link, otherwise known as link for short is a procedure we use to ensure that all electrical portable appliances are safe to operate. The subject in question plays a key role in health & safety. Please read on to learn the legal implications and requirements in the matter.
A quarter of electrical accidents involve electrical appliances and so as a result, The E.A.W. regulations has given a legal requirement that everyone has to comply with. The requirements of the regulations state that taking reasonable practicable measures can prevent danger resulting from portable electrical equipment. Electrical inspection & testing and maintenance are the perfect start to prevention and a safe working environment. The E.A.W. regulations and Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 says that where appliances are used by employees, the public, hospitals, schools, hotels and shops, or when appliances are supplied or hired, and where appliances are to be repaired or serviced, electrical inspection & testing is based around the level of risk present. This means that the chances of any electrical portable appliance becoming faulty and the type of appliance involved, taking into account the environment it’s used in and how often will determine its level of attention needed. Portable appliance testing in the United Kingdom should be done in accordance with a public guide titled "Code of practice for in service inspection and testing of electrical equipment". This publication can be found in any good book store in the United Kingdom and its ISBN number for your reference is: 978-0-86341-833-4.
The current legal requirements and legislation towards electrical maintenance is covered in several documents. These documents include the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the electricity at work regulations 1989, the provision and use of work equipment regulations 1998, the management of health & safety at work regulations 1999 and the workplace health, safety and welfare regulations 1992. Together, these documents form a full detailed library of what is required when considering Electrical systems and appliances in the workplace. These documents cover aspects of full fixed wiring systems within buildings, right down to the smallest of portable electrical equipment and appliances. The provision and use of work equipment regulations 1998 (PUWER) states that every employer must ensure work equipment suits its environment and purpose for which it is provided and every employer must ensure work equipment is maintained and kept fit for its intended purpose. They must not be left to deteriorate to such a level that puts anyone at danger or risk in any way. Regular maintenance programmes will help this matter.
Many standards and guidance publications regarding portable appliances and electrical equipment struggle to define certain answers as to what equipment falls under which category. Although they do not state particular equipment or items, they can easily lead us to believe that equipment is either hand held whilst it’s connected to an electrical supply, is designed to be moved whilst connected to the supply, or is capable of being moved without difficulty whilst connected to the electrical supply. We see many electrical items connected to the mains supply by means of a plug top and an electrical mains socket. This does not mean that these pieces of electrical equipment are portable or transportable. For many reasons, certain electrical equipment often ends up being connected to a supply by means of a plug and socket. This can simply be due to the locality of the equipment and ease of locating a supply method. Sometimes the owner wishes to move the equipment’s location and a plug top is convenient. In the same token, some equipment which is actually classed as portable will have its plug removed and be connected to something like a fused spur outlet. This is often for ease and to also stop others removing it from its location. The worrying thing is that due to this arrangement, there are some portable appliances that are never tested!
There are no definitive rules on the frequency of electrical testing & inspection of portable appliances. The reason for this was noted above and is defined by the equipment’s intended use, its location, its frequency of use and its environment etc. The frequency of testing & inspection must be assessed by the owner or person/s involved with its upkeep.
This Level of risk towards electrical equipment starts with a risk of zero. Two points are added should the item be in a wet or corrosive environment or if water or corrosive substances exist such as in a water boiler. Two points are used again if a flex supply lead is subject to strain or damage such as weather. One point is used if a heating element exists or motor. Basically, a total of two points plus is defined as group A which is high risk. A total of one point is group B and medium Risk but a total of zero mean low risk and are group C.
The four tests under the Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) are type testing, production testing, in service testing and the testing after any repair. To prove equipment is satisfactory, in service testing requires four basic tests. These are visual inspection, earth continuity for Class 1 equipment, Insulation resistance testing/earth leakage and functional tests. Testing should be carried out by a competent person that can recognise and interpret test results. They must be capable of inspecting the equipment and dismantling it to check the cable connections as required. This is also because any items connected to the mains by a fused spur flex outlet etc, will require disconnecting so that the connections can be inspected. Reconnection will be required in a correct manor and should only be carried out by a competent person.
The Electricity at Work regulations states No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger, or where appropriate, injury, unless he possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work.
The IEE states those carrying out inspection & testing be competent to undertake the inspection and, where appropriate, testing of electrical equipment and appliances having due regard to their own safety and that of others. The doing the testing must understand electrical, mechanical and thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes in order to determine if they suit their environment. Trained PAT testers and Portable appliance testers must be able to establish the type of equipment to be subject to link in order to know the test procedures and frequency of inspection and testing required. Anyone carrying out PAT testing or link must be familiar with their PAT testing instruments and their limitations to achieve test results without damaging the PAT tester or the appliance under test.
All people undertaking PAT testing must be competent to do so in order to determine if it is safe to use the equipment upon seeing the test results. Trained portable appliance testers must be able to carry out visual inspections, identify equipment correctly, identify test procedures, the frequency of inspection & testing required, have knowledge of using their test equipment and effectively keep organised test results. Being able to interpret all current legislation and documentation is a must.
Pat testing qualifications are not by law required to carry out PAT testing. The person/s involved must be competent and qualifications such as City & Guilds 2377 are available. The City & Guilds 2377 course has been designed jointly by the IEE and City & Guilds. Competent persons are defined as a person possessing sufficient technical knowledge or experience to be capable of ensuring that injury is prevented.
Visual inspections must check suitability for the environment of the equipment and if harsh or hazardous environments exist, selecting the equipment and assessing the frequency of inspection and testing is vital. Equipment must be suitable and be operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Notwithstanding the manufacturer’s instructions can lead to danger.
The means of isolation must be readily accessible to the user such as being able to easily reach the plug and socket.
Before carrying out any testing or inspections, it pays to enquire if the regular user of the equipment knows of any faults and if the equipment operates as recommended by the manufacturer.
Organised and formal documents for record keeping are essential and may need to be referred to in the future. They provide evidence in the event of a prosecution and allow monitoring of appliances which will easily help discover any abnormal use or stress to which the appliance is subjected. The frequency of testing required is easily recognised from these sets of past documents when we consider the patterns in results obtained.
Flexible cords protected by a BS1363 fuse found in a plug top can be of any length so long as the C.S.A. (cross-sectional area) is a minimum of 0.5mm2 if protected by a 3 ampere fuse and 1.25mm2 with a 13 ampere fuse. It is however preferred to keep flexible cords within practical reason, to a reasonable length for their purpose. Saying this, factors such as volt drop and conductor resistance will influence the length too but that is another subject in its own! The maximum length recommended for any extension lead however does differ as it is not actually an appliance but a means of extending the power supply to an appliance.
Appliance manufacturers have standardised on two fuse ratings, these being 3A & 13A. Portable appliances up to 700 Watt usually carry a 3 ampere fuse and those exceeding 700 Watt will have a 13 ampere fuse. The correct flexible cord size is also established from these factors which are noted in the above paragraph. Fuse ratings include 1A, 2A, 3A, 5A, 7A, 10A and 13A and are readily available from most shops. The primary function of the fuse is not to protect the appliance but to protect too much current flowing through the flexible cord. However, the fuse, by default does usually protect the appliance and will blow before the appliance is able to consume excessive current and this in turn will prevent danger. Sometimes certain appliances require a larger fuse than what is actually calculated for normal operating current. This is due to larger start-up currents for motors etc. which stabilise at a constant running speed once operational. This is often the case with some types of lamps in light fittings. A lamp may be calculated to require a certain fuse which under normal operation will survive blowing but lamps such as the halogen type do tend draw a larger initial current at the point of power being applied as they have a much lower resistance when cold, than their resistance at operating temperature. Their total resistance at operating temperature will stop them consuming excessive power but shortens their life due to excessive work to maintain this.
link equipment manufacturers offer a large range of models, specifications and capabilities to choose from. When deciding on a PAT tester, consider things such as soft earth Continuity, hard earth continuity, insulation test (500V & 250V), earth Leakage Test (230V & 110V), substitute earth leakage, touch current, load test (230V & 110V), flash test and RCD test. Tester types & features vary massively from simple pass/fail but these testers generally only carry out insulation and earth continuity tests and do not have a selectable earth continuity test. Pass/fail testers are simple and quick to use but have limited practical use. Manual PAT testers offer much more functionality and display an actual reading which is much more useful than a pass/fail result but they do need a good understanding in order to interpret the test data correctly. Earth Leakage and Load tests are usually included in these types of testers and are not found on the simple pass/fail models. Selectable earth continuity test currents enable the testing of IT equipment with ease and are much more useful in office environments. The only issue is they usually require constant mains power. Downloadable testers are very practicable for testing large amounts of equipment. Inbuilt memory allows recording of all results for seamless appliance testing from start to finish and allows formal printing later on by means of organised software results in a form of a table. Simple printing via usb is offered and a barcode scanner makes an easy life!
When considering purchasing PAT testing equipment, you should consider all the large commercial manufacturers. These include the most common such as Alphatek, Avo, Fluke, Kewtech, Martindale, Megger, Metrel, Seaward and Robin.
Any appliance tested and must be clearly identifiable in the future. This is done the use of simple PAT testing labels on each and every appliance inspected and/or tested. Every label must show an appliance identification code, pass or fail depending upon visual and electrical test results and finally the date the equipment was tested and its next test due date. Confusion between appliances must be easily identifiable by means of the label. The label should be positioned in a position where it can be clearly seen. Any appliance that fails inspection and testing must be put taken out of service and labelled with a sticker indicating that it has failed. Pass labels are usually green in colour and red are fail.
PAT testing software allows you to download the PAT testing results to a computer and PAT testing equipment manufacturers offer their own software.
Any landlord who owns a property and wishes to let it out is required by law to ensure that any equipment they supply as part of any tenancy is PAT tested in order to prove its safe for use. Any change of environment, new appliance user or tenant change should incur another link session to be on the safe side. All tenants and environments have different ways of handling and treating equipment, especially when they do not directly own it or pay for maintenance. A new test at the start of a contract or agreement will prevent most discrepancies should any issues occur in the court of law.
A quarter of electrical accidents involve electrical appliances and so as a result, The E.A.W. regulations has given a legal requirement that everyone has to comply with. The requirements of the regulations state that taking reasonable practicable measures can prevent danger resulting from portable electrical equipment. Electrical inspection & testing and maintenance are the perfect start to prevention and a safe working environment. The E.A.W. regulations and Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 says that where appliances are used by employees, the public, hospitals, schools, hotels and shops, or when appliances are supplied or hired, and where appliances are to be repaired or serviced, electrical inspection & testing is based around the level of risk present. This means that the chances of any electrical portable appliance becoming faulty and the type of appliance involved, taking into account the environment it’s used in and how often will determine its level of attention needed. Portable appliance testing in the United Kingdom should be done in accordance with a public guide titled "Code of practice for in service inspection and testing of electrical equipment". This publication can be found in any good book store in the United Kingdom and its ISBN number for your reference is: 978-0-86341-833-4.
The current legal requirements and legislation towards electrical maintenance is covered in several documents. These documents include the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the electricity at work regulations 1989, the provision and use of work equipment regulations 1998, the management of health & safety at work regulations 1999 and the workplace health, safety and welfare regulations 1992. Together, these documents form a full detailed library of what is required when considering Electrical systems and appliances in the workplace. These documents cover aspects of full fixed wiring systems within buildings, right down to the smallest of portable electrical equipment and appliances. The provision and use of work equipment regulations 1998 (PUWER) states that every employer must ensure work equipment suits its environment and purpose for which it is provided and every employer must ensure work equipment is maintained and kept fit for its intended purpose. They must not be left to deteriorate to such a level that puts anyone at danger or risk in any way. Regular maintenance programmes will help this matter.
Many standards and guidance publications regarding portable appliances and electrical equipment struggle to define certain answers as to what equipment falls under which category. Although they do not state particular equipment or items, they can easily lead us to believe that equipment is either hand held whilst it’s connected to an electrical supply, is designed to be moved whilst connected to the supply, or is capable of being moved without difficulty whilst connected to the electrical supply. We see many electrical items connected to the mains supply by means of a plug top and an electrical mains socket. This does not mean that these pieces of electrical equipment are portable or transportable. For many reasons, certain electrical equipment often ends up being connected to a supply by means of a plug and socket. This can simply be due to the locality of the equipment and ease of locating a supply method. Sometimes the owner wishes to move the equipment’s location and a plug top is convenient. In the same token, some equipment which is actually classed as portable will have its plug removed and be connected to something like a fused spur outlet. This is often for ease and to also stop others removing it from its location. The worrying thing is that due to this arrangement, there are some portable appliances that are never tested!
There are no definitive rules on the frequency of electrical testing & inspection of portable appliances. The reason for this was noted above and is defined by the equipment’s intended use, its location, its frequency of use and its environment etc. The frequency of testing & inspection must be assessed by the owner or person/s involved with its upkeep.
This Level of risk towards electrical equipment starts with a risk of zero. Two points are added should the item be in a wet or corrosive environment or if water or corrosive substances exist such as in a water boiler. Two points are used again if a flex supply lead is subject to strain or damage such as weather. One point is used if a heating element exists or motor. Basically, a total of two points plus is defined as group A which is high risk. A total of one point is group B and medium Risk but a total of zero mean low risk and are group C.
The four tests under the Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE) are type testing, production testing, in service testing and the testing after any repair. To prove equipment is satisfactory, in service testing requires four basic tests. These are visual inspection, earth continuity for Class 1 equipment, Insulation resistance testing/earth leakage and functional tests. Testing should be carried out by a competent person that can recognise and interpret test results. They must be capable of inspecting the equipment and dismantling it to check the cable connections as required. This is also because any items connected to the mains by a fused spur flex outlet etc, will require disconnecting so that the connections can be inspected. Reconnection will be required in a correct manor and should only be carried out by a competent person.
The Electricity at Work regulations states No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger, or where appropriate, injury, unless he possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work.
The IEE states those carrying out inspection & testing be competent to undertake the inspection and, where appropriate, testing of electrical equipment and appliances having due regard to their own safety and that of others. The doing the testing must understand electrical, mechanical and thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes in order to determine if they suit their environment. Trained PAT testers and Portable appliance testers must be able to establish the type of equipment to be subject to link in order to know the test procedures and frequency of inspection and testing required. Anyone carrying out PAT testing or link must be familiar with their PAT testing instruments and their limitations to achieve test results without damaging the PAT tester or the appliance under test.
All people undertaking PAT testing must be competent to do so in order to determine if it is safe to use the equipment upon seeing the test results. Trained portable appliance testers must be able to carry out visual inspections, identify equipment correctly, identify test procedures, the frequency of inspection & testing required, have knowledge of using their test equipment and effectively keep organised test results. Being able to interpret all current legislation and documentation is a must.
Pat testing qualifications are not by law required to carry out PAT testing. The person/s involved must be competent and qualifications such as City & Guilds 2377 are available. The City & Guilds 2377 course has been designed jointly by the IEE and City & Guilds. Competent persons are defined as a person possessing sufficient technical knowledge or experience to be capable of ensuring that injury is prevented.
Visual inspections must check suitability for the environment of the equipment and if harsh or hazardous environments exist, selecting the equipment and assessing the frequency of inspection and testing is vital. Equipment must be suitable and be operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Notwithstanding the manufacturer’s instructions can lead to danger.
The means of isolation must be readily accessible to the user such as being able to easily reach the plug and socket.
Before carrying out any testing or inspections, it pays to enquire if the regular user of the equipment knows of any faults and if the equipment operates as recommended by the manufacturer.
Organised and formal documents for record keeping are essential and may need to be referred to in the future. They provide evidence in the event of a prosecution and allow monitoring of appliances which will easily help discover any abnormal use or stress to which the appliance is subjected. The frequency of testing required is easily recognised from these sets of past documents when we consider the patterns in results obtained.
Flexible cords protected by a BS1363 fuse found in a plug top can be of any length so long as the C.S.A. (cross-sectional area) is a minimum of 0.5mm2 if protected by a 3 ampere fuse and 1.25mm2 with a 13 ampere fuse. It is however preferred to keep flexible cords within practical reason, to a reasonable length for their purpose. Saying this, factors such as volt drop and conductor resistance will influence the length too but that is another subject in its own! The maximum length recommended for any extension lead however does differ as it is not actually an appliance but a means of extending the power supply to an appliance.
Appliance manufacturers have standardised on two fuse ratings, these being 3A & 13A. Portable appliances up to 700 Watt usually carry a 3 ampere fuse and those exceeding 700 Watt will have a 13 ampere fuse. The correct flexible cord size is also established from these factors which are noted in the above paragraph. Fuse ratings include 1A, 2A, 3A, 5A, 7A, 10A and 13A and are readily available from most shops. The primary function of the fuse is not to protect the appliance but to protect too much current flowing through the flexible cord. However, the fuse, by default does usually protect the appliance and will blow before the appliance is able to consume excessive current and this in turn will prevent danger. Sometimes certain appliances require a larger fuse than what is actually calculated for normal operating current. This is due to larger start-up currents for motors etc. which stabilise at a constant running speed once operational. This is often the case with some types of lamps in light fittings. A lamp may be calculated to require a certain fuse which under normal operation will survive blowing but lamps such as the halogen type do tend draw a larger initial current at the point of power being applied as they have a much lower resistance when cold, than their resistance at operating temperature. Their total resistance at operating temperature will stop them consuming excessive power but shortens their life due to excessive work to maintain this.
link equipment manufacturers offer a large range of models, specifications and capabilities to choose from. When deciding on a PAT tester, consider things such as soft earth Continuity, hard earth continuity, insulation test (500V & 250V), earth Leakage Test (230V & 110V), substitute earth leakage, touch current, load test (230V & 110V), flash test and RCD test. Tester types & features vary massively from simple pass/fail but these testers generally only carry out insulation and earth continuity tests and do not have a selectable earth continuity test. Pass/fail testers are simple and quick to use but have limited practical use. Manual PAT testers offer much more functionality and display an actual reading which is much more useful than a pass/fail result but they do need a good understanding in order to interpret the test data correctly. Earth Leakage and Load tests are usually included in these types of testers and are not found on the simple pass/fail models. Selectable earth continuity test currents enable the testing of IT equipment with ease and are much more useful in office environments. The only issue is they usually require constant mains power. Downloadable testers are very practicable for testing large amounts of equipment. Inbuilt memory allows recording of all results for seamless appliance testing from start to finish and allows formal printing later on by means of organised software results in a form of a table. Simple printing via usb is offered and a barcode scanner makes an easy life!
When considering purchasing PAT testing equipment, you should consider all the large commercial manufacturers. These include the most common such as Alphatek, Avo, Fluke, Kewtech, Martindale, Megger, Metrel, Seaward and Robin.
Any appliance tested and must be clearly identifiable in the future. This is done the use of simple PAT testing labels on each and every appliance inspected and/or tested. Every label must show an appliance identification code, pass or fail depending upon visual and electrical test results and finally the date the equipment was tested and its next test due date. Confusion between appliances must be easily identifiable by means of the label. The label should be positioned in a position where it can be clearly seen. Any appliance that fails inspection and testing must be put taken out of service and labelled with a sticker indicating that it has failed. Pass labels are usually green in colour and red are fail.
PAT testing software allows you to download the PAT testing results to a computer and PAT testing equipment manufacturers offer their own software.
Any landlord who owns a property and wishes to let it out is required by law to ensure that any equipment they supply as part of any tenancy is PAT tested in order to prove its safe for use. Any change of environment, new appliance user or tenant change should incur another link session to be on the safe side. All tenants and environments have different ways of handling and treating equipment, especially when they do not directly own it or pay for maintenance. A new test at the start of a contract or agreement will prevent most discrepancies should any issues occur in the court of law.