Why Should I Prevent My Staff From Getting Electrocuted?
When I worked in the facilities subdivision for a national company, I became aware of the UK Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 which requires that “every employer shall ensure that work equipment is so constructed or adopted as to be suitable for the purpose for which it is used or provided”.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1998 says, “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent so far as reasonably practicable, such danger.”
This states that employers (and the self-employed) have a duty of care to make sure that all electrical work gear is not dangerous, appropriate for the purpose and correctly kept in good order. PAT testing (Portable Appliance Testing) is the finest way you can achieve this responsibility.
One of the primary things Fire Officers and Health & Safety Inspectors usually ask to view on any inspection call is PAT paperwork. There are a number of extra explanations why gear could be checked on a frequent basis with the most important ones being:
To comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations
To comply with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations
To minimize the risk of fire and injury caused by electrical gear (Each year about 1000 mishaps at work involving electric shock or burns are conveyed to the Health and Safety Executive. About 30 of these are lethal).
To satisfy your Insurance Company
To comply with all Health & Safety requirements and ISO standards
To comply with Quality Assurances
As part of your Fire Risk Assessment compliance
All of the suggestions above are a course of actions that are reasonable for any owner to stick to, as litigation consultants form more a part of work life. It took a couple of days for the PAT testing business to work through all of the PC,s, Scanners, Faxes and Photocopiers and this was in a firm of 500 people.
Visit PAT Testing to ensure the safety of your work colleagues.
Portable Appliance Testing can be carried out with the minimum of disruption to your staff.
Tags: electrical testing., portable appliance testing, PAT testing
