How many pat tests in a day

[GBDamo]

Responding from the USA here, I have no idea what a pat test is, that said I've never done 400 of anything in one workday.

portable appliance testing, and that's self explanatory.

In an ideal world, as your visit is booked in on site, the customer has arranged for each department to collect all their appliances in a convenient location where the confirm the presence of all items against last year's list, delete retired items and add new items to the test schedule. Then you can swiftly visually inspect them, check the plug top and fuse and carry out the required tests. You then log the results and apply a passed test sticker.

In reality, you turn up and they "didn't know you were coming", last years results are not available and you spend the rest of the day crawling round under desks trying to locate everything you can before doing the above. Fine if you have a pantyhose fetishism but otherwise a right pain in the proverbial.

The 400 a day dreamer will have all the managerial and organisational skills of a seagul so you can guarantee you wont be getting the "ideal world".

You'll be selected for the role on two criteria.

1, You DGAF and will sticker any thing that stands still long enough.

2, You are inexperienced and will work your --- off to achieve the impossible only to see the shortfall down you your own failings and cut corners in an attempt to keep up.

The second is particularly insidious as it destroys good people's confidence and work ethic and ultimately turns them into the first.

I very occasionally do them, when one of our major clients have let a site lapse and are running round panicking. We charge day rate and make no guarantees on 'tests per day'. It gets done at the rate of a person who hates doing it and doesn't have the speed of regular practice. Their requests are getting more infrequent, either they've upped their game or are going elsewhere, both are a win as far as I'm concerned.

 

[DPG]

The term PAT testing is misleading but unfortunately still in wide use. It doesn't only apply to portable appliances, and the biggest part of it is inspection rather than actual testing.

But if you say ISITEE to most people they won't know what you mean.

And as above, 400 is ridiculous. Just remember, if you don't test / inspect things properly and something goes wrong, it's your name on the sticker.

The biggest issue I see is people plugging the appliance into the tester, pressing start and waiting for it to say pass. Without knowing what results they should get, or what tests they should be doing.

I've mentioned before seeing a company testing figure 8 mains leads on a PAT tester. Anyone who understands the testing process will realise the problem here. (spoiler alert - they'll all pass )

 

[pirate]

Crawling around under desks in a busy office, and there hasn't been a vacuumcleaner under there for years, miles of extension leads, and you cant untangle them all so you have to have a long, already tested extension lead in order to check them all, and that's just the start...
one a minute? Absolute rubbish! I maintain you can barely do a FVI on a kettle in that timescale, never mind do the actual test itself and write a label and add the results to an inventory etc....and that's a standalone, truly portable appliance with good access.
Testing a wall-hung heater wired into a FCU? That takes considerably longer. My ethos is don't put your name on a sticker unless you have done the full test...but it seems some have no concerns over such a practice and just sticker away.

 

[LukeD]

Crawling around under desks in a busy office, and there hasn't been a vacuumcleaner under there for years, miles of extension leads, and you cant untangle them all so you have to have a long, already tested extension lead in order to check them all, and that's just the start...
one a minute? Absolute rubbish! I maintain you can barely do a FVI on a kettle in that timescale, never mind do the actual test itself and write a label and add the results to an inventory etc....and that's a standalone, truly portable appliance with good access.
Testing a wall-hung heater wired into a FCU? That takes considerably longer. My ethos is don't put your name on a sticker unless you have done the full test...but it seems some have no concerns over such a practice and just sticker away.

Its all a joke and not policed .

 

[Moley]

I've mentioned before seeing a company testing figure 8 mains leads on a PAT tester. Anyone who understands the testing process will realise the problem here. (spoiler alert - they'll all pass )

Unless you REALLY don't know what you are doing and they fail on an earth bond test ;-)

 

[Moley]

Crawling around under desks in a busy office, and there hasn't been a vacuumcleaner under there for years

And all those young ladies wearing short skirts working away at the same desk

 

[ohreally]

No chance of that amount. I would be knocking my pan in to do 80 in an 8 hour shift however that included commercial fixed and 3 phase appliances then powering them up to run/ load test.

I wouldn't do 400 in a week but for me that wasn't where the earnings were.

 

[cliffed]

To do it properly I say 6mins each item… & your not gonna keep that speed up throughout the day