Portable Appliance Testing advice.

[antony73993]

The company I work for are responsible for carrying out all the testing in a high profile chain of stores. The customer is of course expecting everything to be done correctly so they are fully complaint. My company has said that any appliances that are located above the ceiling or in voids should not be tested. The majority of these items are iec leads supplying power supply units that supply shelf lighting in the shops. I feel my company do not want to test these as they are behind with the contract and want to catch up. Some of the power supplies will fail a PAT test so in my opinion I think it's important to test them but I need some legislation to back it up with.

 

[Darkwood]

Welcome to the forum antony73993

I have moved your thread to the correct section for the subject matter.

 

[kyle12111994]

I am an in-house electrician for a large engineering firm, one of my responsibilities include PAT testing a couple thousand electrical items every six months. My rule to myself is a simple one. Test everything. I'm not sure of any reg's making it so certain items do not require a PAT test but I would still test everything. No matter how long it takes, or how busy I am, I will always do a proper job. Safety First!

 

[Spoon]

I like this one. Its interesting just to find out what is classed as a 'Portable' item and what should be checked.

According to the Gov web site: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg236.pdf
Portable and movable equipment
A portable or movable electric appliance is any item that can be moved, either connected or disconnected from an electrical supply. Portable or movable items generally have a lead (cable) and a plug.
Portable and movable equipment includes the following:
■■ electrical equipment that can be easily moved around, such as kettles, vacuum cleaners, floor polishers, portable heaters, fans, desk lamps, some TVs, radios, some small electric cookers, PC projectors, small appliances such as irons, hair dryers and kitchen equipment including food mixers, toasters etc;
■■ larger items that could be moved (but only rarely), eg water chillers, fridges, microwaves, photocopiers, vending machines, washing machines, electric cookers, fax machines, desktop computers, electric beds etc are considered to be movable items;
■■ hand-held items, such as hairdryers, that do not have a plug but have been wired in (or fixed) are still considered to be portable appliances, but large electrical items, such as water boilers that are wired in, are not portable appliances as they are not designed to be moved and would come under the scope of fixed installation maintenance;
■■ mobile phone and other battery-charging equipment that is plugged into the mains (but the phones themselves and any other battery-operated equipment would not be included); and
■■ extension leads, multi-way adaptors and connection leads.

If you read the info in these sites it suggests that because your iec leads are not moved much then they would be maintained by a visual inspection every 5 years. Of course if some of the power supplies "will fail a PAT test " then they need checking.