There are three levels of safety checks for electrical appliances.

First there is the informal visual inspection, this should be done at least weekly if not daily. This consists of a quick look at the casing lead and plug for any faults tho make sure it is safe to use.

Second is the formal visual inspection which includes all the above as well as checking the fuse and the BS standards. This should be written down and kept on file these inspections should be done by a trained competent person. For industrial and construction businesses as well as those businesses whose equipment is handled by the public this is usually weekly or monthly. Most offices should be inspected once a year (hand held equipment should be every six months IT and low voltage equipment every two years).

Over 90% of most faults are caught during these first two inspections.

Because of the frequency of inspections many of the construction and industrial businesses have one or more employees trained up as PAT test technicians. TechnoServ does training courses all over the country every working day to meet that need.

Third is the testing of the equipement with a portable appliance tester. A formal visual inspection should always be done first. Again the frequency is dependent on nature of use and ranges from every three months to as much as four years. In offices and shops class II equipement (double insulated) does not need testing, only visual inspection.

Businesses that only need to have their equipement tested once a year usually choose TechnoServ's PAT testing service instead of having some one trained as it is more cost effective and they can trust the professional quality of the service.

For more information go to www.allpat.eu