug with a post it note taped to it with the big letters "DO NOT SWITCH OFF".  Someone somewhere is terrified that the all important plug will be taken out and replaced by a hair drier or heater!  But you need worry no more, for we have the solution!  Not only does this simple solution massively reduce the chances of your plugs being disconnected when you don't want them too, but it can also totally prevent it.  In addition to that the exact same system can protect younger users from the risks of electric sockets, by totally blocking their paths to them.  Lockable Socket Covers We are now distributors and installers of lockable socket covers, which can reduce and eliminate the chances of that all important socket being switched off.  We have tamper resistant covers that have a 'child lock' system that requires adult sized [...]

How often should pat testing be done in an office? How often should pat testing be done in an office?PAT tests in offices may not need doing as often as you may think. Many offices get their appliances tested every year but that may be too often. If you do a risk assessment you will find that most if not all appliances won't need doing that often.  Stationery appliances such as fridges, photocopiers, even computers and monitors hardly ever move so do you really need to get them tested every year? If users check them periodically and inspections are carried out intermittently it should be perfectly acceptable to increase the interval between tests to 2 or 3 years. Some publications even say longer, but many argue that that is too long.  Risk assess to determine how often PAT testing should be done in an office A risk assessment should clarify the need for PAT tests in offices, as it will show the risks that affect the equipment in use.  However, the assessment of equipment use in an office is 'low risk'.  Office equipment such as computers, monitor screens, printers, photocopiers, etc. rarely [...]

Staff bring personal electrical equipment to work When staff bring personal electrical equipment to work, you as the employer, need to be sure that that equipment is safe to use and especially safe to plug in. If the equipment they bring in is faulty or not to British Standards, not only could it lead to them having an accident, but it could present a risk to your business, such as it could overheat and catch fire. It's for reasons such as this that it is essential that when staff bring personal electrical equipment to work you make sure it is safe to use. Some companies have a policy that Staff simply are not allowed to bring personal electrical equipment to work, and plug it in. Every year, around 1,000 workplace accidents are reported to the Health and Safety Executive that involve electricity, and about 30 people die from injuries caused by electrical hazards. Under the Electricity at Work Regulations (1989), employers must make sure all electrical equipment is safe. Employers must carry out an electrical risk assessment for any electrical hazards (including equipment). The assessment should detail who could be harmed by an electrical hazard, how the risk [...]

Get rid of messy cables Everyone these days seems to have messy cables on and around their desks; generally caused by the constant addition of new appliances that need a cable to draw power. But no one has time to tidy up the cables to make them neater. If you want neater cables around your desks talk to our engineer about what would be involved - in a small office we may be able to do it whilst we're there, and in bigger sites we'll need to arrange to return (ideally when your staff aren't there). Cable re-organisation is something everyone says is easy, but no one ever does it, lets face it - who has the time now to pull out desks, disconnect all the cables, and relay them neat and tidy? Nobody has the time but nobody likes to see that mess of wires.  If you are not booked in for appliances to be inspected any time soon but think this is something you need for your business, get in touch with us - we'll come out to survey the site, from which we'll make a proposal. We'll be able to tell you how long [...]

Specialist in Portable Appliance Testing - PAT Testing Offices We specialise in PAT testing offices; PAT testing computers is relatively easy to do, and shouldn't cause too much disruption to your team, although in big offices it's sometimes better for all of us to do the work outside your normal hours. Being specialists at Pat testing computers we have the specialist equipment, so we know we're not going to damage your appliances, nor will be disconnect your servers unless you authorise it first! PAT testing Offices - We're a specialist portable appliance testing company, covering the North East of England. Speak to us about what we can do for you, we will be able to show you where and how we can save you money by eradicating unnescessary testing.  We provide simple and cost effective solutions to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes to help comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations. Effective Portable appliance testing provides you with assurances that your electrical equipment is safe to be used, and thus complies with the regulations. We work with our clients to not only check their equipment is safe, but to ensure it meets the recommendations of the Health and [...]

PAT testing office equipment should be an essential part of your in house Health and Safety policy; regular PAT tests will help you maintain safe electrical equipment, something which you are legally required to do. How often you do it is based on your risk assessment, but many companies choose to get it done annually mainly because it's cheaper in the long run! Using electrical equipment safely and responsibly in the office is crucial, not to mention a legal requirement for all employers and a duty expected of employees. As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to protect your employees’ health and safety. In the UK, this duty of care is called the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Within that law is the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. These regulations tell us how electricity should be used in the workplace, including making sure electrical equipment is safe and fit for purpose. The regulations not only give employers a legal duty of care, but place responsibility on employees, contractors and other similarly employed workers too. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 The Electricity at Work [...]

Reduce the chances of disruption with out of hours PAT testing PAT Testing when you're off work - out of hours PAT Testing at weekends or overnight; when you're not there actually makes the job easier for us, and reduces disruption for you, which is why we offer out of hours work as standard. PAT Testing when you're off work If we have to test your office when all your staff are there on a Friday it's much easier to test when none of them are there on a Sunday. If staff aren't there we can pull out all the cables, make the monitors and computers easy to access and not have to work around your staff - it makes our job easier. Experience has shown us that PAT testing when you're off work is particularly affective when we're PAT testing offices. A few years ago we tested all the equipment in a call centre; over 5000 items, done during the week when the staff were working - we tried organising for out of hours but the boss their at the time was having none of it. The job turned into a logistical nightmare; trying to get staff to [...]