PAT Testing?????

[gibboap]

I have a few questions about Portable Appliance Testing within schools....

 

At our place we (the support staff) have to do the PAT testing. It is split around departments; IT (us) have to do the PCs etc and AV (as of today); science have today there science stuff; Art Technician has to do art stuff and the caretakers have to to the rest. The only stuff different is the cleaners equip with has to be tested by 'outsiders'.

 

Now (the ever going) Job Evaluation has stirred this up and we are getting upset about having to do it (especially as we don’t get paid extra for this). In my case it isn’t even in my job description. My line manager said get it added then, I said pay me for it then I will!

 

My questions are; who does yours and do you get paid extra for it? Also does anyone know the legal accountability if a serious accident happens?

 

If you do the testing what training have you had? We had to watch a DVD then answer questions on it then post it off, in hindsight I wish I had failed! Seeing as they are City and Guilds qualifications for PAT testing this seems very inadequate.

 

Part of me is in a ‘rock the boat mood’ and I need to know the answers (especially to the accountability question).

 

Cheers in advance!

[alonebfg]

If i was you i would seek union advice as this is a minefield of problems waiting to happen ?? also with ref the test you did unless it is a recognised qual. (city and guilds) be very careful for example I did a one day c and G course and it qualifies me to pat test you also need to have been tested on The IEE code of practice for In-service Inspection and testing of electrical equipment which you must have with you if carrying out any test ?? Like i said this is a minefield and if you get it wrong you are liable the other thing you need to know about is class 1, 2, testing and testing pc's which is a totally different ball game as they have built in leakage.

 

http://www.pat-testing.info/who.htm

http://www.theiet.org/ (used to be iee)

 

Have fun and dont get caught as my instructor said when I did the course.(cost of course about £75)

[Midget]

also remember. DO NOT FLASH TEST COMPUTER EQUIPTMENT.

[alonebfg]

lol me i do the lead then do the pc but never flash test it but still do all the others.

[Midget]

Its something that should be taught to all PATers. Confused the hell out of me when a pile of my printers and print servers all died over the hols.

[chrbb]

What do you mean flash test?

 

We had the pat tester last week on my day off, he seems to have tested evrything, computers, monitors and leads. (Also the celing mounted projectors, which then had to moved back into place.) I'm sure the last tester we had in just tested the leads on the computers.

[maniac]

If I remember correctly, the flash test tests the equipment by applying a voltage around 500v between the live+neutral and the earth pin on an applicance. Needless to say this isn't good for any computerised equipment, least of all a PC.

 

Mike.

[alonebfg]

There are all sort of tests the worst one for a pc is the isolation and resistance as it put 500Vdc down the line also touch testing dosen't always pass as pcs have a built in leakage so you do a soft test on pcs only put 100 mA Been a while since i did it I always get a refresher from local collage that way I get to find out about new legation and it only cost £10 and takes about 2 hours and most of the time they don't bother charging.

[enjay]

Ceiling mounted projectors don't need Portable Appliance Testing being as how they aint portable! This is Portable Appliance Testing not Electrical Appliance Testing...

 

Myself, the Science Tech and the Site Supervisor all went on a one day course which had no exam, merely a certificate of attendance, but apparently that was sufficient. I can't comment on what the others do, but I carry out visual inspections after 3-5 years and then test anything over that age, I can't remember off the top of my head how frequently I test things, but it isn't all that often.

 

Ref. accountability, the buck stops with your employer, not you (so long as you are operating within the remit set by the individual school, e.g. test everything every year or whatever your school's policy is)

[richard.thomas]

I'm not sure on the laws for PAT testing, but I think the 'portable' just means it isn't hardwired. So basically anything with a plug is 'portable'. I used to work in a club doing sound and light (before my placement year came along) and the university made us take all our lighting down off the rig so that the sparky could PAT test them... They're even less portable than a projector

[Joanne]

We get outsiders in. After summer I had to replace about 4 or 5 power supplies in this one room.

 

I keep finding equipment that has failed the PAT test too.... what are you meant to do with it?? Most of it is still being used because I don't know about any of the failures apart from the ones I happen to find.

[projector1]

with nearly 1000 items in just IT alone no chance! we have got the school to get it done externally.

[enjay]

I'm not sure on the laws for PAT testing, but I think the 'portable' just means it isn't hardwired. So basically anything with a plug is 'portable'.

If users never touch (indeed can't reach) either the equipment or its power supply, I wouldn't class it as portable.

[mrforgetful]

The trouble with PAT Testing is, noone knows anything about it. It's all 'guidelines' which can be read as strict or lenient as you like.

 

Unfortunately our testing is done by an external company and they failed any PC with a boken plastic front. (For those with Scenic Ps the front grill either pulled off or even just one of the bars broken off).

[torledo]

Ceiling mounted projectors don't need Portable Appliance Testing being as how they aint portable! This is Portable Appliance Testing not Electrical Appliance Testing...

 

Myself, the Science Tech and the Site Supervisor all went on a one day course which had no exam, merely a certificate of attendance, but apparently that was sufficient. I can't comment on what the others do, but I carry out visual inspections after 3-5 years and then test anything over that age, I can't remember off the top of my head how frequently I test things, but it isn't all that often.

 

Ref. accountability, the buck stops with your employer, not you (so long as you are operating within the remit set by the individual school, e.g. test everything every year or whatever your school's policy is)

 

Going by popular definition a desktop PC or monitor aren't portable appliances either. Same goes for printers and most devices in a school.

 

If that's the case what is there left to test ?

[pallen]

In regard to taking on extra work with Job Evaluation it is my understaning that if the task is of a higher grading than your job, you can refuse to do it. If it is of the same or lower grading they can add it to your responsibilities. Obivously if you already have too much work to do this then becomes a staffing issue as you cant do all your work assisgned to you in the time the employer expects.

 

Like others have said, get advice. Speak to your union for advice on where you stand.

 

We have an outside company come in and test during the summer.

[enjay]

Going by popular definition a desktop PC or monitor aren't portable appliances either. Same goes for printers and most devices in a school.

 

If that's the case what is there left to test ?

Anything which people need to touch/move, which does include PCs and printers.

[mrforgetful]

Job Evaluation!?

 

I've been here for 5 years, doing the Network Manager's jobs for 3 of them and never had an Evaluation.

[stephenleak]

According to the Code of Practice, "portable" is less than 18Kg and either intended to be moved whilst in operation (ie. vacuum cleaner) or which can be moved from one place to another (ie. toaster).

 

Over 18Kg is either "movable or transportable" (ie. air conditioning unit) or "stationary" (ie. washing machine).

 

"Fixed" is something that is secured in one location (ie. a towel rail). "Built-in" appliances have poor levels of physical protection, but this should be provided by the separate housing (ie. a built-in cooker).

 

Then there is"handheld" (pretty obvious)

 

Finally, "IT equipment" is a category all of its own because - as has been said above - it doesn't like having very high voltages applies to it to test the insulation.

 

Within these equipment types, you also have Class 1 (an earth connection) Class 2 (double insulated, no earth) and Class 3 (uses a Separate Extra Low Voltage (SELV) power supply).

[gwendes]

Took a three day course (no lunch ) and passed. Don't have a clue where to start with actually testing things - one of the science techs is going to show me 'later' or 'soon'

 

[Andrew_C]

For all those speculating on what needs testing, and how often; buy and read the book (Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment). That way you will have evidence to back your position (or you may have to change the position if you are wrong).

 

The only legal requirement that a person testing needs to fulfil is competence, a good way of proving this is to do a recognised course ie C&G. It is a 6 hour course with a one hour exam. Not at all difficult if you have a bit of electrical knowledge. "O" level physics would suffice.

 

As as aside, there is no legal requirement to test, but you do have to have "a safe system of work" and "maintain equipment so as to be safe", to do this, you need to know if your electrical equipment is safe.

[torledo]

Going by popular definition a desktop PC or monitor aren't portable appliances either. Same goes for printers and most devices in a school.

 

If that's the case what is there left to test ?

Anything which people need to touch/move, which does include PCs and printers.

 

Well I don't know about anyone else, but I've had to 'touch' a ceiling mounted projector on several occasions - a lot of the time on our NEC's which you can't auto-adjust from the remote.

 

Anyway, I'm being pedantic and moving off-topic somewhat....what I really want to know is do I have to have my servers PAT tested. They're all less than three years old, and weigh over 18kg. And are installed in a rack.

[intrigue]

also remember. DO NOT FLASH TEST COMPUTER EQUIPTMENT.

Like the guy at my last place that forgot how to test everything so just pressed all the buttons to see if it passed/failed

muppet!

Matt

[intrigue]

Ceiling mounted projectors don't need Portable Appliance Testing being as how they aint portable! This is Portable Appliance Testing not Electrical Appliance Testing...

 

Myself, the Science Tech and the Site Supervisor all went on a one day course which had no exam, merely a certificate of attendance, but apparently that was sufficient. I can't comment on what the others do, but I carry out visual inspections after 3-5 years and then test anything over that age, I can't remember off the top of my head how frequently I test things, but it isn't all that often.

 

Ref. accountability, the buck stops with your employer, not you (so long as you are operating within the remit set by the individual school, e.g. test everything every year or whatever your school's policy is)

Your supposed to keep a record of how often you test them.

[alonebfg]

Law states if it has a plug It must be tested as even though you might never move it if there is a problem pat testing will pick it up. IE fuse blown so someone put bigger fuse in. This would fail pat test pat items are any item with a plug i have even had to do wall heater in the past. This is part of HASAWA. Its a nightmare but if that projector catches fire and school burns down and fire-brigade put it down to electrical fault on projector and the insurance ask to see pat log (must be kept for 5 years) and it never been done insurance will not pay out only example . Unless it has its own curcit and is wired into the mains then it must be tested. This does include projectors, whiteboards and the data colectors the plug into the mains.