After a big push on this issue a few years ago HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome) is emerging as one of the areas which needs to be reconsidered in terms of its impact on the health of our workers.  Use of a simple annual health questionnaire may be enough for you to comply with the requirements of the regulations but research recently completed indicates that as few as 18% of companies are carrying this out.

Video: Managing risk from Hand Arm Vibration (HAVS)

Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome – Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005

These regulations set out the levels which are acceptable and the requirement of health surveillance required should you workers exceed the action value (2.5 m/s-1 averaged over an eight hour period).  Don’t forget however, that your first point of action should be to reduce exposure to a level below this figure to effectively control exposure and prevent Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome, this can be done in several ways;

1. Purchase of new equipment of lower vibration
2. Changes in the process to reduce the requirement for holding vibrating tools
3. Changes in work practices to limit exposure
4. Changes in the planning of the work to exposure several staff for shorter periods rather than one worker for an extended time
5. Mechanisation of the process to reduce exposure
6. Lowering the energy requirement of the process (less air pressure, motor speed and so on)

Getting a true picture of exposure

One other aspect which many companies do not have clear enough data on is the true period of exposure.  For vibration exposure we mean the actual time spent using the tool whilst it is vibrating and this can be significantly different to what you might assume.  For example, a road gang may be exposed to very high levels of vibration using abrasive wheels and pneumatic drills but how long is the true exposure?

It might be just a few minutes per day and shared between several staff and this presents a very different picture to an industrial process where exposure can be several hours.

Can we help you prevent staff getting Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome?

If you have an issue with vibration or noise we have the skills and experience to help.  Talk to your retained consultant or if you are not a Safety~net client call us on 01453 800100 to chat through your specific situation and we’ll let you know exactly how we can help.