What is PAT - Portable Appliance Testing?

PAT Testing

According to current Irish regulations (S.I. No 328 of 2005, S.I. No. 299 of 2007), every employer is obliged to periodically test any electrical appliances at the workplace to determine whether equipment is in safe condition to use by employees, customers or public who may come into contact with those appliances.

This includes all electrical appliances with a plug top: I.T. & office equipment, kitchen equipment, hand tools, extension leads.

      The law states that:

tests have to be periodic and carried out by competent personnel (in-house or outsourced)

all tested appliances have to be labelled, whether passed or failed

test results have to be recorded and kept at least 5 years.

Alan Commins LTD provides full Portable Appliance Testing services. Portable Appliance Testing is now part of Irish legislation. All businesses’ are obliged to carry out PAT Testing on all portable appliances to ensure the safety of employees and customers. 

The term Portable Appliances refers to any electrical equipment that can or could be moved from place to place e.g. office machinery (computers, copiers, fax machines), kettles, extension leads etc, or the easiest way to identify if an appliance needs to be tested is to simply check if it has a lead with a plug attached.

As the name suggest portable appliances are more susceptible to damage than fixed electrical equipment. It is also more likely to be used in different environments and is often directly in contact with the user. For these reasons, it is important that portable electric equipment be well maintained for it to be safe.

Current legislation (The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007) requires that portable equipment which is:

(i) exposed to conditions causing deterioration liable to result in danger, and

(ii) supplied at a voltage exceeding 125 volts alternating current, is:

(1) visually checked by the user before use, and

(2) periodically inspected by a competent person, appropriate to the nature, location and use of the equipment.

In addition to complying with legislation,Our Portable Appliance Testing service can provide you with a full asset id list, on which we can record and store the following information.

• A register of all equipment with its own unique ID

• A record of all previous inspections and tests

• A detailed description of each item