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  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 the appliances without testing anything are doing just that - that's not a safety check; it's simply an audit or asset register. If the server is not turned off all the engineer does is a very basic visual inspection, which doesn’t check [...]

How will the PAT Test affect you? Hopefully not too much; if we work together we should be able to manage the process so there is as little disruption as possible to you and your team. One good way to do that is for you to have a ‘route plan’ in mind; plan a route around your site that is best suited to it, so we’re disturbing staff as little as possible. This is especially good for doctor’s surgeries that are open or factories with dangerous equipment in use. When we carry out the tests the appliance will need turning [...]

If you follow the news you will be aware of the importance of making sure your electrical appliances are registered, so if there are ever any safety notices placed on them, you can be informed. When the risk is the appliance may catch fire, you should want to be informed. The good news is, registering for updates doesn't take long and it doesn't mean you will be inundadeted with junk mail. There is an excellent website called "Register my appliance" that you can use to register your appliances. In the mean time it is worth using this handy tool below [...]

To make sure they are safe - dangerous appliances can give users electric shocks and start fires. PAT testing reduces the chances of that happening There are valid arguments for why you should get portable appliances tested, and there are arguments against getting appliances tested; usually created by people that don't understand why it is done.  Electrical appliances are made to perform a function; an electric heater is designed to warm a room, a television is intended to be watched, a drill is built to drill holes in walls - these are all valid reasons for an electrical appliance to [...]

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 [...]

What is a PAT test? A PAT test is a routine procedure including an inspection and possibly a series of tests conducted on electrical appliances to make sure they are safe to be used.  The purpose of the PAT test is to prevent or reduce the chance of electrical accidents in the workplace. A full PAT test, sometimes referred to as 'inspection and testing' should include both a visual inspection by a competent person and one or more tests using specialist PAT testing equipment. These tests could include tests for earth continuity, lead polarity and insulation resistance - basically, checking [...]

Making sure your equipment continues to be safe shouldn't be too difficult, and in most cases you will pass PAT testing if you equipment is maintained; you see, as long as your equipment is as safe on the day of the test as it was the day it was made, the appliance is going to pass. Appliance testing ultimately is about confirming what we already know; confirming the appliance we are using is safe to be used - the fact we have not had an electric shock would suggest it is safe to be used, but a PAT test will make [...]

Dave the DJ has a mobile disco rig, he was booked by Steve and Anna to do a disco for their Wedding at the local hotel. Dave set up on the Saturday afternoon in the dance hall and left his gear there, plugged in whilst Steve and Anna had their Wedding Breakfast. The evening was a success, everyone had a great time and the disco was superb, even granny got up for a dance. It was about 4am when the night porter started to smell burning wafting through the hotel; he had a look around but couldn't work out where [...]

So you get your office equipment PAT tested, but what about the gear in the vans, or the laptop Joe the sales guy uses at home? Every electrical appliance the company owns needs to be checked to see that it is maintaining a safe standard, whether it is used in work or not. So round up all your equipment on one day and arrange for us to come in and test it all for you.