Helping Businesses comply with

Health & Safety Regulations

www.epat.co.uk

When you contact us we can arrange for a no obligation quotation to give you a more accurate quote. Often, certain appliances are not taken into account when asking for a quote eg. Extension leads and plug boards or equipment that is not often used. Your Risk Assessment should determine the frequency of testing using the guidelines within the “IEE code of practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment”

 

When a quote is agreed we will test your equipment, first visually and then using the most up to date Pat testing equipment shown. All appliances will be labelled and Test Certificates, Asset List and Test reports supplied as hard copies and/or on Disk.

 

Visual Inspection
Every portable appliance tested visually inspected to check the plug, flex and body of the appliance. In this visual inspection we will investigate for damaged equipment, frayed flex cords and/or flex cords taped up to cover unauthorised joints, flex wiring pulled away and exposed from the internal casing of the plug, signs of overheating on the flex and internal wiring inside the plug, cracked and damaged plugs including loose and faulty wiring connections inside the plug.

A high number of appliances fail this visual inspection due to having the wrong type of fuse in the plug, loose plug connections, exposed wiring at the plug and damaged plugs.

As part of our service, minor repairs such as above will be repaired free of charge.

 

Testing
Once the equipment has passed the visual inspection, a series of tests using the latest state-of-the-art computer testing equipment are carried out to detect hidden faults and potential hazards. This ensures the electrical safety and good working order of each item.

Computerised and industry set tests are carried out using Portable Appliance Testing equipment similar to the tester pictured. In the testing procedure we will carry out the following tests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both visual inspections and instrument tests are carried out in accordance with guidelines and testing procedures laid down by the “IEE Code of Practice for

In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment”.

 

Following testing, each appliance will be labelled “PASS” or “FAIL” and we will provide you with a detailed computer-produced electrical test certificate and a full register of your appliances. These may be used for your own and for your insurer’s records.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sERVICE & PRICING

· Earth Bond Test - Tests the metal casing of equipment to confirm the integrity of the appliance earth conductor. A high A.C. current of  10amp or 25amp is passed between the earth bond terminal and the appliance's earth pin.

· Earth Continuity Test - When testing IT Equipment - e.g. computers in offices, it is undesirable to use the high current Earth Bond Test described above as this could damage the equipment. On IT equipment our testing procedure would involve testing the equipment with a low current earth continuity test. A low current (250 mA D.C.)  is passed between the continuity terminal on the testing equipment and the appliance's test socket earth pin.

Insulation Test - An insulation test is carried out on all equipment to verify that the insulation resistance is correct and sufficient between the appliance wiring and internal components. In this test a 500 volt D.C. supply is used to test the insulation resistance.

· Operation Test - This test will start up the equipment being tested as if it were normally plugged into a 13 amp socket outlet. By doing this test we will be verifying the power consumed by the appliance, which we will check against the manufacturers rating which is stamped on the appliance. This will also determine if the correct size of fuse is inserted in the plug top.

· Earth Leakage Test - By carrying out the Operation Test we will also find out if any electrical current is flowing to earth. Normally appliances should have no or very little earth leakage current. The appliance tester will also be able to detect earth leakage in Class 2 (Double Insulated) appliances. This enable account to be taken of all leakage paths to earth rather than just that flowing in the earth wire if applicable - e.g. a Class 2 appliance could exhibit earth leakage through its mountings or by operator contact.

 

www.epat.co.uk

Email - info@epat.co.uk

Other Services

 

We also offer a Risk Assessment Service which would identify risks for Employers and Employees. This service is not limited to portable appliance testing and can be as comprehensive as you require.

 

This service may be useful initially for determining the frequency of testing for your business.

 

We can also help in all other Health and Safety related matters, such as Workplace inspections, Safety Audits, Safety Inspections, Statistics Analysis and any other queries you may have.

PRICES

 

A minimum charge of £25 covers the first 10 items

 

We charge per item and prices can be as low as

£1.75 per item.

 

Pricing as follows:

1—199 items                £ 2.50

199—299 items            £ 2.25

300—499 items            £ 2.00

500 plus items             £ 1.75

 

Fuse check and change (if necessary) free

 

Change of plugs (out of compliance plugs must be changed)

only if necessary          £ 2.00 each

 

Microwave Leak Test           £ 5.00

Microwave ovens tested must not exceed 5 mW/cm2.

Any ovens producing a reading over this must not be used.

 

Prices are inclusive of all necessary paperwork ( Test certificates , Asset lists etc)

 

There are no hidden charges eg. travel costs,

callout charge etc.