OSHA requires that all portable equipment be checked quarterly for ground integrity, we use that check to full inspections on the equipment.
OSHA also states:
1926.404(b)(1)(iii)(C)
Each cord set, attachment cap, plug and receptacle of cord sets, and any equipment connected by cord and plug, except cord sets and receptacles which are fixed and not exposed to damage, shall be visually inspected before each day's use for external defects, such as deformed or missing pins or insulation damage, and for indications of possible internal damage. Equipment found damaged or defective shall not be used until repaired.
We have a significant problem here, in that the operators and mechanics see the colored tape (specific color for each quarter) on the cord and they assume that nothing can go wrong.
Even with a PAT, it only proves that the device was ok when it was checked. 10 minutes later some knot-head can have dropped it in a bucket of water.
No amount of scheduled testing should relieve the user from checking it each use, and not using it if it is damaged.
We had a mechanic that taped his own cord (company policy says that you cannot use a tool that hasn't had a quarterly check). It turned out that the little wrap of colored tape on the cord did nothing to correct the fact that the ground and hot were reversed in the plug. He got a nasty jolt and brought it to me for "repair". He, of course, had no idea how it got reversed or coded.
