PAT Testing Course
Plymouth

This first module lays the groundwork for everything you'll cover. You'll find out precisely what Portable Appliance Testing involves, why it matters within an organisation's overall approach to electrical safety, and how the relevant terminology is used across the industry — so that nothing you encounter later in the day comes as a surprise.

The module also introduces the various categories of electrical equipment you are likely to encounter as a PAT tester — portable, movable, hand-held, stationary, fixed and IT equipment — together with the equipment classes (Class I, Class II and Class III) that define how an appliance is protected against electric shock. A clear grasp of these distinctions is essential because the class and type of an appliance govern which tests need to be applied.

Understanding what can go wrong is just as important as knowing how to test. This module looks at the ways electricity causes harm — electric shock, burn injuries, and the serious risk of fire — and at the conditions and faults that make appliances dangerous.

It then takes you through the legislative framework that gives PAT testing its context in UK workplaces. You'll examine the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER). We also address a point that frequently causes confusion: there is no law that explicitly requires PAT testing, but duty-holders are legally obliged to keep electrical equipment safe, and systematic inspection and testing is the accepted means of satisfying that obligation. You'll leave this module knowing clearly who bears that duty and what "reasonably practicable" means in a real workplace context.

The formal visual inspection is the most powerful part of the PAT process — it picks up the large majority of faults before a single test lead is connected. This module shows you how to carry out a thorough and systematic inspection and how to spot the signs of damage, deterioration and misuse that mean an appliance should be withdrawn from use.

You'll also go beneath the surface, examining correct plug wiring to BS 1363, appropriate fuse selection, the condition of cables and flexes, strain relief, and the integrity of casings and terminations. The module explains how an appliance's construction relates to its equipment class, and draws a clear distinction between the informal user checks that all staff should undertake and the formal visual inspection that a competent person must carry out.

Here the course becomes genuinely hands-on. In the learning zone you'll work directly with real PAT testing instruments, learning to set them up and operate them safely and accurately. We cover the range of testers you'll encounter in practice — from straightforward pass/fail units through to more advanced instruments that store data and allow results to be downloaded.

You'll practise making proper connections to appliances, appreciate why using calibrated equipment matters, and develop the practical familiarity and confidence that only repeated handling can bring. By the time the module is complete, working with a PAT tester will feel entirely natural.

This module takes you through the formal testing sequence and how it is applied to different types of appliance. You'll work through each of the core electrical tests in turn — earth continuity testing, insulation resistance testing, earth leakage, polarity checks, and functional checks — with a clear explanation of the purpose of each test and what a valid result actually tells you.

A key focus is understanding how the correct test sequence differs between Class I and Class II equipment, so you always carry out the right checks in the right order. Safe working practice runs through every part of this module, ensuring that each test you perform is both technically sound and safely executed.

Generating a result is only part of the job — interpreting it correctly is what matters. This module teaches you to assess your readings against accepted limits, make a sound pass/fail decision, and take the appropriate action when equipment fails. You'll learn how to label tested appliances correctly and how to maintain records that are clear and can withstand scrutiny.

The module also addresses how to set sensible and defensible retest intervals. Drawing on the risk-based approach that underpins the current edition of the IET Code of Practice — which moved deliberately away from prescriptive, fixed-frequency schedules — you'll learn to judge inspection and testing intervals according to the type of equipment, its operating environment, frequency of use, and the people using it. Sound record-keeping and a well-maintained asset register are presented as the cornerstone of demonstrating continuing compliance.

The final module brings the whole day together and firmly anchors your skills in their regulatory setting. You'll distinguish between statutory requirements that have the force of law and non-statutory guidance that represents recognised best practice, and you'll understand why both are relevant to anyone carrying out PAT testing professionally.

Central to this module is a thorough look at the IET Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, now in its 5th edition. We cover what the Code requires, how it supports the underlying legislation, and how to use it as your primary reference in day-to-day testing work. You'll complete the course knowing precisely what competence means in this field, how to demonstrate due diligence, and how to carry out PAT testing to a standard that is both professional and legally defensible.