In electrical safety testing, portable appliance testing (PAT inspection or PAT testing) is a process by which electrical appliances are routinely checked for safety, commonly used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. In Australia and New Zealand it is commonly known as Test and Tag. The formal term for the process is In-service Inspection & Testing of Electrical Equipment. Testing involves a visual inspection of the equipment and verification that power cables are in good condition. Additionally, other tests may be done when required, such as a verification of earthing (grounding) continuity, a test of the soundness of insulation between the current-carrying parts, and a check for any exposed live metal that could be touched. The formal limits for a pass/fail of these electrical tests vary somewhat depending on the category of equipment being tested. Other countries have similar procedures, for example, testing of equipment according to DGUV Vorschrift 3 in Germany.
Purpose Health and safety regulations require that electrical appliances are safe and well maintained to prevent harm to workers. Many equipment manufacturers recommend testing at regular intervals to ensure continual safety, with the interval between tests varying based on both the type of appliance and the environment in which it is to be used. The European Low Voltage Directive governs the manufacture or importation of electrical appliances. Compliance with these standards has to be declared and indicated by the display of the CE mark on the product. The responsibility for testing lies with the manufacturer or the importer and is policed by Trading Standards. In Australia and New Zealand the standard used is AS/NZS3760. Testing equipment has been specifically developed for PAT inspections, based on the testing equipment used by manufacturers to ensure compliance with the British Standard Code of Practice and European product standards relevant to that type of appliance. This in turn allows testing and the interpretation of results to be de-skilled to a large extent. The inspection of the appliances can largely be carried out in-house in many organisations. This can result in cost savings and more flexibility as to exactly when a PAT is carried out.
UK legal obligations
Appliances British law (the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989) requires that all electrical systems (including electrical appliances) are maintained (so far as it is reasonable and practicable) to prevent risk of injury or danger. Domestic premises are not covered by this legislation, although occupiers' liability requires householders not to deliberately expose occupants or visitors to unreasonable risks. The HSE and the local authority are responsible for the policing of this legislation.
Fixed wiring in buildings Guidance from the IET (published under the IEE brand) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that a competent person must inspect the installation regularly in any public building or a place that people work. They suggest initial intervals for combined inspection and testing that range from three months (for construction equipment) to one year, and in many cases, longer periods for re-testing (certain types of appliance in schools, hotels, offices and shops). Although the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is an obligation on UK businesses, there is no obligation to undertake PAT inspection. In reality neither act nor their corresponding regulations and associated statutory instruments detail PAT inspection as an obligation, but rather impose a requirement of maintenance of safety and evidence of routine maintenance for all hand-held, portable and plug-in equipment. Today a great many private companies and other organizations do meet their legal obligations to protect their workers by an enforced PAT regime, but it is not the only route. Recent HSE publications have relaxed their tone somewhat to acknowledge this, and now point out that in many situations an annual PAT test is disproportionate to the risks and is often not required. In 2011, the HSE reviewed its approach to portable appliance maintenance in its own offices. Thinking about the type of equipment in use, and how it was used, the HSE looked back at the results from its annual testing of portable appliances across its estate over the last five years. Using the results of the previous tests, the HSE decided that further portable appliance tests are not needed within the foreseeable future or at all for certain types of portable equipment. Also, they decided to continue to monitor any faults reported as a result of user checks and visual inspections and review its maintenance system if evidence suggests that it needs revising. Electrical equipment will continue to be maintained by a series of user checks and visual inspections by staff that have had some training. Annual portable appliance testing is not always necessary in low risk environments. In practice, decisions about when to test often take into account how equipment is used on a daily basis and the conditions it operates in. You do not need to be qualified as an electrician to carry out visual inspections. Regular user checks and visual inspections can be a good method of maintaining portable electric equipment. For landlords maintaining legal requirements it is not compulsory for them to have all appliances tested, but they do need to show a "duty of care" and most letting agents recommend that a test certificate is obtained.
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