What happens when my Portable Appliance Testing shows non-compliance?

What Happens When My Portable Appliance Testing Shows Non-Compliance?

Date: 26 November 2023

The Portable Appliance Testers (PAT) will automatically conduct the following tests for:

Class 1 equipment - earth continuity and insulation test,
Class 2 equipment (insulation test) and leads and EPODs - earth continuity test, insulation test and polarity.

So what happens when your Portable Appliance Testing shows non-compliance?

When an in-service inspection or testing identifies equipment fails to comply with the Standard AS3760:2010, the equipment will need to be appropriately labelled - that is tagged - to show that the equipment requires corrective action and warns against use and is to be withdrawn from service. It is the owner or the person in charge of the safety of the site who needs to determine what action needs to be taken to repair the faulty equipment.

After inspecting and testing, compliant equipment shall be fitted with a durable, non-reusable, non-metallic tag or display. You will need to check that all tags are:

Durable and are non-metallic

Both legible and incapable of re-use
Have a bright, distinctive surface which may be colour-coded to identify the period for which the test is valid.
The Standard says that it is not necessary to have an identifiable number or alike on the tag, but it is useful in the collecting of data for the asset register.
The tag needs to show: the name of the person or company who performed the test. The test or inspection date and may include the period for which the test is valid.
Brand-new electrical equipment that has never been put into use does not have to be tested before its first use, however there is an important exception - this does not include electrical equipment used on construction and demolition sites.
If the electrical equipment needs to be tested often for safety, don't miss its first required test.

Finally, the Standard also says a register needs to be kept. It needs to have:

A record of all equipment
A record of formal inspection and tests
A record of all faulty equipment showing details of, if any, repairs or what's been done to fix the equipment. Do all this, and your PAT will be well on the way to tackling non-compliance.

To find out more about appliance testing check out these nationally recognised courses. A Test & Tag course not only saves lives, it reduces risks and improves safety standards for your business. Click here to find a course location near you.

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