Hand Arm Vibration
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is caused by overuse of hand-held power tools and can be painful and permanently disabling. Nearly 2 million people in the UK are at risk, however, it is easily preventable through good working practices.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations focus on the elimination or control of vibration exposure. You’re required to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to vibration at work. To comply with the regulations you need to:
- Assess the risk to your employees and keep a close check on their Daily Exposure Action Value (EAV) and Daily Exposure Limit Value (ELV)
- Provide information and training, so that employees know how to protect themselves and realise the risks involved
There are many ways of preventing and reducing the risk of hand arm vibration and the experts in your local branch will be able to offer advice about tools and monitoring devices. One such product is the HAVi, an invaluable warning device that can be easily fixed to vibrating machinery to ensure your workforce are not overexposed to vibrations. Brandon Hire also run Hand Arm Vibration training courses which go into far more detail about the condition, the risks and how they can be prevented.
