Portable Appliance Testing or PAT testing is covered by The Health and Safety at Work act (1974) and more specifically The Electricity at Work Regulations (1989).

The regulations state that All electrical systems and equipment shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as reasonably practicable any danger”.

Therefore by PAT testing your electrical equipment regularly you are minimising the risk to users. You are also demonstrating that you have taken the necessary steps “to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable any danger”. Or in other words, you have taken the necessary steps, so far as is feasible, to limit any accidents or danger to your employees, customers or anyone who has contact with your electrical equipment.

When someone is injured someone is liable. Therefore the responsible person must do everything possible to make sure that the environment is safe and to demonstrate duty of care.

Employees have a responsibility over their employees to make sure that they safe. The HSE reports that over 1000 fires a year are caused by faulty electrical items. Most of which may have been avoided if regular risk assessments had been taken place.

The IEE code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment is published by the Institute of Electrical Engineers and covers this area in more detail.

These details are also covered in our pat testing training courses, along with details on how to carry out pat testing and how to record, store and manage your pat testing results.