By this, we mean a portable appliance testing machine.

We find that the vast majority of faults can be discovered just by carrying out a thorough inspection - so it stands to reason that you could just inspect your equipment (by this we mean carefully examining it and checking the plug and cable etc) and carry out a very valuable task.

However, the IEE regulations tell us that it is necessary to carry out an earth bond test on your class 1 appliances, and an insulation test on all class 1 and class 2 appliances, so a tester IS necessary at some point. We do know of a number of organisations that have decided to inspect all their equipment every 6 months, and inspect and test it every 2 years. They hire a machine from us to do the testing. This works for them, and may work for you too. Other companies have bought machines and use them almost continually - It all depends on your circumstances.