10-STEPS TO Quick Guide to Portable

IN-HOUSE PORTABLE Appliance Testing (PAT)

APPLIANCE TESTING What you’ve always wanted to ask.

1. Appoint a person to be responsible for 4. Make a list of all the electrical appliances
this area. on the premises. Don't forget extension
or IEC leads.
2. Provide this person with appropriate
training and/or relevant literature. 5. Assess the periods for Formal Visual
• Consider attending course "Demystifying Inspection and Testing.
Portable Appliance Testing" run by
6. Buy a tester that gives Pass or Fail
First Stop Safety, or purchase Distance
indication and that is safe to use for IT
Learning Package from First Stop Safety.
equipment. Consider buying one of the
or read:
PAT Packages from First Stop
• Article "Electrical Appliance Testing" from
Safety.
First Stop Safety.
• Free booklet "Maintaining portable 7. Carry out Formal Visual Inspection and
electrical equipment in offices and other Testing at the appropriate intervals.
low-risk environments". INDG236 from 8. Record all results of the Formal Visual
HSE Books. Inspection and Testing and label equipment.
• Free booklet "Maintaining portable
9. If contractors, staff or residents bring in
electrical equipment in hotels and
electrical equipment, carry out testing
tourist accommodation". INDG237 from
if there is not an up-to-date "Tested"
HSE Books. (HSE Books Tel: 01787 881165).
label on the appliance.
3. Train all staff to look out for potential
10. Use Help Line 01904 791050 if you have
dangers. Consider purchasing "Before
any queries.
Switching On" poster from First Stop
Safety.

First Stop Safety

11 Glaisdale Road, Northminster Business Park, Upper Poppleton, York. YO26 6QT
Tel: 01904 791050 Fax: 01904 780054
info@[Link] [Link]
Contents What is PAT testing
and why do I have
to do it?
PAT testing is a way of ensuring the safety All electrical appliances are safe when first
What is PAT testing and why do I have How often do I have to Test?
of electrical appliances in your workplace brought into the workplace as new as they
to do it? Page 1 Page 7
by carrying out some basic maintenance should all conform to the European Low
What do you mean by Inspection?
checks. It is reported by the Health and Voltage Directive. It should have what we
What types of appliances should be Page 8
Safety Executive that 25% of all reportable know as the CE mark on the rating plate. An
PAT Tested? Page 2
electrical accidents involve portable example of this mark is shown here. It is
How can other members of staff help?
appliances. Many fires are due to faulty inevitable that over a period of time the
What sort of things can go wrong with Page 8
electrical appliances. appliances will deteriorate, some more than
appliances? Page 2
others. It is this deterioration that we are
Am I to blame if someone gets a shock? The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
looking for whilst PAT Testing.
Do I have to be an electrician to PAT Page 8 puts a duty of care upon both employer and
test? Page 4 employee to ensure the safety of all
What about appliances bought in persons using the work premises. This
What type of tester should I use? by visitors or staff? Page 9 includes the self- employed.
Page 4 The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Can I save money by PAT testing myself? state “As may be necessary to prevent
What does Class II mean? Page 9 danger, all systems shall be maintained so
Page 5 as to prevent, so far as is reasonably
Can I PAT Test for someone else? practicable, such danger.”
What does Class I mean? Page 9
Page 5
Do I have to test Microwaves for leakage?
Are some appliances more prone to Page 9
damage than others? Page 6

Are some workplaces more dangerous

than others? Page 6

1
What types of
appliances should
be PAT Tested?
All appliances
with a flexible
lead and can
be moved must
be PAT tested.
This picture shows a damaged cable,
This should
possibly due to it being trapped in a door.
include items that
are moved only infrequently, This picture shows a plug with a bent pin. A common fault in many workplaces is
say for cleaning. This includes If this is not corrected, then this may the cable pulling out of the plug due to
appliances which are hard cause damage to the socket outlet. the cable grip being faulty.
wired into a spur although
these items would be tested
by an electrician.

What sort of things

can go wrong with
appliances? This shows a plug that has been damaged This picture shows an electric fire that is not
possibly because it has been dropped, or fastened properly. It is possible for someone
Appliances can be dangerous for any a piece of furniture has been moved These pictures show typical non-standard to get their hands into the fire when it is
number reasons. One would be looking for against it. This is very common and is a joints on cables. working. This can result in a shock.
things like cracked plugs, bent pins, damaged frequent cause of shock in the workplace.
cables or any non standard joints. On the
appliance itself one would look for burn
marks or cracks on the body of the appliance.

2 3
Do I have to be an What does Class II
electrician to PAT mean?
test?
Class II appliances have 2 layers of insulation

No. The HSE state “you must be a competent

to protect the user from electric shock. If a
single fault resulted in the breakdown of
What does
person who has been given instruction”. If
you have no experience of PAT it would be
one layer, then the second layer will still
protect the user. This method of protection is
Class I mean?
a good idea to attend a training course. You commonly used in hand-held devices such as
need to be aware of the different types of Hair Dryers or Drills and is known as Class II. On appliances that have large areas of
electrical appliances and how often to inspect exposed metal say a PC or electric fire, this
All appliances should have a rating plate
and test each type. All electrical appliances metal is connected to the earth pin of the
indicating its Class, Watts & Voltage & should
can be divided into Class 1 or Class II and mains plug thereby protecting the user from
always have the CE mark. (If no rating plate is
you would need to know how to do this. a potentially fatal electric shock should a
present the appliance should be disposed of.)
single fault occur within the appliance making
the outer casing “Live”. This type of appliance
is known as Class I. Note that some Class I

What type of tester appliances do not have any metal on the

outside.

should I use?
The HSE advises that if you are not an
The “double box” symbol on the rating plate of
electrician a simple PASS/FAIL tester should
this drill indicates that this is a Class II appliance.
be used. There are many PAT testers on the
market but the ones with PASS/FAIL indication
are very easy to use. These testers carry out
the required tests automatically once you
have determined the class of equipment
and indicate PASS or FAIL. The picture here
shows the PAT-IT tester, which is very simple The absence of the “double box” symbol on
to use and is safe for testing IT products. the rating plate of this electric iron indicates
that this is a Class I appliance.

4 5
Are some How often do I
appliances more have to Test?
prone to damage It stands to reason that cables on Stationary
appliances are rarely damaged, as they not This is determined by the class of equipment as Class1 and Class II appliances are treated quite

than others? moved frequently. However, Hand-held

equipment is likely to be damaged more
differently. It is also dependent on the type of environment the equipment is being used in. The
degree of portability of an appliance also affects how frequently one needs to carry out PAT testing.
easily because it is more likely to be
Yes. Although all dropped or the cable could be constantly The tables below give an indication of when the inspection and tests should be carried out.
movable appliances rubbed against furniture when it is being used.
are included in PAT Frequency of Inspection (in months)
Testing, they can
Class II Class II Class I Class I
actually be categorised
into different types,
Are some Stationary Hand-held Stationary Hand-held

based on how easy

or difficult it is to move. The standard types
workplaces Low Risk Office, Shop, Hotels 24 6 24 6

are as follows: Stationary, Information

Technology, Moveable, Portable, or Hand-held.
more dangerous Moderate Risk

Medium Risk
Schools

Equipment for public use

12

3
4

1
12

1
4

Weekly
than others? High Risk Factories. Kitchens 12 3 12 1

Very High Risk Construction sites 1 1 1 1

For example a construction site is a far more
dangerous place than a hotel and the
Frequency of Inspection & Test (in months)
equipment on a construction site is likely to
be easily damaged. Class II Class II Class I Class I
Stationary Hand-held Stationary Hand-held
On the other hand, in an office, there is not
much risk of damage to electrical appliances. Low Risk Office, Shop, Hotels None None 48 12

Moderate Risk Schools 48 48 12 12

Medium Risk Equipment for public use 12 12 12 6

High Risk Factories. Kitchens 12 6 12 6

Very High Risk Construction sites 3 3 3 3

6 7
 to give you the guidance needed to set up
What do you mean How can other What about your regime of inspection and test.

by Inspection? members of appliances bought in

Can I PAT Test for
staff help? by visitors or staff?
One would inspect the appliance for visible someone else?
faults such as those indicated on pages 2 &
There would be little point in setting up If you fully understand what is expected of
3 and also the inside of the plug to check if
Other employees should be encouraged to a PAT regime to inspect and test all your you after you have undergone training and
the correct fuse rating is being used and
look out for the wear and tear of appliances appliances if visitors and staff brought their feel confident enough to inspect and test any
that the plug is wired correctly. It is said
and report any hazards to you. It is a good own appliances in and used them untested. appliance you might come across then yes.
more than 80% of faults can be found by
idea to show them what to look for at staff If this happens and someone gets an It is advisable however to have adequate
carrying out a visual inspection.
meetings or as part of the induction process electric shock from the appliance then the liability insurance.
company has to take responsibility. The
Am I to blame if for new starters. A simple poster such as
onus is on the company to make sure all
those available from First Stop Safety can give
Do I have to test
someone gets an good visual guidance on what to look out for. appliances on the premises are tested. A
simple memo to staff members is a good
microwaves for
electric shock? way of going about this.

any leakage?
The HSE ask that all reasonable care be Can I save money This is recommended and is a good idea as
taken to ensure the safety of electrical
appliances in the workplace. The regime of by PAT testing the seals can get damaged with use. A
inspection and testing of the appliances Microwave checker will allow you to do this
ensures the safety at the time of testing. myself? very easily.

It is essential to keep a test record for each

piece of equipment where test results and
To have an electrical contractor come and
comments can be recorded. This can be
test your appliances can be quite a costly
invaluable evidence if there is an incident
exercise. If a company has 400 appliances
concerning an appliance. When completing
to test this could incur a cost in excess of
the inspection and/or test, the appliance
£1000. First Stop Safety has PAT Testers and
should be labelled to show the date of
PAT Packages to suit different environments
inspection or test and also the date when
from £249 to £800. Having one of these
the next inspection and/or test is due.
packages on site can result in substantial
If you follow these guidelines then you cannot cost savings. You could also attend a half
be held personally responsible for what day training course run by First Stop Safety
happens to the equipment after that time.
8 9