Electrical Appliance Testing

The costs for getting a green label on your electrical equipment these days are considerable. Save money without compromising on safety. Our technicians are fully qualified to City & Guilds 2316 standard to carry out these tests.

This testing is commonly known as PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) but covers static equipment as well. There are also Health & Safety guidelines that should be followed if any of your appliances are being used by members of the public. Irrespective of who carries out your PAT Testing, you have a responsibility to carry out regular visual checks.

If you commission us to do your PAT testing, we will also test maintained computer equipment free if you take out a Maintenance Contract with us. On top of this, we offer excellent discounts to test your remaining equipment. This means that the money saved by Ayrshire Network Solutions doing your PAT Testing can also offset the cost for a Maintenance Contract.

ASH Project

The core functions of ASH will be to help reduce the number of fires in the home in regeneration areas where people are less able to replace faulty goods by testing electrical equipment, explaining electrical safety and referring any relevant information to Strathclyde Fire & Rescue with regards to safety to for follow up.
 
ASH aims to help cut fires and reduce injury in the home by carrying out Portable Appliance (PAT) Testing in homes in the Data Zone areas of North Ayrshire. This would involve testing household appliances with state of the art equipment, renewing faulty plugs and incorrect fuses. Working in partnership with Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, the technician would also be vigilant of any fire hazards advising tenants & reporting these to the local Fire Station. The rise in fires caused by faulty electrical appliances can be stopped if action is taken.

The project will target all of the regeneration areas in North Ayrshire reaching as many of the 11628 households as possible. However, with the assistance of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue, the most deprived areas will be identified and these will be contacted on a proactive basis from leaflets to door to door visits.
 
The Fire Statistics file attachment (below and available for download) shows there is an upturn in fires caused by appliance faults. While the proactive work of the Fire Service contributed to a drop in chip pan fires of 12% and cooking appliances of 4%, fires started by electrical appliances rose by 4%. From these, the injuries caused by electric blankets showed the highest rise of 39.2%

Also Scotland has by far the highest fatality rate in fires compared to the rest of the UK with 16.8 deaths per million of population well above the average at 9.3 and 57% higher than the 2nd highest region.

Also Scotland has by far the highest fatality rate from fires compared to the rest of the UK with 16.8 deaths per million of population well above the average at 9.3 and 57% higher than the 2nd highest region.

Fire Statistics 2004

How to carry out a basic Visual Inspection

• Before inspecting any equipment you should ask the user whether they are aware of any faults and whether it works properly.

The following should be inspected

• The flexible cable - is it in good condition? Is it free from cuts, fraying and damage? Is it too long, too short or in any other way unsatisfactory?
• Check the socket-outlet for any signs of overheating? Make sure it is free from cracks and other damage.
• Check the appliance to to make sure it works properly. Does it switch on and off properly? Is it free from cracks or damage to the case or damage which could result in access to live parts?

The standard plug

• Look for signs of overheating - this may be caused by a fault in the plug (e.g. a loose connection)
• Remove the cover of the plug. Check that the flexible cable is properly secured in the cord anchorage.
• Check that the cable terminations are tight, the plug is correctly connected, there is no excessive removal of insulation, that there are no loose strands and the cable cores are not strained.

Fuses

• Fuses should be securely gripped and should not show any signs of overheating.
• Check the rating on the fuse - most appliances up to about 700 W should have a 3 A fuse fitted (red). For appliances over 700 W fit a 13 A fuse (brown)

What We Test

We use state of the art equipment to test your appliances. The tester we use is said to be the fastest in the world and carries out the following tests to give you more than a green sticker, but gives you peace of mind too !

These are the tests we carry out....