Unfortunately many people providing Test and Tag services are unscrupulous and rely on the person requesting the service to be poorly informed. Lets fix that!
Electrical test & Tag service providers use a Portable Appliance Tester(PAT) to perform safety tests. PAT test equipment results are only valid if the PAT tester is calibrated regularly (12 months) otherwise your test results could be challenged or inaccurate. Ask for a current calibration certificate.
If a provider promises to do twice as many tests or more in day be wary, they are probably not offering the same level service. Electrical testing to the Australian standards takes time, good quality PAT testers all take similar amounts of time to perform a test. This means you can only perform so many tests to the AS/NZ3760 standard per hour. As a guide 15-20 tests an hour is a reasonable average, I certainly have done more and I have often done less, all jobs are different. (120 -150 tags per day is normal)
Be most wary of hand written tags! Good quality PAT testers print a computer generated tag that requires a test to be performed to print the tag. Dont be afraid to ask if your getting computer generated or hand written tags.
Ask for proof of insurance. Reputable service technicians carry liability & indemnity insurance. Don’t take the risk and let uninsured service providers on your site. Ask for a current insurance certificate of currency.
To perform electrical safety testing to Australian standards requires certification and training. Qualified service providers carry identification and a copy of their certification training certificate. Ask to see proof and request a copy of it.
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