Electrical PAT Testing - Understanding the Regulations For Electrical PAT Testing

Fires caused by faulty electrical appliances are one of the most common causes of fires in places of work. The problems that cause these fires are not always obvious to the untrained eye, so can only be discovered by carrying out a proper series of tests on the equipment. On some occasions, however, faults should be patently obvious to anyone who looks at an appliance (eg exposed wires, broken casing, etc), and the main problem is just inadequate maintenance and checking.

Electrical PAT Testing - PAT Testing Regulations

As an employer you have duty under UK law to properly maintain portable electrical equipment in good working order, and to test it at regular intervals. The main pieces of legislation that set out PAT testing regulations are the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Failure to fulfil this duty could result in prosecution, but more importantly, could lead to serious injury to your staff and possible serious disruption to your business if you suffer a fire.

Electrical PAT Testing - What Is A Portable Appliance?

Portable electrical appliances are those pieces of equipment which can be moved around, rather than being fixed or permanently wired into the building. There is a tendency to simplify this definition to doing a PAT test on anything with a plug on, but while this may work in the majority of cases, it does not cover all situations. The best definition of a portable electrical appliance is that of something which is designed to be moved while connected to a supply of electricity.

The PAT testing regulations do not just relate to equipment which is the property of the business. The responsibility of the employer is for any electrical equipment brought onto the premises. So you must have systems in place to deal with contractors or temporary workers who may bring their own equipment in to use. Do not forget that it would also apply to any electrical equipment not directly related to carrying out your core work. Things like the sound and lighting system for the Christmas disco, or curling tongs or hair dryer brought in by a member of staff who plans to get ready at work before going straight out.

Electrical PAT Testing - Who Can Carry Out A PAT Test?

The explanation in the PAT testing regulations regarding who must carry out your electrical PAT testing is that it should be Competent Person. This is taken to mean that they have to know what they are doing, and must therefore have had the appropriate training or experience. Many companies use specialist contractors to do their electrical PAT testing, and others put their own staff through PAT test training so they can carry it out in-house.

There is no compulsory qualification that you have to gain in order to undertake electrical PAT testing. There are many one day courses which are available all around the country, most of which will provide a certificate, and some of which offer the City and Guilds 2377 qualification. There are also online or DVD courses available. If you are going to undertake electrical PAT testing in-house, you will also need to invest in PAT testing equipment.

Electrical PAT Testing - How Often To Do A PAT Test?

PAT testing regulations are suitably vague on this point and the end result is that the employer has to be responsible for assessing the degree of risk with each appliance and making a judgement about the frequency of testing. On average once a year is reasonable though some items definitely require more and others will be fine with a less frequent PAT test. A hand drill, for example, gets moved around regularly and is far more liable to damage than, say, a computer printer. A quarterly PAT test may be more appropriate for the hand drill, with a visual check each time it is used.

The frequency of PAT test that you decide upon can of course be adjusted according to your experience. If you find that you PAT test something and there is never any problem, you may be able to reduce the frequency, whereas something that regularly fails or has faults could probably do with an increased PAT test frequency.

Electrical PAT Testing - Recording Your PAT Test Results

The PAT testing regulations are not precise on this point, but it makes good sense to record your PAT test results. Why go to the trouble of doing all your tests and not record the fact that you have done so. If anything goes wrong you will have no evidence to prove that you have complied with the law and taken reasonable steps to prevent problems.

Downloadable PAT testing equipment has software that records all the test results and enables them to be downloaded to a computer. This is extremely useful and will also print labels for all items, displaying the PAT test date, when the next PAT test is due, the test result (pass/fail) and a unique ID number to aid reporting.

Electrical PAT Testing - Conclusions

There is no ambiguity in the PAT testing regulations about the actual need to PAT test electrical equipment, so if you are an employer or the manager for a workplace then you personally have a legal obligation to ensure that all portable appliances brought onto those premises undergo regular electrical PAT testing and are well maintained and safe to use. It is best to view your duty under the PAT testing regulations not so much as an onerous chore but as a sensible measure to help protect your business and your workforce.