PAT testing Swansea

If you run a business anywhere in Swansea , a café on Wind Street, an office in SA1, a workshop out on the Enterprise Park or a guesthouse up on the Gower , you've got electrical equipment that needs to stay safe to use. Kettles, laptop chargers, extension leads, fridges, power tools, the lot. Portable appliance testing (PAT) is the straightforward way to check it's all in good order, and it's what we do at PreventaShock.

We cover the whole of Swansea and the surrounding area, and we fit the testing around how you actually work so your day isn't turned upside down.

What PAT testing actually involves

There are two parts to it, and neither is complicated. First, a visual inspection , looking over the plug, the cable and the casing for anything obviously wrong, like a cracked socket, a frayed lead or a poor repair. Most faults are caught right here. Second, where it's needed, we test the appliance with proper kit to check the things you can't see, such as earthing and insulation.

Every item that passes gets labelled and logged, and you're left with a clear record showing what was tested and when. Simple , and handy when an insurer, a landlord or an inspector asks to see it.

Do you actually need it by law?

This is where there's a fair bit of confusion, so here's the honest version. There's no law that says "you must PAT test," and no law that sets a fixed schedule. What the law does say, under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, is that electrical equipment capable of causing harm has to be kept in a safe condition. PAT testing is simply the most widely recognised way of showing you're doing that.

The Health and Safety Executive backs a sensible, risk-based approach rather than blanket annual testing, and its guidance on maintaining portable electrical equipment sets out how often different types of kit should be checked.

How often should you test?

It depends on the equipment and where it's used. A power drill on a building site takes a hammering and needs checking far more often than a lamp sitting on a reception desk. A busy commercial kitchen or a holiday let full of guest appliances sits somewhere in between. We're happy to help you work out a schedule that matches your setup, rather than charging you to test things more often than they need it.

Swansea businesses we test for

We work with all sorts across the city and beyond , offices, shops and salons, pubs, cafés and restaurants, schools and nurseries, care homes, holiday lets along the coast, and industrial units out around Llansamlet and Fforestfach. Whether it's a handful of appliances or a few hundred spread across several sites, the approach is the same: thorough, tidy, and with as little disruption to your day as we can manage.