The number of injuries sustained in the workplace from faults with electrical appliances is no laughing matter. Regular Portable Appliance Testing will prevent most unwanted incidents, as most problems with your electrical equipment will be spotted before injury can occur. For this to happen though, you will need to know who should carry out your PAT testing to keep you, your employees and your colleagues as safe as possible.

Self Testing

After taking a one-day course, you are technically qualified to perform the PAT testing of your own office or workplace. Other equipment that you will need to accurately perform tests on your portable appliances may not be cheap though, and with limited experience (initially at least) you may be likely to miss something that a more experienced tester would find.

Electrician Testing

Some electricians perform their own PAT testing. As these individuals spend their lives working with electrical equipment, they are obviously well qualified to spot any flaws within your own appliances. It may be possible to combine the installation of new electrical equipment with the PAT testing of your existing devices. You should be aware though that not all electricians will conduct their own PAT testing, though they will normally point you in the right direction if they don’t.

PAT Testing Companies

Another PAT testing route is that the finding an individual or company whose sole profession is that of ensuring that electrical appliances are safe. These full-time PAT testers are certainly qualified to meet your needs, and can often offer you great deals when it comes to price and other services such as out of hours testing. Finding local PAT testing company should not be difficult, as there are many around within the UK. You may wish to read reviews, or to discuss the level of training of employees within the company to ensure that you and your staff are in safe hands.

Preparing for PAT Testing

No matter who you choose to conduct your PAT testing for you, there are certain steps you can take to make the process as streamlined as possible, causing the least disruption to you and your workforce:

- Inform every employee that is in the office at the time of testing that electrical testing is to be carried out. This will let them know that they may need to stop working momentarily to allow testing to be conducted.

- Switch off computers before your PAT tester arrives at each workstation. The computer will need to be turned off for around 5 to 10 minutes, during which time the member of staff working at this station should make themselves scarce.

- During the testing of any equipment within the kitchen such as kettles, microwaves, etc. none of the facilities will be available for use by yourself or any member of staff.

- Ensure that an employee is ready and waiting to assist the PAT testing engineer once the tests are completed. There will usually be a form to sign, and some reporting to receive.

Following these simple steps will help to make the PAT testing experience more pleasant for all.

Are you looking for PAT testing in Gloucester? The Gloucestershire-based Rapid Test could help. With a dedicated team of PAT testing professionals, Rapid Test is able to offer you a highly professional service for a very affordable price.

Would you believe that the Health and Safety Executive, the government body responsible for ensuring that health and safety regulations are adhered to at work, receives reports of around 1000 electrical accidents at work every single year. Of this 1000, around 25 people die of injuries that they receive in said electrical accidents. The importance of electrical safety cannot be overstated.

The following top 10 tips for electrical safety at work will help you, your colleagues and your employees to stay free from harm as they go about their daily duties.

Tip 1 – only use portable equipment close to a plug

In the event of an emergency, using a piece of portable equipment close to a plug provides you with the ability to quickly and easily remove power from the device.

Tip 2 – place clearly identified power switches close to fixed machinery

The last thing that you want to have to do in an emergency situation is fish around the back of a fixed device for the power switch. Ensure that power switches are clearly identified and accessible so that they can be quickly turned off.

Tip 3 – place ‘DO NOT USE’ labels on potentially faulty items

Even if you aren’t entirely sure that an electrical item is faulty to the point of being dangerous, it should be marked clearly with a label that says DO NOT USE, and removed from its working location (if possible) until a trained professional can come to assess the situation.

Tip 4 – never pull a cable to release a plug from the wall

It might take longer to cross the room, but ensure that you hold the plug as you pull it out of the wall and not just the cable. If possible you should also turn the socket off at the wall before unplugging the device.

Tip 5 – always unplug electrical items before cleaning

Accidents are all too easily caused through good intentions. If you wish to clean an electrical appliance, ensure it is switched off and unplugged at the wall before starting.

Tip 6 – replace any worn or frayed cables

You might think that the cable has some more life in it, but why take the chance? If the cable looks worn, or is frayed anywhere, replace it.

Tip 7 – provide enough electrical sockets

There’s the computer, the monitor, the printer, the speakers, the desk light… the list goes on and on, and the temptation may be to plug every device into one extension cable, using multiple adapters to provide enough sockets for the many appliances. Overloading electrical sockets should be avoided at all costs, as it can increase the risk of fire.

Tip 8 – work with the lowest voltage possible

The lower the voltage, the less likely serious incidents are to arise. It may not always be possible to avoid using high-voltage machinery, but if, for example, a battery-powered device would do the job just as effectively as a mains powered equivalent, choose the battery operated safer option.

Tip 9 – ensure electrical installations are carried out by a qualified electrician

Many accidents caused by electrical appliances could be avoided if the devices had been properly installed in the first place. Hire a qualified electrician if you aren’t confident in your own abilities, and ensure that all legal requirements related to electrical safety are adhered to.

Tip 10 – keep your electrical appliances maintained

To ensure the continual safety of you and your employees and colleagues, you should ensure that all appliances are tested regularly. A local PAT testing company will work with you to help you to be confident that each piece of electrical equipment within your workplace is safe for all to use.

Rapid Test is a Gloucestershire-based PAT testing company that can help to keep you and others at your workplace safe. If you require PAT testing in Stroud, Gloucester, Cheltenham or any neighbouring towns or villages, why not visit the Rapid Test website now for a highly competitive quote.

If you run a business, hotel, school, or any other organisation where people gather for work, learning, sleeping, or simply meeting others, you may be curious as to how often you require a Portable Appliance Testing service. PAT testing will ensure that your electrical devices are safe, reducing the risk of injury to any individuals. It is an essential service, but one that could cause disruption and one that will cost money each time your chosen testing company visits. For this reason you may wish to minimise the frequency of your PAT testing. To do so you will need to understand exactly how often the inspection and testing of certain electrical devices is required.

As useful as it would be to inform you of the exact testing schedule that you require for your business or organisation, unfortunately there are actually no absolute rules as to how often your appliances should be tested. Instead the guidelines simply state that the inspection of any of your electrical equipment must be ‘regular’. While this lack of solid guidelines may seem frustrating at the outset, it does make sense. The frequency of testing of different appliances is, as it should be, related to the risk posed by the users of said appliance. For example, heavy duty electrical machinery used on a building site will probably require testing more often than the computer of an office worker.

In deciding how often your electrical equipment requires PAT testing, the following four factors will help you to make your decision:

- What environment is your electrical equipment located in? Could the environment be described as arduous, for example a building site? Or would ‘benign’ be a more appropriate word for, for example, an office space.

- Are the users of the electrical appliances in question likely to report any flaws or failings? If an employee is likely to notice a potentially hazardous situation with the equipment that they are using, and report said situation, then PAT testing may not be required as often as if individuals will ignore the situation.

- The construction of the equipment is another valid factor in deciding how often portable appliance testing is needed. For example, a piece of Class 1 equipment must have a connection with earth to be deemed safe, whereas Class 2 equipment need not have a fixed earth connection.

- Finally, the equipment itself bears some influence as to how often PAT testing should be carried out. An electrical item that you carry around may be more likely to be damaged than one that is found in a fixed position.

Hopefully these four factors have got you thinking about how often your electrical equipment requires PAT testing. It is important that the frequency of your testing is determined by the factors above, and that it is kept under constant review to ensure that your employees, tenants, or any other individuals, are kept as safe as possible.

If you aren’t sure whether your PAT testing is due for renewal why not contact the Gloucestershire-based Portable Appliance Testing company Rapid Test. For PAT testing in Cheltenham, Gloucester and the surrounding areas, Rapid Test really can meet your needs by providing excellent customer service for an affordable price.

If you are involved in the running of the business, chances are you will have heard of PAT testing. There is no escaping the health and safety regulations in the UK that instruct all businesses, no matter how large or small, to ensure that their staff are free from harm at all times, and PAT testing is one way to meet said regulations concerning portable electrical appliances.

Portable Appliance Testing is essentially a process that involves checking each and every portable electrical appliance that is used by a company. Many different types of electrical equipment require this testing to be done on a regular basis (usually yearly) to ensure that workers are kept safe.

Keep reading now to learn more about the fundamentals of PAT testing, as well as the reasons why it is so important in our society.

What Is PAT Testing?

There are different types of PAT tests, from formal visual inspections to the use of one of many different types of PAT testing machines. Different tests are used by different companies, and for different electrical appliances. The majority of appliances owned by your company will be subject to several different checks to ensure absolute safety. For example, both the outside and inside of plugs will be checked, and all appliances will be visually inspected for any obvious signs of damage. Believe it or not, this check is commonly the one that forces many electrical appliances out of use as a health hazard.

Once each appliance has been checked by a certified PAT tester, a label will be attached to the plug, or around the cable close to the plug. This label will contain details of the date that the PAT test was completed, when the next test is due, and details of the company that actually perform the testing. A printout of the passes or fails of all appliances is usually also provided by the company, allowing the health and safety officer of the business to record the information accordingly.

Why PAT Test?

For some, PAT testing may seem like an inconvenient and expensive experience. Having people enter your business year after year, unplugging and inspecting every single item of equipment, from computers to telephones, coffee makers to fax machines, may not be something that you look forward to. PAT testing though is absolutely essential for UK businesses, because it really can reduce the risk of injury within many different workplaces.

Many electrical appliances are subject to strenuous use by many different employees. A gradual fault can develop into a large problem that could cause serious injury. Not only is this bad for business, and for a company’s reputation, but it could also cause lawsuits. As an employer, it is your responsibility to look after the well-being of your staff. PAT testing is usually not an expensive process (unless your organisation boasts a particularly large number of portable appliances), so it is certainly worth keeping on top of.

Why not find a local PAT testing organisation now that can work with you to reduce the amount of inconvenience that the testing process could cause.

If you are based in Gloucestershire then Rapid Test could provide you with such a service. Rapid Test value customer service highly, and yet still offer highly competitive prices, so why not contact us now for a quote for your PAT testing in Stroud, Cheltenham, Gloucester or the surrounding areas.