Providing a Safe Environment
P.A.T testing also known as Portable Appliance Testing is now an
important issue for any organisation.
It is routine inspection and testing of any 110 / 220 Volt device
with a plug top that can be removed from an electrical supply.
Employers are obliged under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work
Acts 1993 and 2001 to provide a safe environment for their employees.
This regulation recommends:
“In the case of WORK EQUIPMENT which is exposed to conditions
causing deterioration liable to result in a danger to SAFETY OR
HEALTH - periodic INSPECTIONS and, where appropriate, TESTING is
carried out; special inspections are carried out when exceptional
circumstances arise which are liable to make the work equipment
unsafe, including modifications work, accidents, natural phenomena
or PROLONGED INACTIVITY; and safety and health conditions are maintained
and DETERIORATION IS DETECTED AND REMEDIED in good time.”
- Safety, Health and Welfare at Work, (General Application) (Amendment)
Regulations, 2001 (S.I. No. 188 2001).
The EU Use of Work Equipment Directive (89/655/EEC) places a responsibility
on all organisations to ensure that their employees can use equipment
at work “without impairment to their safety or health”.
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