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Having worked in one of the grander offices around London it is beneficial discovering what the businesses policy is for Portable Appliance Testing ( PAT Testing ). Every piece of electrical equipment in the office and work area should be looked at to make sure it is in line with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1998 which states that  “As may be necessary to prevent danger, all systems shall be maintained so as to prevent so far as reasonably practicable, such danger.” This basically means that every bit of electrical equipment that has a plug on it must be regularly looked at to make sure its sustained safety in the work area and like so many things items may have been missed. Any bit of equipment that has been PAT tested will have a PAT testing sticker stuck to it saying when the equipment was looked at and which business checked it.
Not only will this help show in the case of an accident that the employer has been showing due care for its staff but also makes sure that any problems will not cause a loss of life or fire in the business area. The alternative reasons this is advisable is that if you are ever visited by health and safety officers or fire officers the initial things they will probably ask for is to see your Portable Appliance Testing documents.  The provision and use of work equipment regulations state 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”. Legal jargon but what it boils down to is that if you use dangerous equipment at work you are at fault. 
Each year there are about 1000 accidents in the work area that involve electric shocks or burns, and these are just the ones that are actually told to the Health and Safety Executive. About 30 of the accidents are terminal. With insurance businesses lessening the cover that they put forward to businesses with more and more limitations to payouts. Health & Safety requirements and ISO standards are gradually getting stricter as to what is acceptable in the work area and most businesses need to make sure that they are complying with their fire risk assessment responsibilities.
What all of this basically boils down to is that every individual has accountability to ensure that they are aware of the equipment they are using, and if there are no stickers on your equipment saying whether it has been safety checked. Talk to one of your bosses or contact a local PAT testing business to make sure you and the people you work with stay safe.

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For advice on PAT Testing or to find some more frquently asked questions on Portable Appliance Testing be sure to check out the links.

I write on a variety of subjects that I have interest in, being based in the UK I sometimes have a different take on some of the topics I write about.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Did You Know That 30 People Die a Year From Electrical Incidents in the Workplace