PAT stands for Portable Appliance Testing.
The duty holder should consider the need for inspection and testing of equipment by evaluating the risks to which the equipment is exposed, the environment in which it is used and the skill level of the user.
FAT stands for Fixed Appliance Testing – Another principal clarification is the demarcation between equipment connected to a fixed electrical installation and the installation itself Generally, fixed-wiring electrical inspections (EICR) will verify the installation as far as the connection point for equipment. This can leave many items of permanently installed electrical equipment (such as hand-dryers) failing to be checked, as they neither come under a company’s ‘portable appliance testing’ (PAT) regime (because they are not portable appliances), nor under the fixed wiring inspection and testing programme.
Consequently, the 5th edition Code of Practice reinforces the need to include all electrical equipment that does not come under any other established electrical safety management process in the workplace, such as fixed wiring inspections.
LANDLORD SAFETY CHECKS – The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (which came into force on 1st June 2020) places duties on landlords to ensure that the fixed electrical installations in residential premises occupied as part of a tenancy are inspected and tested at regular intervals.
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION CONDITION REPORT (EICR). A report to establish the overall condition of all the electrics in a building, stating whether it is satisfactory for continued use and detailing any work that might need to be done.