PAT Testing Explained

Why is it important for my electrical appliances to be PAT Tested?

Electrical appliances surround you every single day. Whether it is plugging your phone into charge at home, heating up your lunch in the microwave at work or even reading this very blog post on the move with your laptop.

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) ensures that your daily appliances are electrically safe for you to use. If an item goes untested, it can be extremely dangerous to you as its defects will most likely not be spotted. Testing by specialists is crucial as these dangers can include electrical shocks and burns.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 suggests that to prevent danger all electrical items should be maintained in a suitable condition. Circuit’s qualified specialist engineers provide a routine maintenance, judging whether an electrical appliance is ‘suitable’ through both high quality visual testing and testing through specialised electrical equipment. These tests check for potential flaws which if left could cause a potential hazard.

How would my electrical appliances become unsafe?

  • Through wear and tear
  • Any damage or corrosion
  • Excessive loading (for example too many plugs into one socket)

PAT Stats

  • An estimated 2.5 million people receive a mains voltage shock every year, out of those 350,000 people receive a serious injury!
  • Over 7% of all work place fatalities are caused by contact with electricity or electrical discharge!
  • Nearly a quarter of all reportable electrical accidents involve portable equipment.

September’s Big 5 PAT Fails

Here are a few of our big PAT fails from last month…

 

Footnotes

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/635/contents/made (Regulation 4)

Contact Us

0845 021 3207
mrcircuit@circuitcompliance.com
Halifax
Croft Myl, West Parade, Halifax, HX1 2EQ
Edinburgh
George Street, Edinburgh, West Lothian, EH2 3ES