Bath & West Fire & Safety Ltd.

PAT Testing

Preventing Electrical Fires

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Commercial PAT Testing for Safety’s Sake

PAT stands for Portable Appliance Testing – a routine inspection of electrical appliances which checks that they are in a safe condition to use, and don’t present a potential fire hazard.

PAT checks themselves are not a legal requirement for workplaces in the UK, but the broader law does state that businesses must maintain electrical equipment in a safe condition. There’s also a legal responsibility on employers and landlords to ensure the safety of employees, tenants and the public.

Thousands of the fires that occur in commercial buildings every year are caused by faulty electrical equipment, which can overheat and spark a blaze, so there’s no question that PAT testing is a critical safety measure that should be carried out regularly.

We’d recommend electrical equipment be PAT tested once a year for most businesses – more frequently if a lot of heavy duty or handheld electrical equipment is used, like at hair salons and commercial kitchens.

Our fully qualified electrical engineers are approved PAT Testers in north Wiltshire and Bath who can examine and inspect all your appliances – like computers, monitors, printers, phone chargers, photocopiers, kettles, microwaves and TV sets – and issue an inventoried report on the results for each appliance tested.

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Domestic PAT Testing

We are often asked whether periodic PAT testing of electrical equipment in private homes is compulsory. The answer is, no, it’s not – but it is certainly advisable, particularly if you work from home or use a lot of electrical appliances like, for instance, woodworking or gardening tools, or cooking appliances.

PAT testing is important not just for movable, small electrical devices, but also for the larger items like fridge-freezers or cookers. In fact, anything that functions by being plugged into an electrical socket can be PAT tested to check that it is in good repair and not a fire risk.

If you live in a rental property then your landlord should be able to show you a PAT pass certificate for any electrical appliance that comes as part of the property, such as a fridge, washing machine or heater.

In your own home you may well wish to safeguard your family and possessions from the risk of fire by ensuring your appliances are PAT tested every few years.

If you want peace of mind, or have any doubts about the condition of the electrical goods in your property, then give us a call and our PAT testing team will thoroughly check and report on your home electrical appliances.

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What a PAT Test Involves

A PAT test involves both visual checks and electrical tests on all the electrical equipment used on a site.

Firstly we inspect the appliance, checking for danger signals like frayed wires, cracked casing or damaged plugs. We then use testing equipment to carry out checks for criteria such as earth continuity, lead polarity and insulation resistance. If deeper investigation seems warranted we can use more advanced testing techniques.

After we have completed checks on everything in the inventory of electrical equipment as supplied to us, we will issue a report to state which items have passed and which have failed. Failed items should be immediately removed from use and either disposed of or sent for repairs. (Any repaired electrical equipment will need to be PAT tested again before it can be brought back into use).

It takes just a few minutes to PAT test each individual item, so the duration of the test on your premises depends on how many appliances you have to be tested.

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