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PAT Testing Information
PAT Testing, or Portable Appliance Testing, must be undertaken in order for
companies to fully comply with the Electricity At Work Regulations. Testing is required because, during everyday use, electrical
appliances can become worn or damaged.
This can result in appliances becoming unsafe so a proper maintenance schedule
is essential for businesses. PAT Testing, as carried out by Birmingham Pat Testing, is therefore a documented method of electrical
maintenance which companies are required to undertake on all their portable appliances.
What Is A Portable Appliance?
Quite simply a portable appliance is any piece of electrical equipment that
can be moved from area to area and reconnected to the supply via a plug and socket system.
Why Do We Need PAT Testing?
The most important reasons for carrying out Portable Appliance Testing are:
- To comply with the Electricity At Work Regulations
- Risk of fire and injury due to faulty electrical equipment is minimised
- Insurance companies cannot dispute claims for damage through fire because
of insufficient electrical maintenance
- The ISO 9000 Quality Assurance Standard requires all companies to comply with
the Health and Safety requirements, portable appliance testing as provided by Birmingham Pat Testing, is required to comply
with this standard.
How Often Is PAT Testing Carried Out?
This depends on the workplace environment and the equipment to be tested. but
is generally every 12 months however, a power drill on a building site where wear and tear is greater, the period between
tests should be more frequent. We are more than happy to assist companies in choosing the correct periods between testing.
What Is The Testing Procedure?
We will perform a number of tests on each appliance such as:
- Full visual inspection
- Insulation test
- Earth continuity test
- Earth leakage test
A certificate is then produced for your files indicating the results of the
individual tests. This can be done either in hard copy, disk or email. Each item of electrical equipment is given an individual
number and identified with a sticker. This will ensure that the item can be tracked and provides a clear indication of its
pass / fail status.
Does Testing Disrupt The Workplace?
At Birmingham Pat Testing., we pride ourselves on having a well trained and
organised staff, ensuring that any potential downtime for our clients is kept to an absolute minimum. We will also work outside
office hours if required.
How Much Does This Cost? We
endeavour to ensure all our clients receive the best
and most competitively priced PAT Testing available
in the UK.
Portable Appliance Tests
are charged at the following rates;
£40-00 for the first 30 items, £1.20 there after up
to 100 and at 99p per item over that.
Larger amounts of 1000 or more by negotiation.
- The minimum invoice charge is £40.
- There is no VAT to be added to any price on this
site.
- It applies to all equipment covered by the regulations,
whether rated as portable, transportable or stationary
- A label will be attached indicating whether the
equipment passed
 or failed  the tests
- Asset tagging (not
a legal requirement), with or without barcode, can be carried out on request (from 5p to
25p per item)
- FREE replacement of damaged or incorrectly
rated fuses
N.B. A new fuse will only be fitted to REPLACE one of the wrong value, or one that shows signs of overheating.
i.e.
A new fuse will not be fitted FREE where the fuse is missing or blown.
A new fuse can be fitted, on request, for a total
cost of £0.30
- FREE repair
of faulty or incorrect connections in the mains plug or power connector
- FREE minor
repairs requiring no parts
- FREE quotation
for other repairs on request
- FREE portable appliance test after all repairs
- Portable appliance Test Report included
- Portable appliance Certificate of Testing included
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Fixed Wire or Periodic Testing
Fixed Wire Testing, which is also referred to as Fixed Installation Testing,
is the examination and testing of the circuits contained within the fabric of a clients building. This includes the socket
outlets, lighting circuits and various other circuits.
Does My Company Need Fixed Wire Testing?
In a word; Yes. The two main dangers associated with electricity are the risk
of shock and the possibility of fire. Over a period of time those risks are increased because installations deteriorate and
it is in the best interests of not only yourself and your employees, but also your insurance company, that you have an installation
that is not only electrically sound but also free from the risk of fire.
How Often Should Fixed Installation Testing Take Place?
As with Pat Testing the time period between tests very much depends on
the workplace environment and use of the installation.
Some areas, such as cinemas, are recommended to be tested annually whereas
an office space, which is considered low risk, may only need to be tested every five years.
As a guide some sample Fixed Wire Testing periods are shown in the table below
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Installation Type |
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Max Period Between Fixed Installation Testing |
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Commercial |
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5 Years |
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Educational Establishments |
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5 Years |
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Hospitals |
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5 Years |
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Industrial Premises |
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3 Years |
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Hotels & Restaurants |
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1 Year |
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Homes |
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10 Years |
How Is Fixed Wire Testing Priced?
At Birmingham Pat Testing, we base our Fixed Installation Testing costs on
a per circuit basis, this ensures that unlike various other methods a client will only pay for the circuits we find. This
ensures our clients benefit from some of the UK’s most competitive prices in the market today.
How Much Does It Cost
The cost very much depends on the installation. If everything has been well
maintained you receive a lower, and ,more cost effective, price than if no maintenance has been carried out for a number of
years.
What Kind of Tests Are Carried Out?
Fixed Wire Testing as carried out by Birmingham Pat Testing, is very involved
but basically we check that all fuses and cables are the correct size. We check that the installation meets all the requirements
of BS7671 and that, in the event of a potential fault, all circuit protective conductors and / or devices will perform correctly
to ensure the safety of any persons within the installation.
Your Birmingham Pat Testing, engineer will perform a 100% electrical check
of all circuits including:
- Supply characteristics and earthing arrangements
- Particulars of installation at origin
- External earth loop impedance
- Continuity of protective conductors
- Continuity of ring final circuit conductors
- Insulation resistance between live conductors
- Insulation resistance between live conductors and earth
- Protection by separation of circuits
- Polarity
- Earth fault loop impedance
- Operation of residual current devices
- Functional testing of assemblies
- Full testing of all static appliances
- Full drawing schematics for all circuits
Is There Any Disruption To The Workplace During Fixed Installation
Testing?
There is rather more disruption during Fixed Wire Testing. This is because
certain circuits will need isolating during the course of the testing. But, by combining our highly trained staff with some
of the very best instruments available we keep any downtime to an absolute minimum.
But, for the convenience of our clients, if the isolation of circuits poses
too big a problem for a client we can arrange for the testing to be done out of hours.
What Happens After The Testing Is Finished?
When all the testing is completed you will receive a full report on the condition
of your installation including a full list of all the circuits tested together with notice of any remedial action required
(including photographic evidence) and all associated costs of those remedial actions.
Lighting Maintenance And Electrical Testing Service
Lighting maintenance is an essential electrical testing service provided for
its clients by Birmingham Pat Testing. This service is especially valuable to businesses when complying with Heath & Safety
regulations in that all work areas are correctly illuminated and the lighting units within the workspace adequately maintained.
At Birmingham Pat Testing, we have skilled, qualified and experienced
engineers who will ensure that you and your workforce are never left in the dark. Let Birmingham Pat Testing show
you why we should be your first choice for lighting maintenance. For an informal discussion or for a fixed quote for your
electrical lighting service requirements please contact us.
Lamp Replacement And Maintenance Services
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Spot Lamp Replacement: Our engineers will arrange regular
service call to replace only the lamps which need attention.
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Group Lamp Replacement: Mass re-lamping offers you and your
company a much more cost effective replacement programme.
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Low energy lighting: save money by
replacing out dated, inefficient lighting with low
energy , low cost, low energy lighting.
Lighting maintenance is just one of the electrical testing services provided
by Birmingham Pat Testing. We offer business and industry many flexible solutions to their electrical maintenance and
testing requirements.
For no fuss information, an informal chat or for a fixed quotation our dedicated
and skilled staff will be only too pleased to answer any queries you may have either on lighting maintenance or on any other
electrical testing service we can help you with.
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