An accountancy practice in Clay Cross asked Peak Edge to carry out portable appliance testing across its premises in July 2026. The job covered 46 items in total, spread across office and staff areas.
What was tested
The inventory reflected the kind of mix that builds up naturally in a working practice over time. Office computers and monitors made up a substantial portion of the list, alongside the extension leads that connect them. Staff areas added kitchen appliances to the count, and heaters brought in another category that warrants attention because they tend to run harder and longer than most office equipment.
Extension leads are worth picking out specifically. They are among the most commonly used items in any office environment and among the most frequently overlooked when it comes to testing. A lead that looks fine externally can carry internal damage from being stretched, trapped under furniture or repeatedly coiled under tension. Testing picks up faults the visual check misses.
How the day worked
With 46 items across office and staff spaces, the visit followed a systematic sweep of each area so that nothing was skipped and the practice's working day was disrupted as little as possible. Each appliance was tested and labelled, and the full results were recorded so the practice has a clear paper trail for its compliance records.
For a business like an accountancy practice, that documentation carries real weight. Professional clients and regulatory expectations both point in the same direction: a tidy, evidenced approach to health and safety sits alongside a tidy, evidenced approach to everything else.
What a similar business can take from this
Offices accumulate equipment steadily, and the list of what actually needs testing is often longer than businesses expect once you count every monitor, every kitchen appliance and every extension lead. A practice of this size reaching 46 items is not unusual.
- Heaters need to be included. They are not always listed when a business thinks about office PAT, but they are in scope and the risks from a faulty heater are significant.
- Extension leads are consumables in practice but test items in law. If they are plugged in and in use, they belong on the register.
- Annual testing is the standard cycle for most office environments, so the gap between visits should not stretch beyond twelve months for the kinds of items tested here.
- A complete asset list with pass or fail records and label dates gives you something concrete to show insurers, landlords or inspectors rather than relying on memory.
If your business is in the Clay Cross area or anywhere across the Chesterfield patch and you are due a test or are not sure when you last had one, Peak Edge covers the full area from its Chesterfield base.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does PAT testing take for an office with around 50 items?
For a count in that range, most visits take a few hours. The exact time depends on how the items are spread across the building, how accessible each one is and how many different appliance classes are involved. An office with computers, monitors and kitchen equipment typically moves at a steady pace once the engineer is set up and working through each area in turn.
Do extension leads and multi-way adaptors need to be PAT tested?
Yes. If an extension lead or adaptor is a piece of electrical equipment used in a workplace, it falls within the scope of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and should be included in your PAT programme. They are among the items most often missed in a first inventory, so it is worth counting them deliberately.
How often should office appliances be PAT tested?
For a typical office environment, annual testing is the widely recommended interval for items like computers, monitors, heaters and kitchen appliances. The formal requirement is that testing is carried out at a frequency appropriate to the risk and the environment rather than at a fixed legal interval, but annual is the standard that most offices and their insurers work to.
What documentation do we receive after a PAT test visit?
After a visit, Peak Edge provides a full record of the items tested, their results and the date of testing. Each appliance gets a label showing when it was tested and when it is next due. That register is the document you would produce if an insurer, landlord or inspector asked for evidence that your portable appliance testing is up to date.