Greater investment in HAV prevention needed

More than £100m of compensation has been paid out to
sufferers of Vibration White Finger (VWF) yet many
companies and organisations that regularly use
vibrating tools – are still not investing in prevention
methods says Jim O’Hagan

Medically known as Hand Arm
Vibration Syndrome (HAVS),
Vibration White Finger (VWF)
affects tens of thousands of British
workers employed across the private and
public sectors.

However with some two million people
exposed to the risk of VWF daily, that
number is expected to rise.

HAVS is the result of over exposure to
vibration equipment – such as power
tools, diggers and grass cutters – and can
mean painful and disabling injuries of the
blood vessels, nerves, joints and muscles
in the hands and arms. In extreme cases it
can even mean the loss of fingers.

The introduction of legislation in 2005
in the form of the Control of Vibration at
Work Regulations has stipulated how
much vibration is acceptable in the form of
Exposure Action Values (EAVs) the daily
amount of vibration exposure above which
employers are required to take action. The
regulations also set out acceptable
exposure limit values (ELVs), the
maximum amount of vibration anyone
can safely be exposed to on a single day.

But despite the legislation, HAVS
remains a major issue. The Health &
Safety Executive (HSE) believes that there
may be as many as 300,000 people in the
UK suffering with VWF, with
construction equipment cited as one of
the biggest causes.

Thousands of compensation cases are
settled every year over vibration injuries,
and companies face stiff penalties
reaching into tens or hundreds of
thousands of pounds for failing to
implement acceptable prevention
measures to keep their workers safe. And
it is not just an issue that affects
construction firms either – as Land Rover
discovered when it was recently fined
more than £60,000 for failing to manage
the risks of working with power tools.

However, as startling as these figures
are, many companies and organisations
that regularly use vibrating tools – are still
not investing in VWF prevention.

Thankfully, there are many others who
want and need to be viewed as
considerate employers, which is why they
have invested in new preventative
technology to safeguard their employees.

Roy Jackson, senior safety advisor for
BAM Nuttall, chose the HAVmeter
system as a method for monitoring
vibration levels and safeguarding staff
who use vibrating tools and equipment.

He said: “Hand Arm Vibration safety
is a huge issue for the construction
industry. There are clear HSE guidelines
in place for acceptable vibration exposure
and it is up to every company to ensure
that they do not exceed these levels.

“BAM Nuttall has always tried to stay
on top of the issue of HAVS and ensure
the safety of our workforce. In the past,
we were trying to accurately estimate the
amount of vibration that staff were
exposed to ourselves, but this was a
lengthy and time-consuming process and
we knew that we needed a better system.

“When we first introduced
HAVmeters two years ago, we saw them
as the best option to use to stay ahead of
the game on vibration safety. The devices
give us a valuable monitoring system that
makes sure we know who is working with
what machinery and for how long – and
provides us with accurate, detailed
records of what our teams are exposed to.

“We now use HAVmeters in every
project where our staff operate vibrating
equipment. By using this equipment, we
ensure that we not only keep our workforce
safe from injury but also have a robust
defence in place to protect ourselves from
liability when it comes to vibration issues.”
By implementing a vibration
monitoring system, firms can allow
workers using vibrating tools to easily and
accurately monitor their exposure levels
to Hand Arm Vibration.

With our system, each worker signs
out a HAVmeter from a base station at
the beginning of each shift using their
own personalised card which is
programmed with the levels of exposure
they should work within. They then
attach the device to every tool that they
use during their shift.

The meters provide a constant readout
of exposure level and flash a warning to
the worker when his/her exposure limits
are reached. It is a simple yet accurate
method to monitor workers’ use of
vibration equipment, which allows both
employee and employer to know exactly
who has been doing what and when.

While HSE regulations require
employers to take responsibility to monitor
time spent using vibrating machinery.

The HAVmeter system builds up a
complete and detailed record of tool
usage and HSE exposure points for each
employee every day. Once the data is
uploaded into Toolminder software, a
comprehensive set of standard and
custom reports can be created that show
workers a full breakdown of their
exposure to vibration levels that
management and occupational healthcare
staff can use to manage each employee’s
healthcare plan.

Jim O’Hagan is the managing director of
Reactec Ltd, the inventors of the HAVmeter.