PAT Testing at Northern PAT-Guard: Serving Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley, Sheffield and Wakefield.

I want to address a question I was asked recently. ‘If PAT testing is not a legal requirement then why the emphasis on the what the Health & Safety Executive says and also what’s written in the Code of Practice?’

The truth is, - Portable appliances require testing in line with your obligation to your workforce. Legally you are responsible for the safety of your employees and customers.

You require your PAT Report so that you can pass it on to your insurance company to highlight the fact you are doing all you can to protect your staff and clientele in the workplace. You may also be carrying out this procedure because you want to feel safe after it is completed. I also assume that when you call the PAT tester you wish him/her to do their job conscientiously and efficiently. Quality being higher than Quantity.

I ask, do you really want an electrical safety inspector to come to your place of business and say your equipment is safe if it is not? In some cases I can honestly say to the customer Your previous PAT test has not been done – at all and you have thrown money away to someone who was in fact lying to you.

You’re wanting your PAT doing to a standard your insurance company requires or maybe you just want it done correctly for your own peace of mind.

Please don’t throw money away to someone who has bought a test machine, please get a competent engineer who knows the pass thresholds, your safety is worth the extra pence it will cost.

Pass Thresholds – The reason I say this is because most testers (the machines not the person in this case) have a reading for earth continuity, Insulation and earth leakage, some appliances have different pass thresholds and the meter may say it’s failed but in fact the given appliance is possibly within the pass range. The engineer will know these and will pass the item if it’s within the allowed range.

Free of charge I can give you advice on the best approach in ensuring you will get the job you pay for, you can call or email me and gain the knowledge to know what to look for in your engineer when having your annual tests carried out. You can do this easily and with minimal electrical background knowledge. YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE ME FOR YOUR PAT TEST after this. I do all this because I want a safer world and I’m hoping you do too.