As compliance professionals, our main aim is to help ensure your business is a safe, compliant enviroment bolstered by a regular service plan.

Our Current services

• Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)

• Fixed Appliance Testing (FAT)

• Microwave Emission Testing

• Smoke Alarm Fitting/Testing

• Emergency Light Testing

• Minor works (fuse/plug change/retermination)

• 3 Phase Testing & 110V /16A / 32A Equipment

• Barcode Asset Management

Emergency Lighting

There are two types of periodic emergency lighting testing which should be carried out to ensure your emergency lighting installation remains compliant and fully functional.
 
‘Flash’ tests are a monthly test which involves illuminating emergency lights for a short period of time to check that the luminaires are in good working order.
 
‘Duration’ tests are an annual test in which emergency lights must remain illuminated for 1 or 3 hours, thus demonstrating that batteries and lamps would perform properly if required.

The Regulator Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that the person in control of non-domestic premises is responsible for the safety of everyone in the building, this includes providing working emergency lighting.
 
HCS can provide Duration tests, and ensure correct placement of lighting according to current regulations, alongside your scheduled PAT testing to save your company money as well as reducing the distruption to your working day.
 
Duration tests need to be conducted at least once a year by a competent person, which is where we can help. To test them, we illuminate the emergency lights for one to three hours. 

What we test

We’ll visit your site and test all your emergency lights. This includes looking at the condition, charging capacity and battery drain. If we find anything wrong with any of your equipment, we’ll let you know what the problem is and how it can be resolved.

We’ll also issue you with an Emergency Lighting Certification and record the testing date for your logbook. We’ll also send you a reminder when we need to come and test your emergency lighting again.

Portable Appliance Testing - The Process

Formal Visual Inspection

An inspection of the appliance will help to identify any physical abnormalities.  Whereas some may be put down to wear and tear and don’t affect the safety or functioning of the appliance, some could be an accident waiting to happen. On average, 90% of appliances which fail a PAT Test do so because of a good Formal Visual Inspection.

A visual inspection involves checks such as:

• Check plug casings for damage.
• Removal of the plug cover.
• Check correct fuse rating.
• Check correct wiring.
• Check terminals and connections are secure.
• Check there is minimal bare wire.
• Check for signs of overheating – discoloration.
• Check for misuse/ingress of liquids or foreign matter.
• Check entire length of the electrical cable/flex for damage.
• Check outer casing for damage.
  
  

Testing 

Once equipment has passed a Formal Visual Inspection it can be tested for electrical safety. This normally involves putting the equipment through a series of electrical tests using known currents and voltages, and taking test results. These results are compared to known values to determine whether specific safety features built into the equipment will perform if there is a fault situation.

Interpreting, Recording and Labelling

After the inspection and tests, the results need to be interpreted by the engineer to determine if the appliance has passed or failed. The appliance can then be labelled with a pass or fail sticker. The electrical readings obtained will form part of your PAT report.

Call 0800 634 8393 or email for a hassle free, no obligation quote. We look forward to working with you.