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PAT
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Megger PAT testing guide

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PAT testing guide
(4th Edition)
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PAT testing guide - 4th Edition www.megger.com
Contents
Operational checks .....................................................................................................................12
Power cables and leads ..............................................................................................................13
Extension leads ..........................................................................................................................13
Faulty or damaged equipment ....................................................................................................14
Documentation ..........................................................................................................................14
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What is portable appliance testing?
Portable Appliance Testing is the visual examination and electrical testing of portable electrical equipment used in industrial, commercial or public access areas and locations (including rented property) to ensure they are safe to use, and cannot present an electrical hazard to the operator or anyone in their vicinity.
Why should electrical equipment and appliances be maintained?
Testing portable appliances is a method of ensuring that employers and those with Public Liability Insurance comply with the mandatory requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Electricity at Work Regulations. Those documents themselves do not specifically dictate that Portable Appliance Testing must be carried out, but they do state that all electrical systems (which include appliances) must be maintained to prevent injury and danger.
Furthermore, The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER 98), made under the HSW 1974 act, states:
“the provision and maintenance of a working environment for his employees that is, so far as reasonably practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as regards facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work”.
Regulation 4(1) of PUWER 98 has a more direct meaning to portable appliances, it states: “Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or
adapted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided.”
Therefore the liability is with the employer or owner of a place of work, or public place, to ensure that all electrical equipment accessible by employees or the public is maintained in a safe condition, and an acceptable method of ensuring this is by routine visual examination, electrical testing and documentation.
Detailed information on all the definitions and full requirements of Portable Appliance Testing can be found in the Code of Practice for In-Service
Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (4th Edition) (ISBN 978­1-84919-626-0) (hereafter referred to as “the Code of Practice”) available
from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (www.theiet.org). Where there is any doubt, the Code of Practice holds the definitive guidance.
Those environments where these regulations are applicable include any place where someone is employed, areas of public access, and rented accommodation of all kinds.
The Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment identifies that regular visual examination and electrical testing of equipment is an essential part of any preventative maintenance programme. Records of maintenance, including test results, should be kept throughout the working life of the equipment to enable the condition of the electrical equipment to be regularly monitored.
What inspection and testing needs to be done?
The dangers of contact with live electrical parts need no explanation to an electrician. However, the environments in which the majority of portable appliances are used are not necessarily where operators would be aware of the dangers or the implications of damage to equipment. The point of routine visual inspection and electrical testing is to identify potential hazards and actual dangers before they turn into an accident.
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PAT testing guide - 4th Edition www.megger.com
The hazards required to be identified include:
Personal exposure to live conductors – electrocution
High resistance faults causing excessive heat – fire
Intermittent connection – arcing causing heat and potential ignition
These hazards will be identified by performing in-service visual examination and electrical testing by:
Regular operator checks
Visual examination
Combined visual examination and electrical tests.
Who has responsibilities to ensure that equipment continues to be safe?
Various people have responsibilities for electrical equipment, these being:
■ Property owners, equipment owners, company owners, directors, and line managers etc.
■ The person undertaking the formal visual examination and electrical testing
■ Maintenance managers
Operators of the equipment - – to ensure the equipment they use has no obvious faults or damage
The Duty Holder
The Duty Holder is usually, but not exclusively, a manager or supervisor. They must understand their responsibilities as defined in the “Electricity at Work Act 1989” and are responsible for ensuring the safe condition of the equipment for which they have jurisdiction.
The Duty holder may wish to maintain adequate records for the inspection and testing of the electrical equipment as well as implement the necessary risk assessments to establish:
Suitable frequencies of inspection and testing
Repair of faulty equipment
Interpretation of the results
Where necessary, appropriate training may be required to competently fulfil these reaponsibilities.
Who can do the testing?
The Code of Practice states that inspection and testing can be carried out by any competent person. The “Competent Person” is defined within the Code of Practice (Code of Practice...2012 4th Edition; IEE; p25) as:
“A person possessing sufficient technical knowledge or experience to be capable of
ensuring that injury is prevented”.
“Technical knowledge or experience may include: adequate knowledge of electricity; adequate experience of electrical work; adequate understanding of the system to be worked on and practical experience of that Class of system; understanding the hazards that may arise during the work and the precautions that need to be taken; or the ability to recognise at all times whether it is safe for work to continue.”
Basically this explains that no formal qualifications are necessary to perform visual examination and electrical testing, but the operator must have the competencies above. These can be achieved by experience in
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working on electrical systems, or by any form of training including self-taught from technical publications.
As the person doing the testing, you must have an understanding of the types of electrical, mechanical and thermal damage of electrical equipment which may be encountered in any environment.
What types of electrical equipment need visual examination and electrical testing?
Everything portable or transportable, whether fitted with a plug for connection to a socket-outlet or connected directly to a fused spur. Such items can be identified as follows:
Multiway adaptors and RCD adaptors –Multiway adaptors are used to increase the number of connection points at any location within a property. The use of these adaptors should be avoided wherever possible, and a suitable judgement made during the visual examination as to how appropriate their use is in any specific application.
Extension leads and RCD protected extension leads – An extension lead is used where an item of equipment needs to be supplied but a convenient socket-outlet is not nearby. Preferably, the use of extension leads should also be avoided whenever possible. They can present physical hazards such as tripping that could be avoided if an installation has sockets in the appropriate place. An RCD extension lead is an extension lead that includes RCD protection either at the plug or near the sockets, for powering equipment used out-doors.
Hand-held equipment – These appliances require the operator to hold them in their hand(s) during normal operation (e.g. steam-irons, hair dryers, soldering irons and drills).
Portable appliances – These appliances are ones that can be easily moved while they are energised and have a mass of less than 18 Kg. Equipment included in this category are items such as kettles and electric radiators.
IT equipment – This category covers Information Technology business equipment that is found in most commercial offices (e.g. mains-powered computers, telephones, printers, photocopiers, fax machines, laminators, shredders etc.).
Transportable equipment (sometimes called moveable) – This category covers equipment that is:
Not fixed to the location and less than 18 Kg, (e.g. a small television)
Equipment with wheels or castors which is intended to be moved on an occasional basis
(e.g. commercial kitchen or laundry equipment)
Static equipment – This equipment has a mass that exceeds 18 Kg and is not provided with a carrying handle (e.g. large televisions, washing machines and refrigerators).
Fixed appliances – This equipment is securely fixed in one location. Typical appliances in this category are hot water boilers, hand dryers and some luminaries.
Built-in equipment – This equipment is intended to be built-in to a cupboard or similar where some electrical protection is provided by the location. Typically this equipment does not have an enclosure on all sides because that side is inaccessible when the equipment is in use (e.g. a built-in oven).
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