Posts Tagged ‘Portable appliance testing’

PAT Labels Ensure the Safety of Appliance Users

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

To ensure the safety of electrical appliances commonly found in residential, commercial, and industrial locations, the United Kingdom requires that certain tests be carried out on a continual basis depending on the potential hazard of the appliance in question. The PAT test, or Portable Appliance Test, is used to designate potential appliances as hazardous, and others as fit for use and safe for anyone around. After a PAT test has been undergone, which includes such processes such as checking the internal electrical components for any possible danger, observing the external power cord, and taking notice of the environment in which the appliance itself it situated, then PAT labels are affixed to the machine with an indication as to how the appliance faired in the PAT test.

PAT labels are a very important role in Portable Appliance Testing and without them potentially harmful appliances wouldn’t be marked as such. Once testing has been successfully completed, a label is affixed to the appliance to allow for users and testers of the machine to know if a test has been performed, how the test turned out, and a number of other important pieces of information. The main and most important information that is displayed on a test label is the results of the test, and most commonly comes in three forms. The results of a PAT test can come in the form of ‘passed’, ‘tested for electrical safety’, and ‘DO NOT USE’, and this information can be coupled with the use of color coding to more effectively put across this information. The color green is most commonly used to denote an appliance as safe for use, as the color green is a fairly universal color denoting “safe”, or “go”. Labels with a red color, as red is a color typically interpreted as “stop” or “danger, is used to color certain PAT labels so that the danger of a ‘DO NOT USE’ result from a portable appliance test can be noticed from afar without the need to get real close to the potentially hazardous appliance.

PAT labels come in a variety of different forms, depending on what sort of appliance they are to be affixed to, their usage, and a number of other factors. These labels are also made to last, and usually comprise of a laminated surfaced and strong adhesive to ensure durability and that their message will stay right where it needs to stay. PAT labels are also available in different modes of application, such as ones that are meant to be wrapped around power cables, ones that are specifically designed to fit snuggly over plug tops, and the most standard labels which are simply labels with adhesive which act as stickers to display the pertinent information. There are also labels that are specifically used for the testing of microwaves, as microwaves are a very commonly used appliance and also quite potentially dangerous and their emission levels must be measured to ensure the user’s safety. These labels play an important part in safety awareness.

Barcodes Supply a Complete History with PAT Tests

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Portable Appliance Testing, or simply known as PAT testing, is a very important test required by the British government requiring tests to be performed that measure the safety of electrical appliances. Some appliances, such as the microwave, must be tested to ensure that there are no harmful emissions being released that could be passed onto its users or technicians. Other appliances, such as hand-drills must be tested to ensure they can be used without the user being electrocuted or otherwise harmed with its use. The history of these tests, as they are typically required every few months for more dangerous appliances, and sometimes annually for lesser dangerous appliances, must be kept as to allow technicians to know the result of tests performed in the task.

Utilizing new technology that’s been implicated everywhere from warehouses to retail stores, the use of barcodes on PAT testing labels is becoming a very popular and crucial part PAT testing. By allowing the entire history of an appliance’s testing results to be stored in a barcode, the people who have to test the appliances have all the information they need to make important decisions regarding the appliances safety and what sort of result they should apply.

There is a lot of potential and benefit in the use of barcodes as means of storing important data collected by Portable Appliance Testing. Instead of having to write down information and the history of the tests, technicians can now input the data directly to a wireless database and with a simple scan of a scanning device, information can be instantly accessed and evaluated on the spot wherever the technician may be. This use of digital data can cut down on a lot of writing and note taking for workers, and can eliminate any problems that could arise with the inability to read certain handwritings.

The obvious benefit and advantage of the use of barcodes with PAT testing can be easily noticed with compared with the system that does not use any bar codes on the labels. Traditionally, when a PAT test is performed, only the most recent information can be jotted down on the label, which severely restricts what sorts of information one can put on the label, as the tester is limited to the size of the label. However, with the use of barcodes on PAT testing labels, essentially an unlimited amount of information can be accessed on even the smallest of labels. This has the ability to the job itself that much more safe and easy to perform by testers, as a complete list and source of the valuable data required to make decisions regarding an appliances safety can be made with all information in mind.

It seems as time goes on, the obvious superiority of barcode use with PAT testing will become apparent and most PAT labels will move towards their usage. For testers who require, or simply feel safer knowing all of the information regarding an appliance as they service it, this mode of information display is a must.

Visual Inspection Labels for Portable Appliance Testing

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

To ensure the safety of people who use electrical appliances in residential, commercial, and industrial settings, there is a test that has been required by health and safety regulators in the United Kingdom. The test itself, which is completely known as in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment, or a PAT test (Portable Appliance Testing), is performed by licensed individuals to test the safety of electrical appliances by observing several factors.

The testing of an electrical appliance, depending on what sort of electrical appliance it is, is divided up into three main parts, and once a decision has been made of how safe it is to use a visual inspection label will be affixed with the necessary information. First, the test consists of an inspection of the inner working of the main electrical components, as this aspect of the appliance’s use can potentially have the most grave consequences of there is a problem in its functioning. The second part is an observation any external power cord that the electrical appliance may have, to ensure there are no exposed wires or hazards that need to be fixed. The third and last part of the Portable Appliance Test is a general observation of the environment in which the appliance is used.

Once the required PAT test has been completed and a decision can be made denoting how safe or hazardous the electrical appliance is for potential users, a visual inspection label is affixed. Depending on what kind of appliance is tested there are different varieties of visual inspection labels that are available to accommodate size and type. There are Portable Appliance testing labels that are simply adhered to the surface of the electrical appliance and typically are the most commonly used testing labels. Another kind of inspection label is a type that wraps around the cable, which is exceedingly useful for smaller appliances that don’t have enough surface area to effectively place a standard sticker. Some PAT test labels fit perfectly on outlet plugs. There are even a newer kind of visual inspection label that utilize bar codes to hold a vast amount of information that otherwise couldn’t be contained on the limited surface of the label. Since its required to keep the history of all PAT tests throughout the life of a given electrical appliance, by storing this information on barcodes a lot of possible errors and hand writing can be avoided.

Visual inspection labels offer a valuable method of harm prevention in the usage of electrical appliances. After a PAT test, a visual inspection label is affixed to an appliance with information regarding the results of the test, when the test was performed, when the next test should be performed, and who performed the test. Sometimes these labels come in different colors, so the PAT test results can be identified from a distance away, thus making interaction with the electrical appliances that much more safe. These labels are a very important source of valuable information regarding PAT tests.

Failed PAT Testing Labels Prevent Possible Harm

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

There are specific tests required by health and safety regulators in the United Kingdom that have been established to ensure that electrical appliances in a variety of different environments are kept safe and operating at a standard designed for optimal safety for both an appliances user’s and testers. These tests, collectively called PAT testing, is a test designed to be conducted in a number of residential, commercial, and industrial settings. Depending on the level of potential risk involved, Portable Appliance Testing will be conducted at three month intervals, six month intervals, and sometimes at yearly intervals. Its important for anyone using or working in an environment where an electrical appliance is used to be able to tell how safe an appliance is, and whether it should even be used or not, and so PAT testing labels are attached.

Some Portable Appliance Testing labels are color coded, with green typically indicating that the appliance is safe to use, and red usually designated for a failed PAT testing label. It’s important to know the results of the test and to know how safe one is in an environment with electrical appliances, and color coding offers a quick and easy way for the distinction between hazardous and safe appliances to be made.

PAT testing labels are meant to be comprehensive in the sorts of information that they offer, and the most important information is whether or not the appliance should be used. A failed PAT testing label, as most commonly indicated with the color red, is probably the most important label to be able to recognize easily, because any electrical appliance that receives this failed designation is certainly not fit for use by the general public, and perhaps has to be discarded or repaired by designated individuals. Besides the several safety labels an appliance can receive, there is information about the tester, the date that the test was performed, and when the next test should be completed. There is also a place for the appliance I.D. number.
Whether an electrical appliance must receive a pass or fail PAT testing label is all dependent on the Portable Appliance Test itself. By observing the internal electrical components of a machine, a technician can decide if it’s safe to use. A performer of the PAT test will also be required to observe the power cord of the electrical appliance for any signs of potential bodily risk, and the environment that the appliance is located in will play a key role on the result of the test.

Without indicating, usually with color, whether an electrical appliance has received a fail PAT testing label, uses and PAT testers could be subject to possible bodily harm from the use of these electrical appliances. Electrical appliances are extremely commonplace, and their testing ensures that the thousands of people that are exposed or use these appliances are safe. The red
coloring of these testing labels is very affective in warding off potential users, as this color is very often associated with “stop”, or “danger”.

PAT Test Labels with Barcodes Offer Information with a Simple Scan

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Portable Appliance testing an integral part of harm prevention in the use of electrical appliances in a variety of environments where electrical appliances are commonly used. Taking place in residential, commercial, and industrial settings, the PAT test as its commonly known is used to designate the level of safety surrounding the use of potentially hazardous appliances.

Anything from hand drills and microwaves, to much larger equipment must be tested on a continual basis at intervals established by how dangerous the appliance itself could be. For electrical appliances considered more dangerous, three to six months is typically the intervals at which their PAT testing must be conducted. For electrical appliances whose danger is slightly less, intervals of testing may be closer to once a year. Once a PAT test is performed, a PAT test label is affixed to the device, and a newer and much more comprehensive form of PAT test label is the PAT test label with barcode.

PAT test labels with barcodes are an amazing new form of PAT test labels that, along with all the crucial information that goes along with the proper conduction of a Portable Appliance test, have barcodes that open up a new world of harm prevention. Barcodes are used in a variety of different applications, and their advantage is that they can hold a lot of information that can be accessed with a much greater ease than any method that has been created before.

The results of a PAT test must be marked on the surface of the PAT test label, which is used to display how safe the electrical appliance is to use. Coming in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and forms, they all have the same function, which is primarily to prevent the use of any possibly dangerous appliance. The history of these tests, which may occur at different intervals depending on the danger involved, must be logged as to assist in future tests of the appliance. PAT test labels with barcodes allow the tester to access the entire history of an appliance’s PAT test results, whereas before the most recent test result is the only available information directly accessibly by the label itself. The use of these labels helps deter any possible errors with regards to handwriting mix-up, and the technology involved is really quite simple and easy to learn.

PAT test labels offer important information about the results of mandatory electrical appliance testing, and the use of them is very handy in making judgment calls when it comes to using and operating electrical appliances. Although PAT test labels themselves offer quite a bit of information, when coupled with barcodes, as is the case with PAT test labels with barcodes, much more information regarding an electrical appliance’s safety and test history can be accessed remotely and with a simple scan of a scanning device. This is an exciting development, and a very novel idea where safety and the ability to store mass amounts of information with the use of a barcode and come together and make PAT testing that much more comprehensive.

PAT testing labels: A torch in an Otherwise Dark Cave

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

PAT testing labels play a very important part in the display of potential hazards associated with the use of electrical appliances in the United Kingdom. PAT tests themselves are tests performed by certified technicians which gauge the safety of electrical appliances in people’s homes. The word stands for Portable Appliance Testing, and it is more correctly and completely known as “in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment”. Without the display of the status of an appliances safety, technicians and people employed to work on appliances would be subject to a greater risk as they would essentially be walking into an unknown danger.

The primary way for a potential danger to be marked on appliances is through the application of PAT testing labels. After a technician, or even someone who simply knows how to test appliances with a general understanding of common safety, tests an appliance at someone’s home, a commercial setting, place of industry or anywhere else, they apply one of these strips. The strips serve as labels, and will say one of three things: ‘Passed’, ‘Tested for Electrical Safety’, or ‘DO NOT USE’. It’s easy to see from these three simple labels how important it would be to label a machine that is could be dangerous with a ‘DO NOT USE’ label, and how it would be also important to know and useful to anyone who is operating the equipment to have the knowledge that the machine was tested for electrical safety, or even that it has passed and is safe to use.

PAT testing labels look like simple stickers that you can place on a tested machine, and oftentimes the information contained on the front includes such information as the appliance I.D., a place to put the name of who inspected it, the date that the test took place, a place to put the date of when the appliance should be tested next, and of coarse a place to designate the level of safety that has been established by the test.

Oftentimes, and in recent years, companies have started to offer customizable PAT testing labels. Strips such as these can be offered in color coded forms, have different names on them, or the layout of the strip itself can be changed, but one thing is the most important: that all the crucial information is included and readily visible to people who may find the information extremely important in the work that they do.

PAT testing labels are without a doubt a very crucial part to both the safety of employees who need to test or work on electrical appliances, and the owners of the appliances who need to know whether it’s safe to use the equipment, and even if the equipment is usable in the first place. Without these important yet oftentimes overlooked pieces of hazard prevention, there would most likely be many more accidents in terms of public safety and harm to employees, so luckily with a little help from these labels light can be shed in an otherwise dark area.