Most people use a large number of different electrical appliances in their day-to-day lives, the malfunction of which could have serious or even life-threatening consequences. Whether at home or in the workplace, ensuring that all electrical appliances are safe and fully functional is an essential part of health and safety, and phs Compliance is here to help!
PAT testing is an important part of ensuring the safety of electrical devices and there are many opportunities in which a PAT tester's skills are needed.
Electrical appliances are vital aspects of a robust health and safety plan and must be tested and certified by a qualified PAT tester in order to be functional and safe. Portable appliance testing (PAT) is a safety procedure that involves completing a series of electronic tests and visual assessments.
It is the responsibility of a PAT tester to carry out the required health and safety checks for an electrical appliance and to ensure that the safety of the appliance is maintained over time. Visual inspection can often reveal basic electrical defects in portable appliances, but some faults may require more complex testing to be detected.
A person with a PAT test qualification will safety-check certain types of electrical appliances, aiming to reduce or entirely prevent electrical accidents in the workplace. A complete PAT test should include both a visual inspection and a more in-depth check, using professional PAT test equipment to measure lead polarity, earth continuity and insulation resistance. It is important to note that not all electrical items need to be tested and that some appliances will only need a lower level of test (called a PAT insulation test). At the end of whichever level of PAT test is most appropriate, all appliances should be marked as either passed or failed, and the results are recorded.
While electricians do typically tend to be qualified PAT testers—with many specialising in testing specific types of appliances—anyone can become a PAT tester, regardless of theirtraining or experience. This means that just about anybody can learn how to carry out PAT tests and become certified to do so. Somebody hoping to perform PAT tests must be over 18 years of age and be considered competent to perform the tests (i.e. they must have knowledge of electricity and previous experience working with electrics, including the system being worked on):
Basic electrical defects can often be spotted with just a visual inspection of a portable appliance, but some faults can only be detected through more complex testing. Whilst most people will be able to spot if there is something obviously wrong with the external components of an electrical appliance, PAT testers are required to check the inner workings of equipment and to check that it stays safe to use.
If you don’t have any existing knowledge of how electricity works and want to get qualified to perform PAT tests, that’s no problem; before embarking on the course, it would just be worth brushing up on the basics.
Electrical equipment must be regularly inspected and tested in order to make sure it’s running well and safely. This is done through the use of the PAT test, meaning that all electrical equipment used in the workplace is inspected and tested for safety, no matter how portable the equipment may be. The frequency of inspection and testing should be based on an accurate assessment of risk: pre-determined timescales are not always the best way to go about this.
The risk assessment should take into account factors such as the type of equipment, the environment in which it is being used,and the person using it.
While there is no specific legal requirement that somebody must be have a pat test qualification, it is always expected that those conducting PAT testing have received instruction from a qualified instructor.The training time varies across companies but on average takes around 40 hours, after which the person will learn how to perform the PAT test safely and effectively. This will include learning how to inspect appliances both visually and electronically, as well as what types of equipment are out there to use, and which equipment is best suited to which type of appliance.
So, if you’re wondering how to become a PAT tester or would like to get your PAT test qualification, get in touch with your phs Compliance contact today for more information and next steps.
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