Test Equipment
As successive IET Codes of Practice have highlighted the benefits of different types of electrical test, then PAT test manufacturers
have responded by including, for example, the necessary technology to test appliance leads and 3 phase equipment, test RCD trip times, provide different options for insulation test voltages and utilise specialist test currents for earth continuity testing.
A common sense approach to appliance safety testing
Jim Wallace of Seaward, the market leader in the field of electrical safety test instrumentation, looks at how PAT technology has evolved to meet the needs of all users.
T
here is a great deal of evidence that the periodic inspection and testing of portable electrical equipment
saves lives and prevents fires that may otherwise have caused injuries, loss of life and serious damage to business premises and workplaces. In this respect, the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989, along with the HSE Memorandum of Guidance and successive IET Codes of Practice, have consistently provided sound advice based on industry experience and the electrical safety needs of the business community.
Although nowhere in the EAWR 1989 is there a specific requirement for the testing of electrical equipment, there is an onus on the dutyholder to ensure that equipment in the workplace is maintained so as to prevent danger. It is this requirement that has introduced the implied need for periodic inspection and testing; without such actions, the inference is that the dutyholder will be unable to establish the potential dangers exposed by faulty or unsafe equipment. Planned and proactive safety programmes must therefore be capable of detecting potential problems with electrical appliances before they occur and this is the role of preventative maintenance programmes. As a result, in the event of electrical accidents, property damage or personal injury occurring, portable appliance testing can demonstrate a responsible and diligent approach towards safety that may subsequently be required by the HSE, employers, insurance companies and other interested parties. Clearly any combined inspection and testing
20 | electrical wholesaler August 2015
measures should be appropriate to the particular risk posed by the equipment and its environment. For example, smaller offices or workplaces with only a few electrical appliances, and a staff of limited technical ability, might be regarded as relatively low risk environments. Here a responsible attitude might be regarded as a regular process of formal user checks and visual inspection, combined with some limited periodic testing. A different view, however, might need to be
taken by a large organisation, with different departments and having many different types of electrical equipment used by staff. In this case, ensuring the safety of appliances may not only be a matter of ensuring the correct test equipment is available, but also having the ability to show that the right tests have been
performed at the right time in the correct sequence – with records of test levels and results. To meet this need, continuous technical innovation has ensured that portable appliance test instrumentation has kept pace with the changing demands of the workplace - and can successfully meet the needs of everyone who has a responsibility for ensuring the safe use of electrical equipment.
The appliance of testing science Over the 25-year period of the EAWR 1989,
PAT instrumentation has incorporated constant technological innovation that has made testing faster, more efficient and cost effective for those involved – and all of this has been achieved without any compromise to the
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