Would you care to provide a copy of this "recognised method"? That is, one that's actually mandated and not one that's made up by someone charging £1.50 an item.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition
PAT is an auditable method of demonstrating compliance with this part of the regulations. Do it or don't do it, I don't care but you won't find any guidance that recommends that you don't. If a judge asks you how you have complied with this and the answer is that Dave from accounts looked at the appliances, I'm not sure they'll find it satisfactory!
I'm not sure they'll find it satisfactory!
Are you sure they won't?
The legislation is wooly, the requirement is that its checked by someone "competent," but there's no definition of competence that I'm aware of. A visual inspection by Dave from accounts is perfectly acceptable, so long as Dave can reliably spot a cable with its insulation hanging out of the plug.
Cougar - ModeratorThe legislation is wooly, the requirement is that its checked by someone "competent," but there's no definition of competence that I'm aware of.
I was on a course years ago and the lecturer summed it up by saying:
A competent person is someone who is deemed to be competent by another competent person!!
This is all to do with Liability. ( arse covering !)
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition. However, the Regulations do not specify what needs to be done, by whom or how frequently (ie they don't make inspection or testing of electrical appliances a legal requirement, nor do they make it a legal requirement to undertake this annually).
[i]One[/i] way of proving that you comply is to have your installation and appliances tested and documented regularly.
The onus is on the business owner to show how they complied if they end up in court after an accident.
Precisely.
PAT is an auditable method of demonstrating compliance with this part of the regulations. Do it or don't do it, I don't care but you won't find any guidance that recommends that you don't. If a judge asks you how you have complied with this and the answer is that Dave from accounts looked at the appliances, I'm not sure they'll find it satisfactory!
Almost anything is auditable.
Signing off that all rack mount enclosures are connected to an earthing bus bar is auditable.
Making a policy decision that PAT of rack mounted devices is pointless because the probability of the earth connection in the leads of every single device in the rack simultaniously failing is vanishingly small can be auditable if the policy is written down.
Having a system of checking the supply circuit earth continuity and a system to tot that the loads connected do not exceed the circuit rating is auditable.
Asking the person you are contracting in to advise on electrical safety to provide evidence of their competence is auditable.
