PAT Qualification

[gazzamikes]

morning all, this is probably in the wrong sectioni apologise if it is. Do you need to be 'qualified' to undertake portable appliance testing, ie gone to college or somewhere done an exam and got a certificate?

My apprentice has been asking about doing the course but when talking to an instructor i know he said as long as a 'competant person' undertakes testing then that is fine. could some one help us pleaSE?!

THANKS!

 

[malcolmsanford]

The instructor is correct, for PAT and even for full electrical work, there is no legality about having qualifications to work, all you need to be is deemed "competant".

Having the C&G 2377 would be proof of that competance, same as electrical qualifications would be proof for an electrician

 

[gazzamikes]

thanks for your reply. i appreciate it is for domestic electricians, but could my part p and 4 years pat history class towards competancy? i do find it difficult work around the that word!

 

[malcolmsanford]

How do you mean your Part P I'm not aware that is a qualification, but just a section of the building regs.

The trouble is that like everything else in todays world if anything went wrong and an incident occured on an appliance you testerd, then without that piece of paper you would find it difficult to prove competance, a lot like you read of someone practicing medicine and when something happened it came out that they were not qualified and are prosecuted.

Not saying that having the 2377 would immune you from prosecution, but if someone ever found themselves in that kind of situation then having the certificate would help them more than not having it.

 

[Mark_Burgess]

thanks for your reply. i appreciate it is for domestic electricians, but could my part p and 4 years pat history class towards competancy? i do find it difficult work around the that word!

As long as you can prove you tested the item correctly and it passed at the time of inspection, then I can not see why you are not competent to carry out the testing considering you have been doing it for 4 years.

Do you have a copy of the Code of Practice for in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment?
If you do and anyone does question your ability, you could wave it under their nose and say you work in accordance with it.

However as said above the 2377 is a theory test of competence.

 

[gazzamikes]

thats fine was just looking to find a result as to whether it was actually a qualification as such. i meant part p as example of proving competancy within electrical. to be perfectly honest pat testing is not my cup of tea. where i used to work as a mechanical engineer in a factory as i was also electrically qualified so the pat responsibilty always fell at me, i did ask the h&s officer at the time but they just said as being qualified in other electrical areas then pat shouldnt be a problem. this whole quailfied aqnd competant seems a murky area.

 

[gazzamikes]

thanks, yes i do own the code of practice tucked away in the depths of the van. if i was to pat it would only be for a friend of mine who owns a few small shops which is only a couple of computers and the like.

 

[gazzamikes]

i appreciate my apprentice hasnt got the skills or knowledge as of yet to undertake pat so he'll need to wait a year or so. thanks for all your help