Any portable appliance owned and used by staff, students or visitors to the college, university or school should be PAT Tested before they are allowed to be used on the premises.
Your duty of care is to all staff, students and visitors to the organisation where portable appliances are concerned. When anyone brings a new appliance on the premises it should be checked and deemed safe to use. Not keeping up to date with the new appliances brought into the college, university or school could be a health hazard and risks giving someone an electric shock or the cause of a fire starting.
It is good practice to educate employees and students on the dangers of faulty products and how they can cause harm to users and the premises. Pointing out what is deemed as unsafe, whether it is cracked plugs, exposed wires or badly maintained equipment will help you determine whether something is safe or not.
It’s worth noting that in the event of a fire caused by a faulty product on premises that has not been checked, insurance companies could use this as a way out of settling the premium. It will be your responsibility to prove that the faulty appliance was not the cause of the fire rather than the other way round.
It is generally a requirement in most universities, colleges and schools to have any portable appliance is PAT tested before they are used on the premises.
By taking into account the above information, unless you have a competent PAT Tester on site, for peace of mind, it would be a good idea to give us a call to professionally check any portable appliances you may have in Birmingham, Solihull and the surrounding West Midlands.
