Although it was primarily designed for new entrants to the PAT testing market, a PAT420 Business in a Box from Megger proved to be the ideal solution.
In less than two years after it started offering PAT testing services, PnC Maintenance found that PAT testing had become an important and profitable part of its business. The company had been successful in acquiring a large and growing portfolio of clients, some with as many as 4,000 assets for testing. It was becoming apparent, however, that further growth in this sector was being inhibited by the limitations of the PAT tester the company was using.
In particular, this tester had no facilities for storing or downloading results, which meant that asset labels and reports had to be completed manually, processes that were not only time consuming but also tedious. In addition, if the existing tester was used to carry out more than around 30 tests in quick succession, its thermal protection system operated, and it was necessary to wait for the tester to cool down before further testing could be carried out.
To address these shortcomings, Paul Beck, the owner of PnC Maintenance, made the decision to purchase a new PAT tester that would be better suited to medium and high volume professional use. After carefully researching instruments currently on offer, he decided that the Megger PAT420 Business in Box was the best match for his requirements.
PnC Maintenance found that the operation of the PAT420 was intuitive, making the instrument simple to use from day one. It has also benefited from the speed of operation, which has been further enhanced by a recent free firmware upgrade that has introduced an ‘expert’ mode of operation. In this mode, which is intended for experienced users, it is possible to save time by bypassing the prompts and reminders that are displayed in the normal operating mode.
As expected, the internal result storage offered by the PAT420 has proved invaluable, and PnC Maintenance also finds that the method used for transferring results to a PC with a standard USB memory stick is straightforward, convenient and reliable.
‘We’re very happy with our new PAT420,’ said Paul Beck, ‘and, because of its streamlined operation, it will undoubtedly allow us to grow our PAT test business and to provide an even better service for our clients. We’re also very happy with the service provided by Megger. We’ve had very little need for technical support, but when we have asked questions, the response has always been fast, accurate and helpful.’
