[ Spotlight: Testing ]


The PAT sector has grown signifi cantly overrecent years


PAT: reducing the risk


All employers have a legal responsibility to ensure electrical safety in a place of work, and this requires regular portable appliance testing (PAT). ROB SHEPHERD examines the latest developments in this vibrant sector and assesses the impact that the new 4th Edition of the IET Code of Practice for In- Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment is likely to have


30 ECA Today November 2012 I


t sounds incredible, but up until 1990 most businesses paid scant regard to the need for safe electrical equipment. The issue was usually given little thought and considered something of an inconvenience. Needless to say, this widespread


complacency resulted in numerous injuries and fatalities caused by poorly maintained electrical equipment, and this subsequently led to calls for action. The result of this activity was the introduction of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR), which came into force in April 1990. It established the principle that all electrical systems and equipment require precautions to be taken against the risk of


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