PAT testing has become an important and well-established feature of a commercial organisation’s health and safety procedures, but it needs to be managed well in order to keep on top of it and maintain it as a practical and cost-effective exercise.
You have a duty to test your portable appliances regularly, but whether you have a competent person to do this in-house or you sub-contract the job externally, you need the right equipment for the job.
The solution for many of these issues is provided by the TIS 700, the first fully downloadable PAT tester to use an SD card system, meaning the information can be managed, emailed or printed by anyone running Microsoft Excel removing the need for additional software programs.
Basic Functions
Amongst the basic functions of the TIS 700 are that it is battery & mains operated, so you are able to carry it around and use it in remote locations where necessary, and if you are within reach of a power supply, you can give the batteries a break.
The other basic functions of the TIS 700 are that it can carry out Earth Continuity tests up to 0.5 ohms, Insulation tests at 500 volts (which can be reduced to 250 volts where you are testing sensitive equipment), a Polarity test and a selectable Substitute Leakage test at 100 volts or 230 volts, meaning Earth Leakage levels can be obtained without the risk of damage to equipment.
Ease of use
The TIS 700 is very easy to use, with excellent functionality for a competent PAT tester of varying experience. It features a simple ‘ABC’ testing menu, where:
A = Class 1 test for portable appliances with earth
B = Class 2 test for portable appliances without earth
C = Cord and extension tests – which can test an extension lead of up to 50 metres, without having to perform calculations due to the resistance on the flex.
To save results once an item has been tested, you simply:
Press the ‘MEMORY’ button which then allows you via the QWERTY keyboard to:
Type in a unique Appliance Number, which can also be set to Auto-Increment.
Enter a Description, Location, User, Building, Visual Inspection, Fuse Rating and Other Comments by either typing in or selecting from pre-loaded menu lists.
Using the SD card system to back up the information means that literally tens of thousands of results can be kept. With the Excel format that the tester generates, results can then be easily forwarded electronically to the relevant department or customer along with next due test dates.
Please watch the associated video demonstration to see for yourself how easy the whole process is: