Why it's worth paying a decent amount for a proper PAT Test

[Megahertz]

I taught a PAT Testing training course in a hotel last week. My customer, who organised the course, had told the hotel staff I was coming, and it seems they panicked, and booked somebody to come in and test their own stuff. I think they were worried in case I noticed that they hadn't had it done!

Anyway, it appears it backfired, as they phoned around for quotes and went with the cheapest....

When I arrived I was shown the AV cupboard, so I could plug my laptop into their projector, and was invited to plug into this lead! (see picture)

Mostly, when things like this crop up, the PAT Testing company say 'it must have been done after we tested it' but in fact the testing was carried out at the end of August, and the manager told me specifically that nobody had touched the equipment in the cupboard since the PAT Testing had been carried out.

Needless to say, the hotel are now wondering whether they can rely on ANY of their PAT Test results. If anybody gets a shock from ANYTHING in that place, they're going to be in big trouble.

You pay peanuts.....

 

[Mark_Burgess]

That is just out right incompetence at its finest, if I were the hotel manager I'd be on the phone to P.R.A.T (uk) and be going mental at them, or get them back to do some more but set a trap.

 

[oldtimer]

Yep you are telling me something I already know as I have added PAT to my services and plenty of examples for the sticker brigade the most common is the bedside or table light with the 13 Amp fuse in them instead of a 3 amp.

A letting agent said how come you find things other people dont and I reply well if you want me to do it then it gets done right and remember thats the whole reason for PAT testing to make sure the correct fuse is fitted. Thing is I was in one house and founf 5 13A fuses so did this happen between the 2 tests NO this happened over 2-3 years ie lamp goes and takes fuse with it the tenant firs a 13A because thats all he has then this gets repeated over the year.

Funny thing is can you imagine a garage doing this with a MOT

 

[Silly Sausage]

oldy, have you got the latest Wiring Matters 44?
There's a 2 page article you might want to read.

 

[oldtimer]

oldy, have you got the latest Wiring Matters 44?
There's a 2 page article you might want to read.

No but would appreciate a copy

 

[Guest123]

I think this is the text in question.......

 

[oldtimer]

I think this is the text in question.......

thanks Lenny you are a star

 

[Adam W]

It makes you wonder who and why anyone would think something like that is acceptable. Not just to pass it but to do it in the first place.

 

[oldtimer]

Lenny Archy mentions edition 44 and you have sent 43 is this a typo from Archy ?

 

[grantr37]

I have seen lots of this before, the 6 or so times that I have seen the connector block one have all been in portacabins and staff canteens where for some reason they have a double socket inside the under sink cupboard, there's a tea water urn on top of the worktop next to the sink beside the window and there's a hole drilled in the worktop, the flex is cut and put through then rejoined with a section of terminal strip and plugged in, with the terminal strip left flapping about next to the leaky drip and the tins of polish , spare handwash etc....ideal for somebody to have a feel about looking for something and grab the bare ends or a terminal connector with a wet hand....
I got rid of this socket a few times and one time was told Oi ! leave that it stops people from unplugging the hot water urn.....
I failed a few grills and ovens before that were badly damaged and abused and had things like 1.5mm yellow 110 flex on them joined with tape wrap, they were put straight back into use within 20 minutes and I was told to clear off and leave them alone...



in terms of pat testing companies (no names are being mentioned by me) I have seen adverts in town, in fact I just seen another one yesterday..... something like this...


£6.08p per hour
must test circa 300 items per day
must have both PAT certificates
must have all own tools and have PAT testing machine with Calibration certificates
must have all own insurance for liability
must have own Car
be advised travel will be nationwide
we pay £0.16p per mile only after the first 55 miles each day.....


after the first 55 miles? so you wouldn't get anything as they would just keep you within 70 or so miles....I don't think you would get a penny for miles even if you drove 200 miles every day, its looks that kind of mob..(nobody that's on here but similar)

own kit = £3k

insurances= several hundred pounds

own vehicle= road tax, mot, maintenance, tyres, and what happens to your personal driving insurance, do you need to upgrade that to business cover??


Petrol? probably £150 a week or more the way these characters would have you driving about most likely 6 days a week....

I think these kind of things are aimed at people who have all the kit and car, a few thousand in the bank and a desperate urgency to work thinking maybe if they eat into their savings for a couple of weeks/months that maybe it might lead to something better,maybe a works van and a pay rise etc... but in fact what happens is basically you end up self employed, they sell your services at knock down prices (some offer PAT for "as little as 68p an item") and you get all the expenses loaded onto you and the whip cracked at your back.....then if you think about setting up on your own, it will be hard as they will have replaced you with new victim(s) and will be so cheap that everybody will keep going to them on price...

I think a lot of newly trained bob a job handy person types get suckered by this looking for experience or hoping for a stream of work....




"Here's a big huge roll of stickers with our company name on them, a pile of letterhead PAT forms and a memory card to put into your own tester"

now get to work to pay for my new Audi ....hahah haha haha

 

[i=p/u]

Well I done my first job yesterday and 50 items took ages. So how do these guys input data so quickly ,I know probably type into tester but , what about moving appliance aand looking for rating plate and all . It is a slow job

 

[i=p/u]

And even write out the labels or do they come per printed

 

[Guest123]

Lenny Archy mentions edition 44 and you have sent 43 is this a typo from Archy ?

I think so, 43 is summer 12 and I don't think 44 has been issued yet.

 

[ohreally]

£6.08p per hour
must test circa 300 items per day
must have both PAT certificates
must have all own tools and have PAT testing machine with Calibration certificates
must have all own insurance for liability
must have own Car
be advised travel will be nationwide
we pay £0.16p per mile only after the first 55 miles each day

How can the testing be sufficient at ~ 1½ minutes per test? I assume they are only doing plug top "testing" and excluding 3 phase, FCU and difficult to access appliances.

A box of leads to test maybe, anything else no chance.

I posted something similar arounbd 6 months back - sadly the situation hasn't improved.
http://www.electriciansforums.net/pat-testing/52767-new-low.html

 

[oldtimer]

To be honest I think PAT has no credibility at all and is run by a lot of big companies who run the industry if this was the USA they would have called it a Racket and brought people to court but if there is anything that we should be highlighting it is the sales mechinism of the industry that should be sorted out but how can we do that when the Scheme providers are sales driven as well . They have got themselves in the same state as the banks ie scared to allow profits to dip and driving sales to sustain profits so I think we all know how this is going to end with basically them doing nothing until there is some deaths or they feel like they need to raise their profile or make it look like they are in control when obviously we all know that it is out of control.

So why are you doing it I here you say well I need it as a part of my business but if I am going to do it then I am going to do it right and yes I may only get it done to 90-95% of how it should be done but lets face it some of these companies are not achieving the 40% mark as I have said before an individual doing x 100s of items a day is not feasable in my view and the only way to prove it would be a court case if an individual got hurt but that aint going to happen anytime soon

 

[grantr37]

the profit comes off the unsuspecting workers efforts

 

[drew35]

Nice label though! Although shouldn't it be of the green variety?

 

[i=p/u]

44 items took me 7 hours including 30 mins for lunch

 

[Risteard]

I think so, 43 is summer 12 and I don't think 44 has been issued yet.

No, he's referring to an article in Issue 44 about the changes to the Code of Practice which is coming out in I think November. I got my copy of Edition 44 of Wiring Matters on Saturday I think.

 

[oldtimer]

Another bloody book to pay out for just shoot me now