PAT TESTING

[grant36]

Hi all i'm new on here so bare with me ,

i'm thinking about starting my own pat testing business and would like some info about testing equipment such as TILLS , GYM equipment IE running machines and I.T equipment such as servers witch i no you cant switch off . And where can i find paperwork , rick assessments and method statements ?????

Thanks for taking time in helping me

 

[Doc Hudson]

Hi all i'm new on here so bare with me ,i'm thinking about starting my own pat testing business and would like some info about testing equipment such as TILLS , GYM equipment IE running machines and I.T equipment such as servers witch i no you cant switch off . And where can i find paperwork , rick assessments and method statements ?????

Thanks for taking time in helping me

Welcome to the forum Grant, Tills? do you mean cash tills? These will often be electronic double insulated devices supplied by a twin flex with no earth connection. So the electrical aspects of testing will be limited, obviously visual checks, correct fuses etc, will need to be done. Is this an area you have previous experience working in. i.e. you have understanding of the realistic costs you will charge? There are a lot of companies out there charging ridiculously low prices per item tested. PAT testing is often used as an add-on service to existing electrical business. Running a pure PAT only business may not be an economically viable model unless you can do it on a very large scale. Have you done the C&G course? this would cover most of the basics for you.

Doc H.

 

[grant36]

im a refrigeration engieer and been on a pat testing course but not C&G , it will be a part time business at the moment and see wot happens

 

[sellers]

In my opinion a pat testing business is a good way to earn an average wage, but the competition is massive. The start up costs are low, you can use your car but i think you may struggle to earn decent money. Personally I would only see you working 2days a week at most.

 

[Doc Hudson]

The current C&G PAT course is the 2377, Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment | Electrical| City & Guilds | various books are available; City & Guilds | Exam Success: Code of Practice 2377 and Amazon.co.uk: pat testing: Books I think the course is only 1 or 2 days. some of the various books will have the answers to your paperwork and appropriate documentation questions. Do you have your own PAT tester? or is it one belonging to your employers that you have previously used? Our forum sponsor ISSWWW Electrical Test Equipment - ISSWWW have a wide range of test equipment. If you do need to purchase an item I would suggest you PM Megger mark View Profile: megger mark - Talk.electricianforum.co.uk... a forum with a difference. of ISSWWW and he can point you in the right direction to the best offers and deals they have currently on. If you do a quick google for businesses doing PAT testing you will find many offering costs of 70p & less per item, so you need to be doing 100 to get

 

[grant36]

iv got my own tester SEAWARD EUORPER PLUS , im hopefully going to start doing hair dressers and local shops in my area to start with then hopefully get on to the local council and the prison service so fingers crossed

grant

 

[Doc Hudson]

iv got my own tester SEAWARD EUORPER PLUS , im hopefully going to start doing hair dressers and local shops in my area to start with then hopefully get on to the local council and the prison service so fingers crossed grant

For council work you may need to be a member of an approved body NICEIC ELECSA etc.

Doc H.

 

[Robin Spark]

There is no way i could realistically test 200 items in an 8 hour day! if you test things properly including opening up the plug, checking the terminals are tight etc then I average 4 to 5 minutes per item. Also you have to get under desks, unravel power leads and multi adaptors, make sure it all goes back correctly, make sure that staff shut their computers down properly so this all eats into your time.

Personally, I think you would be best to see if you could get minimum

 

[johninlondon1]

These jobs are advertised in the job centre for PAT testing, it may be an ides working for one of these companys to get some experience and try out if its for you.

Directgov jobs and skills search - Job details

l]

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I hate PA testing (why do people call it portable appliance testing testing ?) but had to do some this week as part of a buildings testing regime.

One of the many kettles was a cheapo with no name, the type with the exposed element inside the kettle. I got no continuity to earth from this element & as no paperwork was present and this type of kettle costs about a fiver from Tesco's i failed it. Was i correct ? I did think it was cheaper for me to buy them a new kettle if anyone complained than to try and justify myself with hours of phone calls and emails ?

 

[husky2013]

Hi sorry to jump in here, but having worked for HMCS and working in HMP's they tend to have in house trained personell carrying out such tests you will also require the relevant SIA Licences and CRB checks before your even able to get your foot through the door, i myself undertook my 2377 earlier on this year, and my beloved puchased me a KT71 PA Testing Kit, only to find that it was a total waste of time and we sold it a few months after purchase!

we do the odd bit of appliance testing here and there and we tend to just hire one for the day should the occasion ever arise that we need one. but as said before by another member ther are persons charging on avg 70p per item and you would have to have a fair bit of work on to even earn anywhere near enough to even cover petrol costs.

 

[Robin Spark]

Why would they complain Slips? You are there to do a job and its only a cheapo item. You are now responsible for the kettle seen as you purchased it, I dont think you should have done that, but thats my personal opinion.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Why would they complain Slips? You are there to do a job and its only a cheapo item. You are now responsible for the kettle seen as you purchased it, I dont think you should have done that, but thats my personal opinion.

No, i thought 'if' i had to justify it (which so far i have not) then it would be cheaper for me to give them a new kettle than to waste any time on it.

On a similar note to this we carry out maintenance at a local church that does a fair bit of charity fundraising. We charge them for most work but popping in to change tubes and the odd circuit breaker reset etc i do FOC. During a recent phone call from their administrator she told me head office said that i had to charge something as they could not sue us if it was FOC and there were problems. Could i raise some invoices, just for a few pennies. I very politely told her to go f*** her **** ( not really but i wanted to ) but did ask her to think hard about what she had just said and then put it in writing to me !!!!

 

[steptoe]

^^^ WTF

just goes to show what this world is coming too, /shakes head/

 

[Robin Spark]

Your too good a person! Trying to be helpful and then get insulted on your professionalism in case something goes wrong as if you wouldnt notice if there was something obviuosly wrong when doing a lamp change.

Some people dont appreciate anything!

 

[SteveT]

Have you seen the latest Gov.proposals re removing HSE red tape - one of the things to go will be PAT on everyday items like Kettles / Toasters etc in the workplace, only items with a real potential to harm will have to be tested. This will take away thousands of itemsfrom PAT, which we allknow is bull ****