Schools and colleges are at the top of their game now when it comes to health and safety, so PAT testing in schools is a fundamental part of the safety procedure. In some schools, the job of checking their portable appliances falls on a member of staff that has completed a PAT course, but it is recommended to use an independent qualified PAT tester to carry out this task to give you peace of mind that your staff and pupils are using appliances that are 100% safe. Sense PAT Testing carry out portable appliance testing day in, day out, and have over 15 years experience in the field. Often someone that has been on a course will only use their new skill once a year, and each year their memory of the correct procedure will deteriorate. Coupled with annual machine calibration, keeping up to date with guidelines and regulations and a lack of experience when faced with problems or repairs it is almost always more cost effective and safer to employ the services of a PAT testing company and engineer.
We offer a range of services that cater for PAT testing in schools including:
- Annual inspections
- Portable appliance advice
- Evaluation of all portable appliances
Schools and colleges tend to have hundreds or thousands of portable appliances (some of our large college customers have in excess of 10,000 appliances to be tested annually) so making sure that all of these are regularly tested can be challenging. We find that many schools try to keep this testing in house to keep costs down, but here at Sense PAT Testing we are completely transparent with our prices and define appliances into 3 classes. Class 1 covers any equipment that has an earth connection from a mains supply, these electrical appliances tend to be PC computers, kettles and toasters. Class 2 appliances include hair dryers, power tools and blow heaters and are protected by basic insulation and an additional layer of internal insulation, these items are called double insulated. Class 2F includes Mobile phone chargers, laptop chargers and other power supplies. All of these classes of appliance are generally found in schools.
From our experience, using an independent PAT testing company in The West Midlands is always the best option when considering the health and safety of your schools. You will be safe in the knowledge that all portable appliances have been checked and labelled to prove that they are safe, any appliances that require basic repair will be repaired on site and any equipment that cannot be repaired will be labelled as failed and the site contact will be made aware.
