Services

Services

West Test offer a professional Portable Appliance Testing service to meet your requirements and exceed your expectations. West Test is not a large faceless national organisation using  a office to obtain work which may be sub contracted to an unrelated PAT company. On the contrary; we are a Bristol-based independent firm and we strive to offer the very best personal service and value for money a client should expect.

We possess commercial and public liability insurance of up to £5,000,000. You can view policy details upon request.

We can also perform Microwave leakage testing along side PAT. This is essential to make sure that your microwave oven is in safe working order and not emmitting dangerous levels of radiation

 

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)

Employers have a duty of care to maintain, inspect, and test their electrical equipment as covered by various government regulations. These are:

  • Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
  • Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
  • Management of health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
  • Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

The consequences of not performing inspections can result in injury or even death to persons, fines, and/or custodial sentences to employers who are found guilty of flouting the regulations. Insurance companies may also refuse to pay out on claims too.

The very first test performed in the PAT sequence is a visual check. We look for:

  1. Correct fuse ratings in plugs;
  2. Incorrectly wired plugs;
  3. Exposed wires;
  4. Broken casings;
  5. Damaged plugs;
  6. Signs of overheating or burns and any signs that the appliance or power cord is in a dangerous condition.

Assuming the item passes the visual inspection we then commence the test sequence.

Using an industry leading PAT machine, all appliances used by the client are tested for:

  1. A good earth bond (if the appliance is earthed it’s termed a Class 1 appliance);
  2. Integrity of the insulation between the live and neutral conductors;
  3. Load test. Checking the correct operation of the appliance and fuse;
  4. Earth leakage, measuring the current leaked to earth during operation of the appliance.

Pass/fail appliance inspection labels

Every appliance is labelled with its own unique asset number, with either a pass label or fail label depending on the outcome of the PAT test. A by-product of performing a PAT test is that the client receives an inventory of the electrical equipment owned and used by the business, which can be valuable especially if the company has several thousand appliances.

The IEE lays out the standards and methodology to be adhered to by PAT testing companies and PAT engineers in the IEE Code of Practice – West Test strictly follows this code. Comprehensive records of testing are kept by us should the client ever need a backup or replacement asset (appliance) register or certificates.

Upon completion of our testing process you receive:

  1. Certificate of electrical testing;
  2. Pass or fail asset register which is a bound folder containing printouts of all results;
  3. Appliance register (if required);
  4. CD of results (if required);
  5. Results emailed to you immediately (if required).

Pricing

Our pricing includes everything, regardless of the number of repairs or replacement components, or the time of the day the client requests the testing be performed. To discuss your needs and subsequent pricing, complete our online contact form or call Jamie for a friendly discussion.

Note: Estimates will depend on the number of items to be tested and ease of access to said items. We apply a minimum call out charge of £45.00 and this includes the first 30 tests.