Most people misunderstand the term PAT and believe it is a process which needs to be repeated annually which is not always the case. However, the main purpose of PAT is to maintain equipment which can cause danger to property or an individual, and to keep them updated with safe electrical equipment. The code of practice as published by many organisations suggest what types of equipment require testing and how often they require testing for better use and efficiency.
Why is it important?
Do you know that there are more than 1,000 major electrical injuries reported each year in the UK alone? These major injuries can be burns or electrical shocks and around 40 of them are fatal. There is no legal requirement of PAT testing, however, to ensure the best results and for safety, one should get testing of any equipment which seems not to be working well.
Although there is no strict requirement of PAT in UK, and there are several safety and health organisations who expect you to check working equipment on a regular basis or risk being fined up to £5,000. No one knows when a minor fault can turn into a major one and pose a potential hazard so the consequences of ignoring this should be considered carefully.
Let’s have a look at some common questions:
Question: Is PAT testing a legal requirement?
Answer: The answer we’ve mentioned in the above section is no, there is no legal requirement for PAT testing in the UK, but to have an injury free and safe property one should have it done as suggested by an electrician.
Question: If there is no legal requirement, why do we need to worry about it?
Answer: There is no legal requirement, but anyone found responsible for poor safety may be fined up to £5,000. The list includes, the user who is using equipment, administrator without having the proper knowledge, and building service manager, etc.
Question: How often do we need to go for PAT?
Answer: Annual checks for PAT are recommended to ensure the best safety possible.
So ensure the best safety possible, we’ll advise customers to have their equipment tested by their electrician as per their advise.
