PAT Testing Stickers

Since the recognized need began for electrical safety as it pertains to the prevention of fires and hazards associated with faulty wiring and circuit breakdowns, a system of inspection and labeling has been adopted that addresses this need.

Before the advent of a proper system of inspection and reporting in the 1960’s, the practice of safety inspecting was often nothing more than a visual look at wiring involved with electric motors and other devices, sometimes on a regular schedule and sometimes on a random basis.

The increase in widespread usage of electric devices in daily human activity as well as in industrial applications has made it more important than ever to be able to regularly inspect and report on the safety status of electrical systems. The prevention of fires and electrical hazards increases proportionately with this increased use of portable devices.

The current system of electrical safety inspection began in the 60’s and was further expanded with the passage of the Health and Safety at Work Act in 1974, and then again when the Electricity at Work Act was passed in 1990. This system, known as portable appliance testing or PAT, includes a regular routine of inspection and assessment as to the integrity of wiring and circuitry within plug-in and hand-held portable devices.

PAT testing stickers are the vanguard of electrical safety protection in the workplace. Although devices in the home are safety-tested before being introduced to the marketplace for sale, the risk of fires and other related hazards from electric device failures is much greater in manufacturing and industrial environments.

The use of PAT testing stickers provides an immediate visual status report on the viability of portable devices and their internal and external wiring circuits and operation. One can instantly assess whether a device is safe to use or if it has been found to be questionable or even non-usable.

The information that PAT testing stickers provides includes not only the current status of the device vis-à-vis its safe operation, but the history of inspection of the particular electric appliance and which agency or department conducted the inspection as well.

Three categories of safety levels are disclosed by PAT testing stickers: “Tested for Safety”, “Passed”, or “Do Not Use After”. These stickers are attached to the various accessible parts of an electric appliance that require routine inspection, such as wire bundles and power supplies. In this way, a careful and ever-vigilant eye can be kept on those devices which would cause a hazard to the workplace environment if they develop an electrical problem.

A regular and rigorous system of inspection and reporting on portable electric devices is one of the most important safety regimens that responsible companies and industrial entities can adopt to ensure the continued hazard-free operation of their facilities.

This is why PAT testing stickers are so fundamentally vital to not only detect potential safety problems from electrical malfunction, but to provide a history of reporting that can be of such great assistance in the determination of the status of safe operation of electrical devices so abundant in the workplace today.