ABSTRACT
Portable appliance testing (PAT) or, to use the correct title, In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, has been with us since its adoption in the early 1990s, following the introduction of the Electricity at Work Regulations in 1989, which added some legal weight to the common sense requirement to maintain electrical equipment in a safe condition. Twenty-five years later, PAT is still a huge industry in the UK. Considering the size of the industry it is surprising to learn that most customers and a worrying number of those actually carrying out PAT have very little understanding of the subject. The ability to undertake PAT is not rocket science and is easily within the reach of most people. With the right training and experience people will very soon be saving and even making money by carrying out this activity themselves.
