PAT Testing News Round-Up - Issue 37

This issue covers:

App for calculation of lead resistance
Focus on product safety
PAT on the back for EAWR 1989
Workplace fatal accidents decline
Do you have Twitter?
Catch us at Elex Coventry next month

App for calculation of lead resistance

Seaward has launched a new free and user friendly App to help PAT professionals carry out earth continuity testing efficiently and accurately.

The new Lead Resistance Calculator App for android devices provides a fast and simple means of determining the acceptable resistance of appliance cables and leads, eliminating the need for test engineers to use look up tables or calculate resistance values manually.

This is particularly useful when testing Class 1 appliances and calculating pass/fail limit for Earth Continuity testing using the IET recommended 0.1 ohm + R formula, where R is the resistance of the supply cable. By calculating cable resistance value automatically the risk of operator error is eliminated.

The new Seaward App uses drop down menus for cable length and cable area. This enables the fast, reliable and simple automatic calculation of the resistance value of the protective conductor that is needed as part of the test to confirm that there is a good connection between the mains plug and any earthed metal parts.

The App is specifically designed for use with manual PAT testers or mid-range downloading instruments that do not have an integral calculation capability. The free Seaward Lead Resistance Calculator App is available from the Google play store.

Focus on product safety

All aspects of product safety will be the focus of attention at this year’s Product Safety Conference, organised by Electrical Safety First.

This year the event, entitled Product Safety First – Time for Change, will be held on Wednesday 12th November, at Church House, Westminster.

Key themes will include the changing shape of product safety legislation, identifying trends and emerging issues, recall effectiveness and the issue of behavioural change in consumers. A highlight of the event will be the launch of Electrical Safety First's research project on consumer behaviour – and how this impacts on traceability and product recall.

Previous research shows that consumer indifference and an underestimation of the danger of recalled products make a significant contribution to low recall rates. Nearly two million adults have knowingly ignored a recall notice, with a further million admitting to currently owning an electrical item that has been recalled.

The conference has become a major forum for ideas and information around product safety, as it brings together key stakeholders from across the board – manufacturers, retailers, consumer safety professionals and government bodies – to ensure consumer protection benefits from the industry’s collaborative approach. Further details here.

PAT on the back for EAWR 1989

Introduced to improve workplace safety, the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989 have become the main driving force behind the development of what is now known as portable appliance testing – or PAT for short.

To mark this milestone, electrical test specialist Seaward has produced a special white paper looking at the impact of the EAWR 1989 and how PAT has developed over this period.

The special document provides an overview of PAT testing and looks at the relationship of the regulations with the HSE guidance notes and the IET Code of Practice.

Also provided are relevant statistics on the progress made in reducing workplace injuries linked to electricity and on the contributory role of faulty electrical appliances in commercial and industrial property fires.

The ability of PAT programmes to help identify counterfeit electrical products, and those subject to product recall notices, is also discussed alongside the principles involved in a common sense approach to achieving compliance with the EAWR.

The Seaward '25 Years of the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989' white paper is available as a free download from www.seaward.co.uk/eawr25.

Workplace fatal accidents decline

Figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) indicate the number of workers killed in Britain last year has fallen to the lowest annual rate on record.

Provisional data released by the HSE reveals that 133 workers were fatally injured between April 2013 and March 2014, compared with 150 in the previous year. The overall rate of fatal injury has dropped to 0.44 per 100,000 workers, compared to 0.51 in 2012/13.

Although detailed data for 2013/14 is not yet available, the previous full year figures for incidents involving contact with electricity or electrical discharge for 2012/2013 show that there were 2 fatalities (6 in 2011/12), 90 major injuries (106) and 170 over 7 day injuries (299 over 3 day injuries).

Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair, said: “Whilst these are only provisional figures, they confirm Britain’s performance in health and safety as world class. For the last eight years we have consistently recorded one of the lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers among the leading industrial nations in Europe.” Full details here

Do you have Twitter?

Visit https://twitter.com/SeawardPAT

Catch us at Elex Coventry next month

Seaward will be exhibiting at the Elex Show on the 18-19th of September at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

Visit us on Stand i19 to check out our Limited Edition PowerTest 1557 17th Edition test kit, featuring a multi-function tester and lots of added extras – its outstanding value for money at just £299.

Or, if PAT testing is your thing, demo the Apollo series and PrimeTest 250+ testers.

For more details visit our events page here.