Pat testing. How many are you expected to do?

[leroy989]

Hello all.
Quick question, how many items are you expected to test per hour? (Properly not lick and stick)
Had a moaning at today for being to slow.
In 3 hours I tested 124 items by the book and was told this was not a good amount, this includes scratching around under desks dicconecting, testing and putting the items back.
I know that some people I work with are happy with the lick and stick method and ive seen some shocking stuff that has "PASSED" but I'm not willing to put my name to something thats not been done properly.

 

[ferg]

roughly 90 seconds per item....

That's more than I'd even get close to.

I don't do a lot of Pat testing though.

I recently did a similar amount of items on a building over 4 floors and it took me a day.

That included minor repairs.

Having said that I don't price per item but by the hour and frankly couldn't care less if my Pat tester never got used again.

It's mind numbingly boring and I have no intention of trying to compete with the lick and stickers.

 

[Des 56]

Try and get a different job,these firms are thieves and rogues
These rouges have no interest in the safety of the items they are contracted to ensure are indeed safe,because of what you post

There is a hanging thread on here at the moment,they merit inclusion

 

[Darkwood]

These companies are interested in profit as oppose to safety ... the issue here is if anyone gets hurt they can just say it was ok at the time of testing, its a scam system risen on the back of insurance policies demanding testing....your best looking for alternative work as you will become braindead and work your --- of for little reward while the pen pushes reap it in, while getting no real experience in the world of electrical work.

PS change your profile... Residence maintenence Engineer is an hyped up title for handy man .... without at least a HNC you cannot class yourself as an Engineer and if you had this you wouldn't be sticking pass stickers on plug tops.

 

[Adam W]

I aim for an average of 5 minutes per item, which includes minor repairs.

 

[Octopus]

In 3 hours I tested 124 items by the book and was told this was not a good amount, this includes scratching around under desks dicconecting, testing and putting the items back.

Sorry mate but if you are scratching around under desks AND doing 40+ items per hour you are NOT doing it properly.

JMO

 

[IrishSpark]

Done PAT testing a few years back and my target was 75 items a day, after that I was on bonus pay. Not possible to correctly and fully test that 124 items in 3 hours in my opinion.

 

[ohreally]

I'll do around two/ three an hour, however these are large 3ph FA's which will entail isolation and some dismantling locating contactors etc.

 

[K-PAT]

You are doing more tests in 3 hours than I do in a day.I do a thorough check from plug to appliance, all tests and print and apply the relevant label. There is no way that you are doing a correct job if you are only spending around 90 seconds per item. If your employer expects you to do more, then you might want to disassociate yourself from them.

 

[timo1]

Sorry mate but if you are scratching around under desks AND doing 40+ items per hour you are NOT doing it properly.

JMO

I was thinking the same. I take a morning to do about 20 items. Not sure my pat tester would work that fast if I had all the items in front of me!

 

[ryan1988]

Depends on the site and how easy access is. But I've been on so many sites where I was told..... your not as fast as the guys here last year....then asked why am I opening the plugs, those "same guys" last year didn't do that. I also found plugs with the damn cardboard still on the end of the plug. So if they expect more then what was it 124 items in 3 hours they are used to people just stickering. Not carrying out full checks or repairs such as changing uninsulated pinned plugs etc

On a good site wth 100% access and no problems ill aim myself to do 25 to 30 per hour including minor works and proper visual checks, I mean I've seen people sticker an appliance and I had to point out all the exposed cable from the flex.....

 

[leroy989]

I'm happy to say that any work I carry out is done properly, I know the chaps I work with are happy to just slap a sticker on anything but that's not my cup of tea, this includes what I would say are high risk areas such as schools nursing homes ect. I had a chat with the director about the amount of testing I had done and was told pull your finger out or pack your tools up and f**k off.
I'm now looking for a new job.

 

[Guest77]

I aim for an average of 5 minutes per item, which includes minor repairs.

PMSL, although I and others will see your point, you will never win any contracts at that time, you will need to do 1 every 2 mins to keep up with the Cowboys who run the market.

 

[Adam W]

PMSL, although I and others will see your point, you will never win any contracts at that time, you will need to do 1 every 2 mins to keep up with the Cowboys who run the market.

I'm not trying to win PAT testing contracts. If you just want a sticker put on every plug or a pile of appliances failed for the lowest price then I would recommend getting a cowboy to do it, not me.

 

[GrantsonUK]

I'm doing the testing for a local charity shop on a Saturday morning and I aim to get though 10-15 items per hour.

I arrive and there is generally a big pile of stuff, so no hunting around
I pre-fill a sheet of labels with my initials and the date,
Use a sheet of bar codes for common appliance types and notes (repairs, fuse rating etc)

Not sure I could go much quicker without cutting corners,

I did read an article comparing the Seaward Europa+, Primetest 350, the newest Megger and a battpat(i think)

When testing the same set of appliances the Megger was so many seconds faster than the other testers (Europa+ being the slowest) thus saving 30% more time on the actual tests, but since I generally fill out my labels when the tester is doing its thing I'm not sure how worth it a £1200+vat + software costs upgrade would be :whatchutalkingabout

 

[Darkwood]

Welcome to the forum GrantsonUK... thanks for your input, please note on the Thread posting date when you are adding your input, this one is several months old

 

[kenuk]

Hello all.
Quick question, how many items are you expected to test per hour? (Properly not lick and stick)
Had a moaning at today for being to slow.
In 3 hours I tested 124 items by the book and was told this was not a good amount, this includes scratching around under desks dicconecting, testing and putting the items back.
I know that some people I work with are happy with the lick and stick method and ive seen some shocking stuff that has "PASSED" but I'm not willing to put my name to something thats not been done properly.

12

124 items in 3 hours - by the book - no offense but what book was that, the pat testing book for cowboys?

 

[kenuk]

Depends on the site and how easy access is. But I've been on so many sites where I was told..... your not as fast as the guys here last year....then asked why am I opening the plugs, those "same guys" last year didn't do that. I also found plugs with the damn cardboard still on the end of the plug. So if they expect more then what was it 124 items in 3 hours they are used to people just stickering. Not carrying out full checks or repairs such as changing uninsulated pinned plugs etc

On a good site wth 100% access and no problems ill aim myself to do 25 to 30 per hour including minor works and proper visual checks, I mean I've seen people sticker an appliance and I had to point out all the exposed cable from the flex.....

Again, cannot see how you could be doing a proper job doing that many in an hour, 2 minutes is no time at all to do the checks and minor repairs etc.

 

[cliffed]

I aim for an average of 5 minutes per item, which includes minor repairs.

Yea agree,between 5-8 mins an item.

 

[LukeD]

Again, cannot see how you could be doing a proper job doing that many in an hour, 2 minutes is no time at all to do the checks and minor repairs etc.

Digging this thread up !!! "Minor repairs" . Included in the works? Not in my book .Its a simple pass or fail set up. Not a repair to pass test !

 

[DPG]

Digging this thread up !!! "Minor repairs" . Included in the works? Not in my book .Its a simple pass or fail set up. Not a repair to pass test !

Depends on what the customer wants and what they are paying for. Replacing fuses or fitting new plugs could be included.

 

[123]

Digging this thread up !!! "Minor repairs" . Included in the works? Not in my book .Its a simple pass or fail set up. Not a repair to pass test !

See Post #16, then add over 6 years

 

[cliffed]

I timed myself, with the equipment at hand, 6 minutes per item

 

[pirate]

6 minutes seems about right to me for easily accessible items. However, if you are testing IEC leads in a typical office environment it can take much crawling around under desks to identify which plug in a sea of disorder is at the end of the lead in question...and unless you want to then untangle the lead, you have to do the inspection part on your knees with a headtorch. Then, having identified both ends of the lead, you need to extend it with a known "good" lead so you can get both ends to the tester. This often takes a lot longer than 6 minutes! Sometimes I put a sticky label at each end so that next time I can easily identify both ends quickly.
Being retired and just doing this for fun, time is not really an issue for me, but it's no way to make a living on its own.

 

[LukeD]

6 minutes seems about right to me for easily accessible items. However, if you are testing IEC leads in a typical office environment it can take much crawling around under desks to identify which plug in a sea of disorder is at the end of the lead in question...and unless you want to then untangle the lead, you have to do the inspection part on your knees with a headtorch. Then, having identified both ends of the lead, you need to extend it with a known "good" lead so you can get both ends to the tester. This often takes a lot longer than 6 minutes! Sometimes I put a sticky label at each end so that next time I can easily identify both ends quickly.
Being retired and just doing this for fun, time is not really an issue for me, but it's no way to make a living on its own.

Exactly.... I will only do it when I suddenly find a job cancelled /something has not turned up etc !

 

[rapparee]

I was quoted two prices recently

£0.85 per item and £1.65 per item

I ended up getting the apprentice to do it ourselves, I had the gear and it had to be done by the end of the month so no time like the present and all that

 

[LukeD]

Today i went "patting " to help a friend . Nice place and very accessible leads /lights/heaters etc .
Manual data input (Pen on excel form !). Also hand written stickers . Tested by the book .7.5 hours none stop . Managed to do 151 items with no lunch etc . And I would say that it would have been impossible to go any faster without "cheating ". So based on that and what Ive been reading etc ....Even doing 200 items a day would be a challenge unless they are all in a box and you have a bench to stand and just go through them . In a house /office I think Impossible . So when i read companies want 500 items per day to stay employed and a rate of 20-30p per item .This really is NUTs ... THis should be a "watchdog" subject . where they set up a property /business .have it all tested and throw in some "fails" /Then record maybe 5 different companies carrying out the tests . The only way things will change if the Public also get onboard and complain about how so many trades schemes are nothing more than scams

 

[pc1966]

Depends on what the customer wants and what they are paying for. Replacing fuses or fitting new plugs could be included.

Realistically if it is only PAT testing as a tick-box exercise you are on a race to the bottom on price & quality with scam merchants. Being able & qualified to offer minor repairs as part of the deal would make it more worthwhile for both the sparky and the customer.

Assuming they understand that 85p-£1.65 is not buying anything in the way of skilled time!

 

[LukeD]

Realistically if it is only PAT testing as a tick-box exercise you are on a race to the bottom on price & quality with scam merchants. Being able & qualified to offer minor repairs as part of the deal would make it more worthwhile for both the sparky and the customer.

Assuming they understand that 85p-£1.65 is not buying anything in the way of skilled time!

Exactly . Test and make good where possible need to be fully regulated and the cost to work out at a min of £40 per hour

 

[pirate]

One item I tested recently, in a flat that was due to be rented out, was a wall-mounted heater which was hard-wired rather than just plugged in to a socket. It took a couple of minutes to find which circuit it was on, so it could be isolated. The faceplate on the connection unit had only one screw...the other screw had been cross-threaded and took another 2 minutes to remove. The reason for the missing screw was thereafter obvious...the incoming live cable had been folded back into the back box in such a way as to preclude the second screw being inserted. There were marks of the screw on the insulation, and the previous "tester" had obviously decided just to leave the screw out rather than rearrange the cable. Anyway, we are at 4 minutes so far on this item, excluding the 1 minute for checking the flex and general condition. Now we have to disconnect the heater, connect it to the test lead and finally actually plug it into the tester, following which, the cables had to be re-connected, properly dressed to allow 2 screws to be fitted, grab a spare screw from the toolbox, re-thread the bad lug and re-fasten the faceplate properly. In all, a 15 minute job, before the sticker could be filled in and applied. Not going to do 150 of those in a day...
I subsequently discovered that the flat owner had already paid for ISITEE on the flat...