Frequently Asked Questions
PAT for short is regular testing and inspection of portable electrical equipment.
The testing and inspection of such equipment allows businesses to meet legal requirements under the Health and Safety at Work act of 1974.
Most Insurance companies and fire services require companies to have regular PAT inspection before safety certificates and or policies are used also most council run venues insist on having your electrical items pat tested.
Most work places require an annual Pat Test, although some construction sites or public venues will require a more frequent inspection.
You should treat PAT testing as you would the MOT of your car – you wouldn’t drive around in a car that wasn’t safe – so why risk yours and your employee’s lives working in premises where the electrics could be unsafe.
PAT testing is required by employers, landlords and self-employed to ensure safety of portable appliances. The Health & Safety Executive provides no set rule on PAT testing frequency, only that testing should be done regularly to ensure preventative maintenance. The reason that there is no set frequency is because different situations arise that call for different measures. There are a number of factors that affect PAT testing frequency and it is up to each individual to determine when testing should be carried out.
The following frequencies are advised for these sectors:
Construction – All 110V equipment used on construction sites should be tested every 3 months.
Industrial – All industrial sites, including commercial kitchens which have Portable and Handheld equipment should be tested every 6 months.
Offices, Shops and Hotels – should be 12 Months.
To ensure that all the Electrical Appliances and equipment are working properly we do a test called Portable appliance testing or PAT Test. Most of the defects in electrical appliances can be detect by visual examination or by using them, but some issues can’t be detect by this way so we do PAT test to find them. However, it’s a good practice to do PAT testing by a competent person at appropriate intervals, depending upon the type of equipment and the environment in which it is used.
