Health and Safety at work I think is on most people’s minds these days, making sure we hold on to the handrail as we go the downstairs, having a second person to hold a ladder  but what about all the electrical devices we constantly have around us, who checks these out to make sure we are working in a safe environment at work.

I had to take this photo of some plugs that had been taken out of a public building recently.  You instantly can see that the plugs tops are smaller than normal but the worst is,  they do not have any fuses in them. 34 of these leads had escaped the attention of the people who work there and it wasn’t until their annual PAT testing (which they saw as a chore) that they were discovered.

Once they realised the consequences these leads could have had PAT testing suddenly wasn’t a chore anymore.  It has also been reported recently that insurance companies are voiding claims if claimants PAT testing are not up to date.

My question is to you can any company afford to take these risks?

Don’t be fooled by the adverts you see offering testing for pence per item.  Remember a single desktop PC tested properly is 4 separate tests (the tower, the monitor, and the two IEC leads).  These companies also tend to charge extra for repairs to plug tops and fitting correct size fuses etc. Suddenly your cheap quote is much more expensive than you were led to believe.

If you have any queries or would like to talk in more detail about PAT Testing,  please call the office and talk to Andrea.