How to Carry out Portable Appliance Testing

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition. Portable Appliance Testing is one way in which to ensure electrical equipment is safe.

As stated in the IEE Code of Practice - in order to comply with this the tester must have an understanding of the modes of electrical, mechanical or thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes which may be encountered in a work environment.

Training for testers must include the identification of equipment and appliance types to determine the test procedures and frequency of inspection and testing. Persons testing must be familiar with the test instruments used and in particular their limitations and restrictions so as to achieve repeatable results without damaging the equipment or the appliance.

On completion of this course you will: -

• Know the stages involved in PAT testing
• Recognise the difference between Class I and Class II appliances
• Know what standards are required in order for an appliance to pass each stage of PAT testing
• Know where to find more information about re-test frequencies
• Understand the hazards involved in PAT testing and the precautions that should be taken

This course is not accredited and will not provide the learner with evidence towards a recognised qualification. All portable appliance testing equipment is different. It is the learner’s responsibility to make sure that they have read and understood the manufacturer’s user manual for their PAT testing equipment before attempting to carry out PAT testing. Although we make every reasonable attempt to verify the accuracy of the technical information and advice provided in this course, we accept no responsibility for loss or damage to persons or equipment resulting from its application or interpretation.

Lesson Plan

Areas covered include:

• Learning Outcomes
• Glossary
• Introduction
• Hazards of Electricity
• Why carry out PAT testing?
• Classes of Appliance
• Inspection Testing
• Earth Bond Testing
• Insulation Testing
• Leakage Testing
• IEC Leads and Extension Leads
• Labels and Retesting
• Summary and Conclusion

Accreditation

The content of this course has been independently certified as conforming to universally accepted Continuous Professional Development (CPD) guidelines.

Certification

On completion of this course you will be able to download a Virtual College certificate.

Duration

Approximately 1 hour. The length of time taken depends entirely on how quickly you can study and absorb the material. You can proceed as quickly or slowly as you like.

Target Audience

This module is suitable for anyone interested in becoming a competent person in portable appliance testing.

Entry Requirements

There are no specific entry requirements for this course.

How it Works

What

This is an online course, all the training will be taken through your browser window. There will be no face-to-face sessions with instructors nor will you receive any training material through the post. If you wish you may print out any page of the training material and may also print the notes you took during the training.

You can also revisit the training material at any time, even after you have completed the course.

How

The material for this course has been broken down into several smaller lessons, each lesson dealing with a specific area of the overall subject.

The lesson consists of a series of pages in which an instructor will talk you through the lesson material at a pace that suits you. Pages may also include supporting pictures, graphs, animation or extra sounds to help with the learning where appropriate. Some lessons will include challenges/quizzes to help you keep in touch and interested in the material.

Lessons can be taken in any order and each lesson may be PAUSED and RESUMED at any stage. When all lessons in the course have been completed our system will realise and automatically record that you have successfully completed the course

When

The course is self-paced so you decide how fast or slow the training goes. You can complete the course in stages revisiting the training at any time.