PAT Testing

[Brad93]

I’ve just had a cold call from a company who reckon they’ve quoted me before for pat testing.

Anyway it is something That I need to do. What’s the going rate? I remember it being about 50p an item?

is it better to get my own machine and labels?

 

[Matchless]

I do my own, Pat............................. you need to look up the regs for a one man band, a lot of things do or did not apply for less than 5 employees, may have changed, also when you take electrical items onto a site it may trigger different rules, also may change if the public have access to your workshop, best get reading! you don't get much for 50p these days.

 

[Mikes]

Brad,
It's not a legal requirement - you just need to ensure that the tools are electrically safe and comply with the Electricity at Work Act. You probably do this every day that you pick one up and plug it in as you know if something is damaged. All you need to do is check that the are safe which is generally limited to checking the flex for cuts and abrasions, checking cord grips are doing their job, checking the plug and if fitted the fuse rating. Most portable tools that we use have electronics in them that can't be left in circuit when testing so very much limits the test. If you are using your tools at other people's premises / sites then they might expect to see PAT stickers on them.

 

[RonA]

Brad,
It's not a legal requirement - you just need to ensure that the tools are electrically safe and comply with the Electricity at Work Act. You probably do this every day that you pick one up and plug it in as you know if something is damaged. All you need to do is check that the are safe which is generally limited to checking the flex for cuts and abrasions, checking cord grips are doing their job, checking the plug and if fitted the fuse rating. Most portable tools that we use have electronics in them that can't be left in circuit when testing so very much limits the test. If you are using your tools at other people's premises / sites then they might expect to see PAT stickers on them.

I wish somebody would explain that it’s not a legal requirement to council or local government linked organisations.
My wife runs a small band & every time they play at an Council linked venue, they insist on a current PAT certificate for every piece of the PA equipment, which is nonsense as most of it is electronic & cant be put on a PAT testing machine. Checks are mainly limited to mains cords but it can still work out expensive.
RonA

 

[steviec_lj]

50p an item?!?!?

I gave up doing it when it dropped below £1 an item, or less than 100 items, just wasn’t worth it.

Still have the kit to test, but not the software to print out reports. Only do my own stuff now.

 

[julianf]

Not legal requirement, but often a stipulation of the insurers.

It's all a nonsense really. Any "competant" person can do the job, and it's only valid for the instant in time.

 

[julianf]

I did the kit in a school. I the physics dept all the power supplies used regularly by the kids had the old style plugs on then with the non shrouded live and neutral pins.

The reason why the shrouds were added, I think some time in the 90s, was that a child or two managed to kill themselves by getting their fingers round a plug.

So here I was in a school surrounded by equipment that's primary users were children, all fitted with plugs that had been deemed unsafe decades previously due to their danger to children.

...all with layers and layers of PAT pass stickers on the plugs.


Machine would have said "OK!" though....

 

[bricol]

We wee told one evening to switch off and unplug everything as they would PAT test everything over night. Came in following morning, no stickers . . . No instruction for the following night, so left everything on . . follwoing morning, PAT stickers on everything . . . nothing had been unplugged as my CAD system was still logged in . . .

 

[willie.macleod]

At 50p per item you are paying for someone to put a sticker on an appliance, not carry out a meaningful test. For most folk here using kit in a harsh environment basic checks on the likes of cables should be made on a regular basis, but the electrical tests should also not be neglected - I suspect the 50p per test job isn't going to include the kit like the 300A MIG welder due to its 32A commando plug, meanwhile it is full of conductive grinding dust....

 

[angellonewolf]

as above looked in to this only a few years ago not requirement its only reomended unless your insurance say differant

in harch inviroments it need from memory every 3 months not every year

just take a look how meny objects you have price up how much it costs even 50p item it will add up but might be worth it as its a defence if someone get hurt you can prove items have been cheaked at regular times with papar work to prove if you ended up in court

where as if its only you and 1 other in the workshop you do all your cheaks every time you use an item and if something drops on the floor youed cheak it before using again

its more important in larger places where people use equipment where they have no idea what a danger is eg person uses a kettle that has a nick in the cable and there can get a belt off the 240v mains or put there finger in a fan and get cut off

 

[Brad93]

I do my own, Pat............................. you need to look up the regs for a one man band, a lot of things do or did not apply for less than 5 employees, may have changed, also when you take electrical items onto a site it may trigger different rules, also may change if the public have access to your workshop, best get reading! you don't get much for 50p these days.

This is site work that I need it for

 

[Robert.]

https://www.patlabel.co.uk/pat-test...J-C3swPdkqW5E-2O1cJ_cB5iBZRnbUFgaAtq2EALw_wcB

That's all they want to see , whether they were actually tested or not .
To back yourself up do a PUWER log book weekly

Something like that , it's all a back end protection nonsense as you check a tool every time it's used .

 

[Turbo]

For insurance requirements all the gear at our Men's Shed has to be tested annually & they get someone in to do it. Whoever it is hasn't a clue as I've found things like extension leads with cuts, sanders with damaged plugs & a planer with no cord grip in the plug, all this within a month of being PAT tested & declared 'electrically safe'.
I mentioned this to our co-ordinator & it has been suggested that we sent someone (me) on the appropriate training, get a tester & do all the testing in-house. I do a regular check on the stuff & do all the repairs anyway (for free) so it would make sense. It would also involve testing the office equipment of our umbrella group but that would only need checked once a year.
Alas that training has never happened, the bean counters don't see the long term financial benefits of doing our own testing.

 

[winchman]

I wouldn't let you onsite unless you had some proof your portable appliances had been tested / inspected.
This is why many people just hire it all in.

 

[Ali]

Site I was on last week, manager said ‘all your gear has to be PAT tested. If it’s not, see me, I’ve got some stickers in the drawer’.

 

[northwest]

then they might expect to see PAT stickers on them.

Available by the roll on ebay.

 

[Mikes]

Available by the roll on ebay.

Yes, seen them in Toolstation as well. Takes all legitimacy away from the whole process in my view. Absolutely no way of knowing if the sticker has been applied after a legitimate test or not.

 

[Agroshield]

View attachment 256245

The other thing to take away from the very useful photo posted above is that each item (including extension leads) needs a unique ID, so it is traceable in the paperwork and traceable to you(r company).

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Absolutely no way of knowing if the sticker has been applied after a legitimate test or not.

On the fake labels thing, do you really think that if there is an accident a serious accident investigator would just stop at the label on the tool?

That is just a starting point for a whole chain of paperwork - the written PAT test record related to the label, the person who carried out the test on the record, the training cert. of that person, the calibration of his/her machine.

And weigh up the consequences of not having a PAT test vs. fraudulent faking of a PAT test. One might be a slap on the wrist, the other could be a courtroom.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

A PAT test and sticker only indicates at the time of test the item was tested.
The sticker should indicate the following.
Date of test.
Date of next test, is the test was a pass.
Ident. of person carrying out test.
Unit under test identifying number.


PAT is only valid at time of test.
It does not mean an item is safe for 52 weeks.

PAT can be carried out any time.
The list is fairly long and is a 4 hour section on the approved trainging course.

 

[Exuptoy]

Load of ******** but deemed necessary by insurance companies etc. Spent whole two week trips offshore as the only nominated and certified tester on site. For a job to be done correctly and repairs carted out (I will say on Ex Atex kit which can be a ball ache to strip down) I might only get 8-12 items done a shift. At 50p that wouldn’t put a dent in my Ltd Co hourly rate let along day rate! Nice job to do in a shipping container workshop for a 12 hour shift, you can shut off and not think of anything, just listen to my music.