The summer holidays are nearly upon us, the kids are soon to be free for six weeks to play in the lovely(!) British weather and – most importantly – the schools are ready for testing.
Since the hustle and bustle of school kids, teachers, cleaners, dinner ladies and everyone else is pretty much gone during the summer, most schools, colleges and universities choose the six week period between terms to conduct their portable appliance testing. While generally it's possible to work around work environments when PAT testing, schools are much more complex because of the learning environment and the disruption testing would cause.
If you’re in the PAT-testing business, getting these kinds of contracts could be huge business. Schools are full of portable appliances, and getting in to conduct PAT testing in this kind of environment is not only profitable, but can also help expand your client base and hopefully get you repeat customers.
Schools are legally required to make sure their electrical appliances are safe for use (particularly since they’re being used by children) so this is perhaps the most profitable part of the PAT testing calendar. Many schools will be interested to hear different quotations and have surveys done, so if you’re a PAT tester or PAT testing company looking for business this summer schools really are the way to go.
From a contractor standpoint, schools are full of equipment that needs to be PAT-tested and are, as such, a great place for any PAT tester to survey. Since schools contain everything from ICT equipment to lab equipment all of which may be eligible for portable appliance testing, performing a job at a school is an extremely lucrative contract.
It’s also worth noting that most schools will not let you in without a CRB check – even though the kids aren’t generally there during the holidays, this is still a requirement for those coming in to complete routine testing.
Written by Barry Atkins at www.tester.co.uk
