But how can you be sure ? Maybe they are fooling you.
As with the subject we have PAT testers here who come in and put stickers on teh plugs of equipemtn to show they have been tested, but tehy have mana ged to do that without switch the computers off of unplugging any equipment . So accodring to admin we have had all our electrical stuff PAT tested, but in reality we;ve been paying £150 per hour for a couple of people to come along and stick stickers on every plug saying it needs testing next year t oo.
As with the subject we have PAT testers here who come in and put stickers on teh plugs of equipemtn to show they have been tested, but tehy have managed to do that without switch the computers off of unplugging any equipment. So accodring to admin we have had all our electrical stuff PAT tested, but in reality we;ve been paying £150 per hour for a couple of people to come along and stick stickers on every plug saying it needs testing next year too.
You need my apprentice to do your PAT testing then. The computers will be unplugged without any questions no matter what you are using them for:-)
They wonder why they are doing it and why some company is paying for it. It's a load of bollocks just like the asbestos awareness course I have to attend every year- which is now 3 hours long but it was just the same course as last year when it only had to be 1 hour long - except we had a 2 hour refreshment break this year half way thouigh the 3 hour course.
I've got a PAT arranged for next week at work. Whilst he's testing my system backup servers (40TB's worth) I will be arranging chicken bones in the corner and praying to them.
On the plus side, it means we can legally use our new coffee machine.
As soon as I write a risk assessment...
To be fair, the risk assessment is mostly "we did not place our steaming hot coffee machine on top of a 6' bookshelf 12" away from the smoke detector, nor did we plug it, a fan heater, a kettle and a toaster into a single 6-way power bar with 4m of its 5m supply lead coiled up into a tiny little roll and hidden under a pile of paper."
And to be more fair, if I don't write the sodding thing and anything happens (like a false fire alarm) I get to find out what a disciplinary procedure looks like...
You can do almost all of a PAT test without anything other than a screwdriver to open the plug (if not molded). The most important part is the visual inspection, which you need to know how to do. Using the PAT tester comes right at the end and only if the visual inspection passes, but it's quite rare that an appliance which passes a formal visual inspection goes on to fail on the PAT tester.
If you see someone start a PAT test by using a PAT tester, they don't know what they're doing, which is unfortunately very common.
There are some notes here, started by a friend and then taken over by me, but I haven't finished them. They are also limited in scope to once-off testing, and don't cover periodic testing which is typically performed in workplaces.
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As has been said, it was intended that a suitably competent member of staff in most companies would be able to be trained to perform PAT testing. They should complete both parts of C&G 2377 (usually taught on two consective days with the exam at the end). Prerequisite knowledge would be knowing how to wire a plug, and knowing the difference between milliohms and megohms. They don't need to be an electrician.
Indeed. I've done the first part of 2377 and most of it is "check for damage and check the fuse". I've been meaning to give a mini session to my colleagues.
And with Class II appliances there's not really much else you can do. Class I needs an earth continuity test and an IR test.
And yet, I know a place (1000's employees) that doesn't have a PAT tech resident. So booking tests is a faff, covers 200 items minimum and costs accordingly. If you are serious about safety, a PAT test of a new Class I appliance (at risk appliance, eg cooking item) should be no more than a phone call away to the local chap who wanders round at a convenient time in the next few days.
a few years ago I bought 4 new thetre lanterns. One of them failed a PAT test - there was no electical connetion between the earth wire on the mains lead and the metal body of the item.
Yup, I've seen new items I would not pass. But AIUI in workplaces one does not legally have to PAT test new items first.
And have seen plenty of PAT tested items that very obviously should not have been. That's the trouble with using non-electrical people to do PAT testing, they really don't understand all the issues.
One doesn't legally have to do any PAT testing at all, ever. The HSE says it doesn't do any itself.
And the trouble with using electrical people to do it is that they get paid for it, and therefore insist that it is done even though it doesn't have to be.
'Electrical people' as you put it will do the correct job which in law requ ires you to have safe electrical equipment, whereas those that have been to ld it is their responability to ensure the same and aren't 'electrical' get someone they are told are electrical in so they can pass the blame on when something goes wrong. They aren't intrested in the actual safety but just box ticking is their ai m.
How else do you propose to ensure electrical appliances are safe?
few people work for free. Plenty don't say it needs doing when it doesn't, but it's true that a lot do. It's largely the result of ill considered contracts.
How about a fancy pendant light with the main bit hanging on a metal chain? The earth connection was to the base so if the weight of the lamp part was taken off the chain the lamp part wasn't earthed.
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