Hire Equipment to Have PAT Tests

The Hire Association Europe (HAE) has announced a code of practice for the maintenance and safety of hire equipment.

Alongside HSE, IET, electrical test equipment suppliers and member companies, the Association has produced guidelines for the safe testing of electrical equipment for hire.

Now an industry standard best practice guide is available, it should help companies to ensure that any equipment they hire out, or hire in, is in good working order.

However, the guidance also confirms the legal duty that companies have to ensure that equipment being hired out has had routine electrical safety tests carried out and is safe for use.

So although there are a lot of changes taking place in the PAT industry and in the way testing is carried out, the requirement of companies to test hire equipment is a good thing for both testers and those who hire in electrical equipment.

The changes to the industry do not spell the end of PAT, but merely the updating and adapting of the industry. Those PAT testers who adapt to the changes and embrace them will surely continue to have a lucrative career.