Gifts? Check! Turkey? Check! Hand Arm Vibration meter? Uh-oh…
The festivities may be in full swing, but that doesn’t mean you should take your eye off the ball when it comes to protecting your workforce from the impact of excessive vibration in the workplace.
Why do you need to measure vibration?
Measuring vibration is important to reduce the risks of your employees developing hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), a permanent, painful and disabling condition.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations require employers to control the risks from vibration, provide information, instruction and training, and provide suitable health surveillance.
It is also your responsibility as an employer to reduce the risks from vibration and exposure to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
Vibration assessments apply to all companies, and the HSE recommends that even companies with less than five employees should record all Hand-Arm Vibration findings and review their assessments.
There has recently been an update to the Vibration at Work Regulations which means that it is now preferable for employers to record the results of their vibration assessments on a job basis rather than an individual task and risk basis.
Add the Pulsar vB to your Christmas list!
The Pulsar vB is the only HAV meter you need to take accurate measurement of power tools and start protecting your workers from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and your business from costly fines and compensation claims.
This vibration meter takes quick and reliable measurements of all the essential parameters for Hand-Arm Vibration assessments, is small in size, and combines a powerful processor and large memory to enable you to take Hand Am Vibration monitoring to the next level.
Key features of the Pulsar vB include:
- Simple use with only 3 operational buttons
- Large memory storing over 900 recordings
- Large colour OLED display with colour coded measurements
- Tri-axial vibration meter
- Large dynamic range: Frequency range 2hz – 500hz +/-10%
Controlling exposure
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations requires employers to assess the risk of injury from vibratory tools in the workplace by completing a HAVS assessment.
If you complete your assessment and identify that particular job roles are at risk of vibration, then your first priority should be to reduce exposure as much as possible before putting in place actions to mitigate and reduce impacts.
Some of the key control methods that you can use are:
- Use a Hand Arm Vibration Meter (HAV meter), such as the Pulsar vB to:
- carry out a risk assessment from the vibration exposure from power tools
- set usage limits of high vibration tools
- identify daily vibration exposure limits for each worker - Training staff on using tools correctly
- Finding alternative means of carrying out high-risk jobs
- Ensuring tools are well maintained
- Following the “buy smooth” rule and using low vibration tools where appropriate
- Encouraging staff to take regular breaks from tools
- Encouraging good blood circulation by keeping warm
How can Pulsar Instruments help you?
At Pulsar Instruments, our vibration meter, the Pulsar vB, is designed to meet the needs of vibration safety standards and regulations and will help you assess the risks and monitor and tackle vibration issues in your workplace by providing accurate and valuable data that can be used to safeguard your employees and reduce the likelihood and impact of civil compensation claims.
Pulsar Instruments has also developed an Employers Guide “5 Steps to Controlling Hand Arm Vibration. This is available to download free from Pulsar’s website.
Protect your employees and your business by speaking to a member of our team today on +44 1723 339715 or by emailing [email protected].