What the job involves
PAT testing is portable appliance testing: checking the things that plug in. Kettles, computers, monitors, extension leads, fridges, microwaves, hairdryers, power tools, lamps, vacuum cleaners. Anything with a plug on the end of a lead, and some fixed appliances that are connected through a fused spur, which is a small switched connection unit on the wall instead of a socket.
It sits alongside the EICR, which covers the fixed wiring in the building. Between the two, every part of the electrical system in a workplace is inspected. The law behind it is the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which require electrical equipment at work to be maintained so as to prevent danger. The regulations do not say how often; the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance says the frequency should follow the risk, and insurers, landlords and inspectors tend to translate that into a yearly visit for most premises.
We have tested appliances for offices, shops, hotels and schools across the Fylde since 2004, and the work is part of our NICEIC Approved Contractor registration.
What we do on the day
A PAT test has two parts. The first is a visual inspection, which finds most faults: cracked plugs, damaged leads, scorch marks, missing cable grips, the wrong fuse. The second is the instrument test, where the appliance is connected to a PAT tester that checks the earth connection, the insulation between live parts and the case, and, for some items, that the appliance runs correctly. The whole thing takes about a minute per item.
Each item then gets a label showing the test date, the result and a unique number, and is entered into your register with its location and the date the next test is due. If a plug or fuse is wrong we fix it on the spot for the cost of the part. If an appliance fails, it is labelled, unplugged and listed separately so you can decide whether to repair or replace it.
We work around you. In an office we go desk by desk with a few minutes’ notice. In a school we book holidays or inset days, or come after the children have gone home, and all our staff are DBS-checked. In a guest house we follow the cleaning schedule between check-out and check-in. In shops on the Promenade or in Lytham we arrive before opening or after closing so no customer sees us.
What it costs
Testing is priced per item, from £1.20 for larger counts, with a minimum visit charge of £75 that covers the first items at a small premises. A typical office with forty items is a single visit at the minimum charge plus a little; a guest house with twelve rooms and a hundred and twenty items is usually a morning. Repairs on the day are charged at the cost of the plug or fuse, nothing more. We quote a fixed price from your item count before we come, and the register you get afterwards makes the next year’s quote straightforward.
Who it’s for
Offices on the business parks at Poulton and Thornton, where the count is mostly computers, monitors and chargers. Guest houses and hotels in Blackpool, where the council’s licensing team and the insurer both expect a register. Letting agents, who need the appliances in furnished lets tested before a tenancy begins, and who find it simpler to book a batch of properties in one go. Schools and nurseries across Wyre and Fylde, from Garstang to St Annes. Pubs, cafes and the arcades along the front. Dental and medical practices in Lytham, whose equipment often includes items that must be tested but not switched off.
Testing on the Fylde coast
The seaside brings its own appliance problems. Salt air corrodes plug pins and the contacts inside extension leads, so a lead that passes in Preston can fail on the Promenade a year later. Guest houses accumulate appliances from every owner they have had, and we regularly find hairdryers older than the staff. Caravan sites and holiday lets around Fleetwood, Knott End and Pilling have equipment that spends half the year cold and damp. Farms and workshops around Garstang put tools through conditions an office never sees. None of this is a reason to worry; it is a reason to have the items looked at by someone who knows what to expect.
