PAT Testing Advice, never done it before

[farquea]

I've been asked to do PAT testing later in the year. I've never done it before so really not too sure what the procedure entails.

I've been told to look into appropirate testing for it. is this needed as im sure the caretakers in the school know how to do it, is it not something i could learn from them easily?

And i'd like to know what the minimum legal requirements are for doing this so that i give myself as little work as possible!

[thomass]

Really you should attend a training course which will teach you how to do PAT testing

[timzim]

Don't do it! Your brain will stop functioning and you'll go mad No, seriously, this is something you should pay an external company to do as it's seriously boring.

[thomass]

I agree as it's really boring

[bossman]

@farquea:

Don't do it if you value your "Sanity" it is soooooooo...............borriinnnnnnnggggggggg

But if you must you will need to gain the acreditation by attending a course which your LA should be able to provide or a third party, good luck if you decide to take it on.

[powdarrmonkey]

I've been asked to do PAT testing later in the year. I've never done it before so really not too sure what the procedure entails.

I've been told to look into appropirate testing for it. is this needed as im sure the caretakers in the school know how to do it, is it not something i could learn from them easily?

And i'd like to know what the minimum legal requirements are for doing this so that i give myself as little work as possible!

Go on a course, like the City & Guilds certification. Just making it up is asking to fry small children.

[farquea]

thanks for all the info, one other thing i wasnt sure on, what exactly do you think i would be expected to test, PC's, printers, laptop trolleys, anything with a plug?

[solitaire89]

Just making it up is asking to fry small children.

And the problem with that is...???

On a serious note...

anything with a plug?

Yes. And I was taught on my course to take the plug apart to check internally, and when you think about the time scale of that alone, let alone the actual test part it gives you an idea of how long it takes. Sorry!

[Andrew_C]

+1 for the C&G training. I'd been doing it for years before I did the course, but worth having the piece of paper. And +about∞ for the dull-ness!

[Vegas]

Large box of Pro-Plus and lots of Coffee before you start!

[farquea]

thanks for all the help, so how do i go about arranging to be trained up on doing this?

[powdarrmonkey]

1. Ask C&G for a list of study centres;
2. Find a convenient centre and find out how much they want;
3. Persuade SMT to invest in you instead of buying a new desk.

[36Degrees]

Previously we had an external company do this but the school decided it would be more cost effective to employ another site guy because of their workload and make PAT testing part of his job. That meant that with everything considered we had more flexibility with site staff and their combined greater skills set meant that savings elsewhere paid for the extra bod.

[timzim]

1. Ask C&G for a list of study centres;
2. Find a convenient centre and find out how much they want;
3. Persuade SMT to invest in you instead of buying a new desk.

4. Arrange with a private clinic for a Frontal Lobotomy so you won't feel the pain of carrying out the PAT tests.

[nslc]

We have to pat test all stuff that is considered IT or AV, as the facilities team wont touch any of it. Its a rubbish job, and one that i hate, especially with all the av kit and wifi access points in ceiling voids. Although we swapped the WiFi over to Power over Ethernet, so that’s a few less to pat test i guess.

I know we have used "Pat training services Ltd - 0119 2489966 " to come out and train a few people all at the same time on site and they were good (so i have been informed). I was trained by some cowboy electrician and it was rubbish, so I refused to do it until retrained. Sadly they are getting round to retraining me this month (sending me to the aforementioned company for the day, i hope a meal is thrown in).
Still you cant win them all.

Its a good idea to work out what is a good routine of re-testing both for safety and workload reasons - do you really need to test servers that dont move and dont get touched every year? Whilst the laptops and PSU's that get licked by staff and pupils should be checked more often. Also remember the power that the " regular visual inspection " can have in administration and management meetings.

Pat testing is great, and its one of the many resons its hard to hold onto good support staff when this sort of thankless task is dropped onto them. *walks away from soapbox and gets back to paperwork before rant takes over*