Portable Appliance Testing Is Sensible, But What Does It Cost?

When you run a business today, in the 21st century, you are subject to a whole raft of laws which simply didn’t exist 40 years ago. It is quite possible that you wouldn’t even think about many of these laws because you are running a business and your focus is on profit.

However, among many other things, today we have Health and Safety, (one well-known journalist refers to it as “Elf’n’Safety”) which also didn’t exist 40 years ago. Now we have the HSE – Health & Safety Executive. It is not necessarily a bad thing, although there are so many rules and recommendations that understanding them all almost requires a university degree. Some people might consider that they are a little “over the top”.

Now the HSE doesn’t actually make the laws – the government does that – but it does advise about them. The HSE cannot force you to do anything, but the government can.

Some of the laws are very confusing. For instance, you are required to ensure that all your electrical equipment in your business is safe for your employees to use. This is why portable appliance testing came into being. Your appliances can be tested for safety by a qualified electrician. The law doesn’t require you to use portable appliance testing, but – unless you are a qualified electrician – how are you going to know? The law also suggests that you should have your appliances tested “regularly” but doesn’t state what that means. Every week? Once every 20 years? Both would be “regular”.

In fact, popular opinion suggests that it would be advisable to have them tested once a year. That way, you can be sure that you are complying with the law to keep your employees safe.

The simple fact is that electrical appliances DO degenerate with wear and tear, and the more they are used the faster they will wear out and become potentially dangerous.

So portable appliance testing for your business makes total sense. However, what does portable appliance testing cost? That rather depends on how many portable appliances you have in your business, because the more there are the longer it will take a qualified engineer to test them. As a very general guide, companies that provide testing will apply a portable appliance testing cost based on the number of appliances, and this can range from £1.00 to £2.00 per appliance.

What’s The Price of PAT Testing?

If you are an employer, there are a lot of rules and regulations about which you may be blissfully unaware, but which you are nonetheless required to adhere to. Not knowing about them is not a criticism. Let’s look at it this way: you decide to start in business on your own account, quite possibly copying the business of someone you have recently worked for, and with that entrepreneurial spirit believe that you could do it better and at the same time make more money than just the usual monthly pay cheque.

That is a good thing, and it is how business grows. So you probably start off as a one man business, providing your goods or services. You begin to succeed, so you take on an employee to help with the workload. You can see where this is going. As your business grows you take on more and more employees, move to bigger premises, and so on.

Has it ever occurred to you that you need to consider that the kettle in your office kitchen, which your staff uses to make tea and coffee, could be dangerous? Has it ever occurred to you that your own kettle in your kitchen at home could be dangerous? Very likely not. Yet they could be.

Even more, did you know that there are LAWS covering the electrical appliances in your office? If you started from scratch on your own and your business has grown, it has probably never occurred to you at all. After all, how would you know? Yet those laws exist, and you can get into serious trouble if someone is injured.

There are lots of other things such as fire risk assessments and more, (Oh, yes), but just let’s consider electrical appliances. Yes, as they wear, they can become dangerous. This is why PAT testing (Portable Appliance Testing) was introduced. You need to have your appliances tested to ensure that they are safe. That means that you need a qualified electrical engineer to do the job.

Of course, you would want to know the PAT testing price, but there is no easy answer. Fairly obviously, the PAT testing price is going to depend upon how many appliances need testing, because the more of them you have, the longer it is going to take. But you DO need to get PAT testing done in order to comply with the law.

Regulations Affecting Electrical Installations and Equipment in the Workplace

All electrical installations will deteriorate over a period of time. How quickly or slowly they will deteriorate depends on the amount of use they get, the working environment, and how regularly they are maintained. In order to ensure the safety of employees and customers, a business should have testing of the electrical installations on a regular basis.

There is actually no specific law regarding the testing of electrical installations, but there are several laws regarding safety in the workplace. The simplest way to ensure that you are complying with these laws is to have an EICR inspection carried out on a regular basis. EICR stands for Electrical Inspection Condition Report, and while there are no specific regulations regarding an EICR it is recommended that in industrial premises an inspection should be carried out every three years. In other commercial premises it is every five, and in domestic premises every ten. An inspection should also be carried out whenever there is a change of occupancy.

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers and employees must ensure the health and safety of everyone in the workplace – including any visitors or customers.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 specify what constitutes electrical equipment and requires that electrical systems must be maintained. A regular inspection is a part of preventative maintenance. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 requires the employer to ensure that any equipment used by employees that uses a source of electrical energy must be safely maintained. That doesn’t only include equipment used for the job, but includes anything else, such as a kettle.

Insurance companies are increasingly requiring electrical inspections to be carried out before providing insurance. If an avoidable accident or fire occurs as the result of faulty equipment you can be brought before a court and if found guilty will have committed a criminal offence.

People do ask about an electrical installation condition report cost, but there is no straightforward answer. The electrical inspection condition report cost for a 25-storey hotel will obviously be more than the cost for a knitting wool shop or an office with half a dozen employees.

A Guide To The Inspection And Testing Of Electrical Appliancesa

Electrical Safety First is a UK charity that is dedicated to reducing deaths and injuries caused by electrical accidents. It has produced a guide to portable and stationary appliance testing in private rented accommodation which is aimed at landlords and those acting for them such as managing agents.

As regards the competency of persons carrying out appliance inspection and testing, there are a number of examination bodies including City and Guilds and EAL who offer qualifications addressed at both those carrying out the inspection and testing of appliances and those responsible for overseeing such activities. 

Read more information : Appliance Inspection and Testing