PAT Engineer Vacancy 300+ Tests A Day

[scp]

Your first mistake is using pat gaurd that is dia software especially on a pda and unfortunately all the major players use an in house software designed by one company but where companys have been brought out etc other big companys have had access to it and modified it to there own name but it does all stem from one company who won global awards for it as is not on public sale, trust me If it was I would be out there on my own rather than working for the big boys.
The second part stems to the tester its self buying it direct from seaward it still contains the factory set times rather than the regulation required minimums that the big companys are set to you need to wipe the tester of all the factory data and reprogram all the tests, ( please do not do this if u dont understand how to do it and u wont get alot of help from seaward with this as they dont like people messing with the factory settings even though the 300 is designed to do this).
A few firms send guys out with 100's though I dont recomend it as its not designed for high volume testing but it does allow the test times to be cut even more and they only provide the asset register to the client, and to a real pat tester there a kids toy.
And I find the 350 to big and heavy when ur standing on a ladder testing wall mounted tellys etc.
You will also notice most big companys have pre printed blank bar coded labels with a stamp you can stamp up 300 labels in under 5 minutes instead of hand written as that takes ages and where most single testers go wrong.
With the non public software u put the first barcode no in and its a one click roll over system to the next no.
I am happy to meet anyone to display how it works and give a training course provided they are willing to cover my time and I come with recomendations from the nhs, mod, etc etc blah blah blah lol in fact virtually anywhere that has a plug, and have stood by many an fm manager and many electricians who are far more experienced than me who says its not possible and have always been recommended for further testing by them.
One post wonder I stand very proud of the job I do and the many lives and fires I have saved over the years and I will always stand by and defend good engineers and companys that do the job right as the ultimate reason we do the job is to save some ideot in a suit who can count up to a million but sticks bare wires in a plug because he cant wire a plug and having the tech at hand to test in the hundreds in my eyes is the best thing.

 

[oldtimer]

So lets get this right 500 items say at 5 minutes each is 2500 minutes divided by 60 is 41.66 hours or 500 items divided by an 8 hour day with no tea ,lunch or pee breaks would be 8 x 60 = 480 minutes so thats one item ever 0.96 minutes . AYE RIGHT I DONT THINK

So you go into the building the customer has lined up 500 items in a row because lets face it you aint got time to go into each office inform the user what your up to and you expect me to believe you so hears the deal you are either a liar or Walter Mitty was your grandad or a Troll

Also I forgot to add how do you have the time to log the equipment description and fuse size ie Dell 17" 7341T flat screen with 5 amp fuse

 

[stuartcourt]

That is 1.6 minutes per item as long as you dont speak to anyone or use toilet or walk between rooms etc, this tester must be a robot that runs around helping (Data or 3PO maybe)

 

[markc123]

It is possible to test between 300 to 500 items per day and fuse checks etc, as most plugs are molded now days so its just a quick flick with a terminal screw driver fuse size and carrier checked in a couple of seconds, with the current testers testing time of the machine is anything from two to five seconds depending on the type of test, but the biggest key to it is either having your tester setup correctly to store the data fast ie presets in the memory, iec lead, vdu, cpu etc so you dont have to type them in everytime.
But the biggest change came to the industry with the pda wich means that in a couple of clicks the data is input and is ready for invoice when you leave the site instead of paperwork that could take up to a month to process it can now all be emailed to the client instantly saving the need for office staff therefore cutting the office overheads so a cheaper price per test, with the biggest firms now charging approx 50p per test.
It has killed the one man band at a quid per test plus vat but im affraid thats technology for you and all the silly comments above stem from dinosaur's in the industry who havnt invested in decent testers or a good it infrastructure.
Im sure if you google the major players in the industry they all have the major accreditations, yes there are ex toilet bog cleaning firms who use unqualified staff and lick it n stick it engineers and should never have brought there way into the industry but as a test engineer of fiveteen years I have seen many good companys and engineers and worked with the company who brought this type of testing to the forefront of this industry and has paved the way for quick and convenient testing so instead of having to say to a client we can do a maximum of a hundred tests per day and your site at 50, 0000 bits is impractical to test it has allowed the industry to thrive and bring some well needed money back into it so future lives can be saved.
And my final point is I have even tested the nic/eic offices as well and we all know they wouldnt have cowboys in there own place.

If you do a 24hour shift with no break or pi$$ stop then maybe. F.that.

 

[scp]

As normal here we go with the cafe surfing sparkies who spend there life scratching there head and spent so much of there life on building sites they think that the whole world stops at two oclock with five tea breaks and an hour lunch in between.
No I dont live in disney land so lets get this straight.
It is site dependent as is all pat testing and you dont hand write labels.
1. Read prior posts before posting comments that have been answered.
THE SOFTWARE THAT I USE IS NOT ON THE OPEN MARKET SO HOW CAN YOU COMMENT AND SAY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE IF YOU HAVNT USED IT.
Thats like going to a village in the rain forest and explaining you can do 150 mph to people who have never seen a car.
Any professional pat tester who knows there job when testing preperation is the biggest key you ask your contact to send a batch email to make people aware you are testing and all pcs etc must be shutdown and if you are good at your job you will find when your testing a batch of desks in an office the next set will be shut down and ready for testing when you finish the first desk.
And if you test in a structured routine vdu then the iec lead then the cpu then the lead that powers that and then an extension lead that feeds that then ancillaries phone charges fans etc.
Please note it is not listed as dell 17" 1087t and your mental if you want to write all this out.
each item is provided a separate barcoded label so it is a vdu with the represented barcode allready listed in the pda as it rolls over from the first numbered increment so it tap vdu from the drop down menu and tap pass.
Make model and serial are charged extra to the client if they want it as are fuse listings but its another drop down box and all you do is select the fuse size though we only use it if we replace a fuse to the correct rating or perform a repair.
As most people like me are on a price per test no I dont do lunch breaks i tend to eat in the van on the way to work or on the way home and yes it keeps me very fit not a job for sparkies who do fry ups down the cafe and I have been likend to a robot many a time but you find when your testing at a constant rate you tend not to notice time as your constantly checking leads cases etc for all the normal fault signs not eyeing up the blonde and wondering how long before your next sausage sandwich is or weather the bird on page 3 is any good while ur having a dump for an hour if you are this type of person save yourself the agro and quote your 1.50 a test and google one of the big companys and let them do it for 50p a test and you can earn a pound a pop for your copious amounts of slimfast you will need in ten years when your butt is to big to fit in your transit.
If anyone has sensible things to say other than peter pan comments I am happy to help if you feel you may benifit in moving your company forward to testing large ammounts.
And thanks for the maths lesson in real terms it equates to just under 1 test per minute and that is more than achevable if you set up properly and pre stamp your labels using a label stamp. I dont stick labels on 1.5v barcode scanners etc to make up the numbers that was a company called p*wer plus who went round with pass fail led testers at 10p a test who no longer exsists.
Remember pat testing is about taking legal responsibility and I am the first who agrees companys that lick and stick should be banned from testing full stop and the job is to save lives and should be carried out by following the guidelines to the letter and alot of faults I find are from bodge sparkies who havnt got a clue about correct loads to fuse sizes and burn the neutral to bits with incorrect cable sizes.
As I have said if you wish to cover my time I am happy to demonstrate it is more than possible that 300 to 500 tests per day can be done correctly and legally and following the guidelines to the letter.

 

[markc123]

We don't all finish at 2pm btw...just because people are on this forum alot - have you considered its maybe because they're using their phone?

Regardless of your chat - and i do understand you give a professional job/approach to pat testing, you are very organised and you use high-end gear. I just can't for the life of me see how you can do 500 in a day, 300 the way you've described maybe - but to me it sounds like abit of an exagoration. My opinion.

 

[oldtimer]

Ok lets get a few things sorted out here there is no such thing as an Professional PAT tester Me I have a trade so my advise if you are a "trained PAT tester" I would say don't be so pretentious I despair when people bandy about the Engineer and Professional words

Now as for Dell 17" 83521T flat screen and your "legally and following the guidelines to the letter" statement if you are such a professional you would have read page 127 of the 4th edition of the COP where it gives you a Equipment formal visual and combined inspection and test record and you will find Make--Model---Serial number requirements.

Sadly the ISI&TEE environment is getting saturated with pretentious guys like you who were stacking shelves in Tesco one day and after a quick PAT course you are now a Professional with an opinion that has bought in to the urban myths that PAT testing spreads hence why COP 4th edition and the HSE enquiry into the industry because of abuse.

So next time you do your superman bit and put your pants on over your trousers with your head down and you ar$e up approach to your job remember you think your being clever eating on the run in the van and no doubt with a phone stuck to your ear but you are in fact a risk factor but I don't think you can see it because of your superior attitude people like me can only be bitter and twisted fools who have squandered 38 years in this industry so me calling you a sticker bunny will be like water off a ducks back to you.

 

[UNG]

Your first mistake is using pat gaurd that is dia software especially on a pda and unfortunately all the major players use an in house software designed by one company but where companys have been brought out etc other big companys have had access to it and modified it to there own name but it does all stem from one company who won global awards for it as is not on public sale, trust me If it was I would be out there on my own rather than working for the big boys.
The second part stems to the tester its self buying it direct from seaward it still contains the factory set times rather than the regulation required minimums that the big companys are set to you need to wipe the tester of all the factory data and reprogram all the tests, ( please do not do this if u dont understand how to do it and u wont get alot of help from seaward with this as they dont like people messing with the factory settings even though the 300 is designed to do this).
A few firms send guys out with 100's though I dont recomend it as its not designed for high volume testing but it does allow the test times to be cut even more and they only provide the asset register to the client, and to a real pat tester there a kids toy.
And I find the 350 to big and heavy when ur standing on a ladder testing wall mounted tellys etc.
You will also notice most big companys have pre printed blank bar coded labels with a stamp you can stamp up 300 labels in under 5 minutes instead of hand written as that takes ages and where most single testers go wrong.
With the non public software u put the first barcode no in and its a one click roll over system to the next no.
I am happy to meet anyone to display how it works and give a training course provided they are willing to cover my time and I come with recomendations from the nhs, mod, etc etc blah blah blah lol in fact virtually anywhere that has a plug, and have stood by many an fm manager and many electricians who are far more experienced than me who says its not possible and have always been recommended for further testing by them.

I find it amazing that you resurrect a thread to tell us how efficient you are and go on to tell us how you can achieve the impossible while trying to belittle the experienced people on here who know better and can do the maths

I would doubt reprogramming all the tests on your tester would give you much time saving and suspect that carrying out tests in quick succession in less time than that allowed by the manufacturer could have a detrimental effect on the test equipment and the results obtained

With regard to the bespoke reporting software you mention, software development and the time taken to beta test costs time and money to perfect and a company is not going to do this for minimal return.
All the overheads you mention and others you don't (travel and vehicle expenses) are not sustainable at 50p / appliance and never will be no matter how you dress it up

One post wonder I stand very proud of the job I do and the many lives and fires I have saved over the years and I will always stand by and defend good engineers and companys that do the job right as the ultimate reason we do the job is to save some ideot in a suit who can count up to a million but sticks bare wires in a plug because he cant wire a plug and having the tech at hand to test in the hundreds in my eyes is the best thing.

How do you know how many lives and fires you have saved or is this just more wishful thinking on your part


You will have to accept that PAT testing is price over quality and in this budget conscious time the cheapest method to get a piece of paper to show EAWR compliance is the route taken

Personally I have followed up a PAT tester at the request of a customer who was suspicous of the time taken to test his appliances and found numerous simple faults that should of been found and one set of results was ficticous as the appliance's over temp cut out had tripped

We may be able to perform miracles but a lot of these PAT testers appear to be able to do the impossible and testing 500 appliances a day properly is beyond the impossible

 

[scp]

Its one test a minute what you need to take into account is that if ur primetest is configured to do a 500v dc class two test at two seconds ie a phone charger thats two seconds with your visual conducted as you take it out ur pulling it that verifies the casing is not in two bits flick it over and look for signs of burning snapped pins etc plug into your tester and check for case damage on the top while pressing the button to test ( bear in mind the tester is allready configured to increment the number as you test with shortcut keys )
then with pre stamped label place it on the charger and plug it back in test complete sometimes it takes less than 20 seconds so that allows a spare 40 seconds that can be used on another test when you total it up at the end of the day some tests take longer than 60 seconds some take less and note the pda already has things like the date tester serial no floor and location open plan office etc allready pre configured from drop down boxs so you only change that if you move location,
And you will find that you test in routine and enter 10 items plus in the pda at a time while walking between desks rooms etc and it is just two taps of the screen or already stored if direct tester inputing per item so time is saved again inputing between desks instead of sitting writing it in or over a coffie.
And I must stress again this is achievable in offices with easy access floor sockets etc dont expect it from every job yes I still have the building sites where I spend god knows how long repairing beat to death items plugtop changes fan covers etc or waiting in a shop for dorris to shut down the till or mr important who wont turn his pc off as he thinks the world will end if he dosnt send his email.
But it is acheivable is my only point, the same as I tested one place with a box of a thousend brand new leads and did that in 8hrs and one councils it store with 800 new pcs all all stacked on top of each other with the power inlet facing me but jobs like that are rare but shows that in excess of 500 can be tested.
Seven of the leads were reverse poliarity kids so never trust just as its new its fine there batch tested in the factory 1 in 500 etc and mr wong talks to his mate and dosnt look what hes doing or wants his sushi on a friday and rushs the job.
I may oneday youtube a video but it will have to be a job when im working with another engineer but its rare as most of my job is lone working wich also helps as u dont have someone distracting you while working but I will be sure to place a link here.

 

[Silly Sausage]

OK, you're under the tables of a group of PCs, with the rats nest of cables you usually get under there.
You're trying to tell us you can untangle that typical mess and test them all in a few minutes.

You're 'avin' a larf pal!!!

 

[markc123]

Please don't call yourself a PAT Engineer.

I imagine that you work at 100mph from the way you talk.

Upload a video when you get the chance then, and if it's true ill bite the bullet and apologise. But for now, im sticking with 500 in a day by yourself is impossible.

 

[stuartcourt]

And (IF) you are doing work before you get there does this also not need to be charged

 

[Bobster]

I'm still laughing at the position being named a pat engineer. ​haha

 

[markc123]

I'm still laughing at the position being named a pat engineer. ​haha

Makes me cringe everytime i see someone refer to it as that. Embarassing.

 

[Silly Sausage]

I'm still laughing at the position being named a pat engineer. ​haha

Oh, I don't know...
Engineers are people who can make the impossible, possible!