PAT test and a H&S report

The 'it' at the end is bad grammar and redundant, since the 'armours' is already the subject of the sentence.

"...armour that was used to connect the machine my father accidentally drove over in the '60s, and got a 440V shock from."

Is enough, or if you want to look erudite and eliminate that trailing preposition...

"...armour that was used to connect the machine my father accidentally drove over in the '60, from which he got a 440V shock."

You obviously don't understand PAT testing

The visual part is actually the most important part. But to check that the metalwork of an appliance is actually earthed you need a megger or a device disguised as one.

Sounds like you've got that covered - and you haven't disagreed with me :)

As the customer I assumed you told the PAT bloke that it was covered under another inspection regime and he needn't bother with it...

Lots of different armouring out there and I know this one survived being driven over, so probably not.

To be fair, it used to:

But now they've renamed it to

In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment IIRC...

I did the PAT course with the IET. One of the main things that was banged into our heads was that there was a LOT the ordinary users could and should be told to check on a frequent basis and it was mostly the state of the flex and looking out for broken plugs and similar visual defects.

I do occasionally use my Megger to check an item at home that I am suspicious of - gives me a quick earth continuity test (but without a decent current pulse though) but is just as good as a dedicated PAT unit for doing insulation testing.

Another case of missing the point :(

This is the conclusion my last lot came to.

Except my then boss did find some exceptions - moulded IEC leads that had bad connections, so he insisted that we tested all new leads if not the actual equipment. At least he had a verifiable reason to be concerned.

PAT has become just another admin chore in many places. No one cares if the kit is safe - just that it has a little green label with an in-date date scribbled on it.

But in the case of the air freshener, there was no metal, apart from that which was energised.

Chris

The real issue is the missing fuse. Looks unprofessional and lays the manager wide open to all sorts of complaints should a t-what play with it.

This ebay item number:

Black Euro Converter Adaptor Convert EU 2 Pin Plug to UK 3 Pin Power Connections

Solves the problem, is easy to fit (1) (2)

(1) yes I know some organisations will only only let "competent persons" touch tools - I "work" for one.....)

(2) assuming the lead isn't a standard "figure of 8" lead that can't be swapped out.

so, it passed the visual test. What's the problem?

Prat

It was in one of the diagrams IIRC - I will have a look later see if I can find it.

A nails just as good. ;-)

It's a good way of passing along the responsibility of who to blame should something go wrong. We get everything tested every year.

Wouldn't have thought many would hardwire such a device into a ring? So the plug will have a fuse.

We've simply all lost sight of how to do the right thing (ie make the workplace safe as far as practical) and are more worried about who to blame when it goes wrong.

I dare say some don't even care if the workplace is unsafe, as long as someone else gets fingered...

In the hope that no one gets sued if something should go wrong. Although I'm not sure if it'd actaully work I've seen something pass the PAT test (well it had a sticker on it) that should or would have failed my visual inspection.

Want a bet?

A megger tests the insulation its the wrong tool to measure earth connectivity (unless its two tools together).