Hawkesworth – Always Up To Date With The Latest Rules And Equipment

As one of the foremost PAT testing companies in the UK, at Hawkesworth Appliance Testing we always keep right up to date with the very latest rules and regulations. At present we adhere to the Institute of Engineering and Technology Code of Practice 4th edition, which is the current edition, but the IET is bringing out a 5th edition which is due for release in 2020 and we will be adopting those standards immediately upon release.

When we carry out PAT testing, we only use the very best PAT testing equipment which is that made by Seaward. These will detect potential safety problems with any item of electrical equipment before they actually occur, so if your equipment passes the test you will know that it is safe to use.

It is astounding just how many faulty pieces of electrical equipment are to be found in UK homes and businesses. For example, Whirlpool, who make tumble dryers, have started to recall faulty units which are at risk of catching fire. They began the recall on July 22nd and by mid-September had located 65,000 of the faulty machines. However, the company’s directors say that there could be as many as 800,000 faulty machines in total. These dryers are sold under the Credo, Swan, Hotpoint, Proline, and Indesit brands and the problem is that they let excess fluff gather on the machine’s heating elements which can cause a fire.

Read more information Clickhere

A PAT Testing Company Can Check The Safety Of All Your Electrical Equipment

As an employer in the 21^st century, there are a lot of regulations with which you have to remain compliant, especially when it comes to the safety of your employees. For instance, you must undertake a risk assessment and review it regularly. This is not a problem if you know how to undertake a risk assessment, but the simple fact of the matter is that most people don’t, which is why there are companies in existence that will do it for you - for a fee of course – because they have people who have been trained and know what to look for.

 You also have to ensure that all your electrical equipment is safe to use, but again, unless you are a qualified engineer, how do you know what to look for. Sure, your office kettle may LOOK all right, but then again it may not be. The same can apply to your copier, your computers, and virtually anything else that has a plug on the end of it. This is why you need a PAT testing company who will send a qualified engineer along to do it for you. PAT testing is simply an abbreviation for portable appliance testing. Of course, having all your portable appliances tested in your office, factory, shop, or whatever, can interfere with your working day, especially if you have customers on the premises. However, a good PAT testing company will allow for this and be prepared to carry out the tests for you out of working hours if required. 

Read more information Click here

How The Electricity At Work Regulations 1989 Affect An Employer

When you are an employer, there are a considerable number of laws with which you have to comply, especially around the area of keeping your employees safe and free from danger as far as is reasonably practical. One of the laws with which you must be compliant is the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 which require you to ensure that your electrical equipment such as computers, printers, kettles, fans, and basically anything that has a plug on the end of it, is safe to use. This is why portable appliance testing, known as PAT testing, should be carried out by a qualified engineer on a regular basis.

 However, it doesn’t stop there because the electric wiring in your building should be tested on a regular basis as well. If you are not an electrician, you probably never stop to think about the wiring in the building because you never see it. It is all hidden away in the walls, but it actually can deteriorate over time. This is why fixed electrical testing should also be carried out on a regular basis in order to ensure that you remain compliant. When your electrical wiring has been tested and found to be in good order you will receive an EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report – which will confirm it.

As a rule of thumb, industrial installations should be tested every three years and other commercial installations every five. Domestic installations and owner-occupied homes should be tested every ten years. In addition to that, all installations should be tested every time there is a change of occupancy in order to ensure that everything is safe to use.   

Everything You Need To Know About PAT Testing

At Hawkesworth Appliance Testing we have been carrying out PAT testing for over 25 years and have over 100 qualified engineers strategically placed throughout the UK. Under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, as an employer it is your responsibility to ensure that all of your electrical equipment is safe to use. This includes everything from the office photocopier to the kettle your staff uses to make the afternoon tea. In fact, basically anything that has a plug needs to be PAT tested. 

A PAT test consists first of a visual inspection of the equipment checking for any damage that could cause the appliance to become faulty. The majority of fails actually occur under the visual inspection. Next is an in-depth inspection and test to look for any damage that may not be immediately apparent. This includes earth continuity, lead polarity and insulation resistance checks which is carried out using a Seaward Apollo 500 tester.  Finally, the equipment is given a function test to ensure that everything works as it is supposed to work.

Read more information: PAT testing

What Is The Cost Of PAT Testing?

If you are an employer there are a lot of rules that you are required to obey, even though you may not know what they are, or have ever been aware of their existence. A large number of them concern the safety of your employees at work and are things that you may not know about, such as floor safety. Did you know that 40% of all major injuries in the workplace are caused by slips and falls because floors are faulty?

Another thing is all the electrical equipment that you use in your business. Of course, you have computers, and as a good employer you no doubt provide your employees with a kettle so that they can make a cup of tea in the afternoon. Maybe there’s a fridge to supply cool drinks. If you own a factory you may operate all sorts of different electrical machinery. Most businesses simply couldn’t run without electrical equipment, but what happens if that equipment should become unsafe? And anyway, how would you know? It looks OK, and it works. But then you are not an electrician.

This is why you need PAT testing – and no, that’s not the office junior. Neither is it actually a legal requirement. However, what is a legal requirement is that you have to ensure the safety of your employees so far as is practicable. It just makes sense to use portable appliance testing, and it should be carried out on a regular basis in order to ensure that all your portable equipment – basically anything that has a plug – is safe to use.

There are companies that have qualified electricians that can carry out PAT testing up and down the country and issue you with safety certificates or explain why a piece of equipment failed the test.

What is the portable appliance testing price? That is a very fair question, but most companies work out the portable appliance testing price based on the number of appliances that you have that need to be tested.

Something That You May Never Have Considered As An Employer

If you run a business where you are a sole trader that is one thing, but if you employ people in an office or any other building then you have a legal obligation to ensure their safety “as far as is reasonable and practical”.

The problem that you may have is that there is a raft of legislation these days that you don’t stop to consider when you begin a business. After all, unless you are a lawyer, many of these laws cover things that wouldn’t ever occur to you. Let’s say you start an accountancy business. On your own. You gradually gain more clients and it gets to the point where you need to take on a junior accountant in order to handle all the work. Good for you!

Your business expands and now you have five people working for you. Great! But at what point do you consider having the wiring of the office that you are renting checked for safety? Err, right, You’re an accountant, not an electrician.

Yet the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 state that you are responsible for the safety of your workforce and that includes the safety of your electrical wiring. Heck, can anything go wrong with it? It’s hidden in the walls and the ceiling, so what could possibly happen to it? It couldn’t be anywhere more safe. Not even the office cat can get at it.

Here is a little eye-opener. Electrical wiring can and does deteriorate over time. It depends how much use it gets and upon the working environment, but it can deteriorate to the point where it is unsafe.

This is why you need to have fixed electrical testing on a regular basis carried out by a qualified electrician. Fixed electrical testing covers all of your wiring and sockets, together with any hard-wired appliances such as a cooker or a water heater that are not plugged in but wired directly into the circuit. (Anything that has a plug comes under the heading of portable appliance testing – and you need to have that done as well!).

What Is An EICR And Do I Need One?

Let’s answer both questions. An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report and if you run a business you probably do. It would also make sense even if you don’t run a business but are just a householder.

The fact is that all electrical systems deteriorate over time. The problem is that we don’t very often even consider it. The factors that affect any electrical installation are the amount of use that it gets, the environment in which it is working, and the maintenance – if any – that it gets.

The trouble is that we think of electrical wiring, if we think at all, that it is just something that is there behind the walls or in the ceiling in the same way that we might think of the water pipes. They are just “there”. What could possibly go wrong?  

Unfortunately, they can and do go wrong. However, if something goes wrong with your water pipes the worst that is going to happen is you are going to get wet. If something goes wrong with your electrical wiring the worst that is going to happen is that somebody could die.

This is why the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 state: “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonable and practicable, such danger". Unfortunately, the regulations don’t explain what is meant by “reasonable and practical”.

This is why you need a specialist engineer to inspect your wiring and sockets, and also any other fixed appliances such as a heated towel rail or a wired-in smoke detector, and check on its’ safety.

There are a number of companies in the UK who have qualified electricians who can carry out an EICR for you and provide you with a certificate of the condition of your wiring, and more importantly advise if anything needs to be done.

What does an EICR cost? There is no instant answer, but most companies that carry out an EICR will work out the EICR cost on the basis of how many circuits they have to inspect.

What Is The Cost Of PAT Testing?

If you are an employer there are a lot of rules that you are required to obey, even though you may not know what they are, or have ever been aware of their existence. A large number of them concern the safety of your employees at work and are things that you may not know about, such as floor safety. Did you know that 40% of all major injuries in the workplace are caused by slips and falls because floors are faulty?

Another thing is all the electrical equipment that you use in your business. Of course, you have computers, and as a good employer you no doubt provide your employees with a kettle so that they can make a cup of tea in the afternoon. Maybe there’s a fridge to supply cool drinks. If you own a factory you may operate all sorts of different electrical machinery. Most businesses simply couldn’t run without electrical equipment, but what happens if that equipment should become unsafe? And anyway, how would you know? It looks OK, and it works. But then you are not an electrician.

This is why you need PAT testing – and no, that’s not the office junior. Neither is it actually a legal requirement. However, what is a legal requirement is that you have to ensure the safety of your employees so far as is practicable. It just makes sense to use portable appliance testing, and it should be carried out on a regular basis in order to ensure that all your portable equipment – basically anything that has a plug – is safe to use.

There are companies that have qualified electricians that can carry out PAT testing up and down the country and issue you with safety certificates or explain why a piece of equipment failed the test.

What is the portable appliance testing price? That is a very fair question, but most companies work out the portable appliance testing price based on the number of appliances that you have that need to be tested.

Something That You May Never Have Considered As An Employer

If you run a business where you are a sole trader that is one thing, but if you employ people in an office or any other building then you have a legal obligation to ensure their safety “as far as is reasonable and practical”.

The problem that you may have is that there is a raft of legislation these days that you don’t stop to consider when you begin a business. After all, unless you are a lawyer, many of these laws cover things that wouldn’t ever occur to you. Let’s say you start an accountancy business. On your own. You gradually gain more clients and it gets to the point where you need to take on a junior accountant in order to handle all the work. Good for you!

To get more info visit us : Fixed electrical testing

What Is An EICR And Do I Need One?

Let’s answer both questions. An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report and if you run a business you probably do. It would also make sense even if you don’t run a business but are just a householder.

The fact is that all electrical systems deteriorate over time. The problem is that we don’t very often even consider it. The factors that affect any electrical installation are the amount of use that it gets, the environment in which it is working, and the maintenance – if any – that it gets.

The trouble is that we think of electrical wiring, if we think at all, that it is just something that is there behind the walls or in the ceiling in the same way that we might think of the water pipes. They are just “there”. What could possibly go wrong?  

Unfortunately, they can and do go wrong. However, if something goes wrong with your water pipes the worst that is going to happen is you are going to get wet. If something goes wrong with your electrical wiring the worst that is going to happen is that somebody could die.

This is why the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 state: “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is reasonable and practicable, such danger". Unfortunately, the regulations don’t explain what is meant by “reasonable and practical”.

This is why you need a specialist engineer to inspect your wiring and sockets, and also any other fixed appliances such as a heated towel rail or a wired-in smoke detector, and check on its’ safety.

There are a number of companies in the UK who have qualified electricians who can carry out an EICR for you and provide you with a certificate of the condition of your wiring, and more importantly advise if anything needs to be done.

What does an EICR cost? There is no instant answer, but most companies that carry out an EICR will work out the EICRcost on the basis of how many circuits they have to inspect.