How modern PAT software makes life easier

Alan Barrett, product manager at Seaward Electronic, explains how advances in portable appliance testing (PAT) software packages are making the safety or facilities manager's job easier.

Since the advent of the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989 (EARW), portable appliance testing (PAT) has become a familiar part of workplace safety testing.

Alongside new safety testing instruments, innovative software packages have also been introduced to assist in the effective recording and management of safety testing data.

In their most basic form, as they need to be capable of storing indefinite numbers of test records, all PAT testing software packages are essentially database programs and it is the ancillary or supporting features of these programs which differentiate one from another.

One of the most important considerations for PAT testers incorporating memory and results storage features is the interaction between the test instrument and the PC program.

This interaction is in two directions input (ie downloading test results to the program) and output (ie uploading tests into the PAT).

When PAT recording programs were first introduced, only download facilities tended to be included and it remains the case that the ability to upload data is not available on all programs and not all PAT testers have an upload facility.

As PAT testers became more sophisticated, the ability to 'program' the tester with a Testcode (ie a test routine defined by a numeric sequence) led to the possibility of software transferring test codes ie storing test routines in the tester for all appliances to be tested.

The first and obvious requirement, if you intend to download your PAT tester to the program, is will it accept the PAT tester's output? Most software packages are compatible with a broad range of PAT tester output formats, including outputs from OEMs, even if the program itself is from a major PAT tester manufacturer, like Seaward.

However, as the range of PAT tester models has increased over the years, it is worth checking with the supplier of the program that your PAT tester will be compatible.

If the PAT tester has an Upload facility (ie the ability to send the appliance number and test code from the record on the PC program into the PAT) and you wish to use this facility to speed up the re-test, then check that the program also has this facility.

Unlike the download, upload is less likely to be compatible between different instrument manufacturers, as the process of upload is more complex than download.

After considering data transfer between the PAT tester and the program, what other features should a prospective buyer of PATS software look for? There are two main advantages that a software controlled PAT record system provides over a paper-based system.

First of all it enables real-time records to be maintained, that can easily be amended and updated.

This enables new equipment to be added and tracks the movement of equipment from one location to another.

Programs can search through records very easily and display the record details significantly faster than making changes to a manual system and reduces the likelihood of mistakes being made.

The second advantage is even more important as it enables the contractor or safety testing service provider to plan re-test schedules.

As the re-test period for individual items can be anything from three months to four years, then it is comparatively easy for test situations and work programmes to become unmanageable.

It becomes particularly unwieldy to have someone monitoring a paper record system looking for items which have expired their next test date, particularly when some large workplaces or testing contracts can include thousands of appliances.

At first sight, a simple pass/fail label indicating the next test date and attached to equipment would seem a good system - except that this relies upon the user of the equipment to alert the PAT system manager that re-testing is required.

This could lead to items being taken out of use until re-testing takes place, or the dangerous possibility that equipment could be used beyond the re-testing date.

In these situations, PAT software enables test routines and workloads to be centrally managed and the test resource to be used more efficiently.

So far as the future is concerned, there is likely to be a continuing trend towards diversification of software packages available from different suppliers.

Greater diversification should mean the introduction of new software packages for specific industrial and commercial sectors.

These packages will be for niche markets and, because of this, they are likely to be as inclusive or all-encompassing as their designers can make them - for example, incorporating portable appliance testing modules alongside other management or administrative activities associated with that particular sector.

As a result, there is the danger that these sector-specific modules may not be as sophisticated as programs specifically designed for portable appliance testing.

They may also have severe limitations on the type of PAT testers that are capable of downloading to them.

However, their main advantage is that portable appliance testing is linked into their database alongside other data and include features that are specific to that particular market, industry or sector.

Another trend is to extend portable appliance test software to encompass asset management and tracking.

For example, as portable appliance testing is a repeatable maintenance activity, some programs like Seaward's PATGuard Plus program have extended this concept to allow all sorts of other maintenance activities to be managed by the user - thereby extending the use of these programs toward more general facilities management functions.

Some software providers have linked portable appliance testing record software with installation testing software in a modular system, which would seem a natural progression when the same contractor could be carrying out both types of testing and the trend towards installation testers also having memory and download capabilities.

Another forward-looking development will be the growing impact of websites and email on communications methods.

This is likely to generate moves towards remote download of results to central programs - a feature recently introduced by Seaward with its modem download option.

The ability to generate test files and data which can be emailed has been available for a few years, but they have not always easy to use.

Report printing options from programs, while necessary, will probably be superseded by viewer programs which will enable others to have copies of their records from a parent program that can be viewed only.

It also seems likely that programs will become simpler and faster to use by combining Windows features such as icons to represent sites, locations and different appliances, and using drag-and-drop mouse actions to replicate location changes.

These innovations, together with end users' emerging skills with Windows applications, should substantially increase the ease and use of this type of software - making the safety manager's job easier, making testing quicker and recording of results much more effective.

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