In order to comply with UK workplace health and safety regulations all workplaces must ensure their electrical equipment is safe to use at all times. Electrical equipment comprises of any appliance that uses electricity to function, including:

1. Battery operated equipment like mobile phones, drills and laptops
2. Equipment fitted with a plug like kitchen appliances, computers, vacuum cleaners
3. Equipment fitted with a single phase industrial adaptor running on 110v (yellow) or 230v (blue)
4. Equipment running on three phase industrial adaptors at 400v (red)
5. Equipment of higher voltage
6. Equipment that falls into one of the above categories but has been permanently wired to the mains

Number 1 you can do yourself by simply looking at the appliance for any damage; numbers 2 and 3 we can do for you; number 4 we may be able to do but a specialist would be a better option; number 5 needs a full electrician and we can help with some appliances on option 6.

This page is intended to provide a guide of what you should expect from our service if you book us or make an enquiry for us to do your PAT Testing.

When you first get in touch with us, if you have less than 100 appliances we can give you a quote over the phone – it may be possible to do the same for higher numbers too. However, if you’re unsure what you have, what you need, etc or you have hundreds of appliances we will both benefit from us visiting your site before quoting.

Also, if you business comprises of industrial areas, we will insist on a visit first.

The benefit of a visit is you get to meet us (Richard); we can talk about your concerns, queries etc and put your mind at rest hopefully. We can explain the service we provide and talk to you about anything else that may be involved. We can do a survey of your equipment to be able to provide a fixed price quote and we can do our risk assessment before attending to do the actual job.

A survey means you get the best price possible for your circumstances, and in most cases you get a guaranteed fixed price for the job. For example, if we survey and predict 300 items, then end up testing 400; you still pay the pre-agreed price. However, if you don’t get a survey we price the job based on the number you tell us plus a per item rate for any extras. We find most people under estimate which runs the risk of a higher than expected invoice.

Assuming you accept the quote we’ll find a mutually convenient date and time to book the appointment to do the work.

We’ll provide you with handy information to prepare for our visit so the process is easy, specific to you, although this page should provide most of what you will need to know.

We’ll come on that day as arranged to do the job; we wear branded uniforms, are polite and friendly. DRA PAT Testing employs engineers to do the work, it could be Richard coming or another of our highly trained and competent team; but you will have been informed when the appointment was booked. In most cases, if we come back more than once the same engineer will attend so you get that personal touch.

We’ll introduce ourselves, follow Covid protocols etc and get on with the job. If the engineer hasn’t seen the site before, a tour may be useful.

We’ll work with you to ensure minimal disruption to your team – if you have something that can’t be turned off you should inform us at the start, then we can discuss with you the options available. For example with server systems we may be able to offer alternate solutions.

If a room is going to be busy during our visit; doing it first may be a good plan.

If we come across faulty plugs or cables we’ll do remedial repairs for free (like repairing the flex and plug or replacing the fuse or plug) and if there is anything else that needs doing, if we can do it we’ll quote you, and if not we’ll guide you.

If we have to fail something we’ll notify you and tell you what needs doing with it. A failed appliance is marked with a big red label with information on about why it failed; it’s also documented in the report.

An appliance that passes is labelled with our purple labels, including its own unique identification number.

If there’s something we can’t test for whatever reason we’ll keep you informed, just as if we come across something that needs different or additional tests we’ll guide you on that too. This can include appliances fitted to the mains using a spur system, a fixed appliance that isn’t in our remit, or industrial appliances.

When the job is complete our engineer will review with you what they have done, and tell you when you’ll receive the report by. They’ll talk to you about repairs that have been done, and anything you need to be aware of. They may even mention further actions you could implement to improve safety.

You should double check everything is done before we go – if you find something that we have missed, and it was our fault – like a plug on a desk that we missed – then we will come back to test it for free. If however, something was inside a cupboard or drawer, or off site* we will need to book a new appointment to return.

*it’s worth noting here – if you have anything usually kept off site, such as equipment a field engineer or home worker uses that needs testing too, so measures should be taken to test their equipment. This could include them coming in to the office whilst we’re there or us going to their home to test the appliances. 

Guidance tells u that a decision on this needs to be taken by you and us having an input, but the final decision is yours. We find in most cases clients follow our guidance or just get tested annually.

You are responsible for safety in your business, and we will do our best to help you. We’ll guide you on what is an appropriate PAT testing frequency for your circumstances and unless you tell us otherwise we will remind you within that time period to get tested again.

We find in most circumstances clients prefer this as it means they don’t have to be remember when to get PAT tested again!

Creating your report is something that needs to be done back at our office;

Back at the office the engineer downloads the test results to create the report. Makes any amendments and adds his notes. The report will be quality checked then he will email the full report document to you including anything else you need to know about in the email it’s attached to. The report includes everything you need – it is one PDF document, including a list of every appliance that passed and the results obtained, information on anything that fails and the overall PAT testing Certificate. There is more information of this document on our PAT Testing Certificate page.

If there is any mistakes please inform us so we can make changes.

When the engineer sends the report he’ll ask you to do review of his work – hopefully he asked whilst he was on site, but if not we would really like to know what you thought of our service. If you can post a review on our Google Places account that would be greatly appreciated.

So the job has been done and you have been sent the certificate; we now need paying please. We’ll send your invoice which should be paid on receipt. However, we do offer up to 30 days credit as standard.

Payment can be made by cash, cheque, card or preferably bank transfer.

If your payment is not received on time reminders will be issued automatically.

Regular electrical equipment testing, done at the high standard we provide helps you to ensure that your electrical equipment is safe, reducing the chances of an accident occurring, which helps you to ensure you comply with the laws that govern UK workplaces.