The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a calculator to help estimate and record workers’ exposure to hand-arm vibration (HAVS).
The calculator compares workers’ exposures to the levels specified in the regulations, as part of a HAV risk assessment.
It includes a drop-down menu of vibration magnitudes for common tools from the HSE’s HAV database that can be used to make cautious estimates of exposure before representative in-use data for specific tools is available.
The HSE guidance book L140 Hand-arm vibration has also been revised to keep up with changes to legislation, technical advances and experience. It emphasises the control and management of risks from exposure to HAV.
Meanwhile, the HSE is also launching another crackdown on dust on construction sites, with a series of inspections between 7 October and 1 November. They will continue to focus on health and the measures in place to protect workers from occupational lung disease caused by asbestos, silica, wood and other dusts when carrying out common construction tasks.
