Hand Arm VibrationHealth and Safety Advice

What is Hand-Arm Vibration?

Hand-arm vibration is vibration transmitted from work processes into workers hands and arms. It can be caused by operating hand-held power tools such as grinders, drills, pneumatic hammers etc or by holding materials being processed by machines.

Regular and frequent exposure to hand-arm vibration can lead to permanent health effects. This is most likely when contact with a vibrating tool or work process is a regular part of a persons job. Occasional exposure is unlikely to cause ill health.

Can you think of any activities that you carry out at work which cause hand-arm vibration?

Health Effects

Prolonged exposure to hand-arm vibration can lead

to hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). HAVS

affects the nerves, blood vessels, muscles and

joints of the hands, wrists and arms and can

become severely disabling if ignored.

HAVS includes vibration white finger which can

cause severe pain in the affected fingers.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a nerve disorder which

may involve pain, tingling, numbness and

weakness in parts of the hand, and can be caused

by, among other things, exposure to vibration.

Early Warning SignsWhat are the early signs and symptoms to look out for?

Tingling and numbness in the fingers

Not being able to feel things with your fingers

Loss of strength in your hands

In the cold and wet, the tips of your fingers going white then red and being very

painful on recovery (vibration white finger).

What will happen if I ignore the early symptoms?

The numbness in your hands could become permanent and you wont be able to feel

things at all.

You will have difficulty picking up small objects such as screws or nails

The vibration white finger could happen more frequently and affect more of your

fingers.

Statistics

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20080

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Vibration White Finger Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Instances of Injury (UK) caused by Hand Arm Vibration 1998-2008

Recent statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) suggest that the

instances of injury caused by hand arm vibration has risen gradually since 1998. This is

most likely to be due to a combination of improvements in medical diagnosis and

increased reliance on power tools. Source of data: DWP 2011

The legislation which covers hand arm vibration is The Control of Vibration at Work

Regulations 2005. The contents of this legislation can be downloaded free of charge at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1992/2793/contents/made 

Legislation

Employers Responsibilities

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 require employers to:

assess the vibrations risk to employees

decide if they are likely to be exposed above the daily exposure action value (EAV)

and if they are; introduce a programme of controls to eliminate risk, or reduce

exposure to as low a level as is reasonably practicable and provide health

surveillance (regular health checks) to those employees who continue to be

regularly exposed above the action value or otherwise continue to be at risk

Decide if they are likely to be exposed above the daily exposure limit value (ELV)

and if they are take immediate action to reduce their exposure below the limit value.

Provide information and training to employees on health risks and the actions you

are taking to control those risks

Keep a record of your risk assessment and control actions and review regularly

Keep health records for employees under health surveillance

Your Responsibilities

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 recommend you:

ask to use suitable low vibration tools

Always use the right tool for each job and check tools before use to make sure they

have been properly maintained and repaired to avoid increased vibration caused by

faults or general wear.

Make sure cutting tools are kept sharp so that they remain efficient

Reduce the amount of time you use a tool in one go by doing other jobs in between

Avoid gripping or forcing a tool or workpiece more than you have to

Store tools so that they do not have very cold handles when next used.

Encourage good circulation by keeping warm and dry (when necessary wear gloves,

a hat, waterproofs and heating pads if available).

Give up or cut down smoking as it affects blood circulation and massage or exercise

your fingers during work breaks.

HAV Exposure Calculator

The table on this slide can be used to calculate an operatives level of exposure to hand-arm vibration.

The exposure level is calculated by considering the vibration magnitude of the equipment being used and the length of time it is used per day.

The exposure action value (EAV) is set at 100 points per day.

The exposure limit value (ELV) is set at 400 points per day. This should not be exceeded.

HAV Equipment Exposure

Vibration magnitude: 10m/s

Vibration magnitude: 5.5m/s

Vibration magnitude: 19m/s

The vibration magnitude for a specific tool or equipment is normally found in the operating manual but most reputable manufacturers now make the data available on their websites.

The images on this slide show commonly used tools in the construction industry and average vibration magnitudes.

Remember every piece of equipment you use will have a different vibration magnitude depending on its condition and use. e.g. different grinders will have different vibration magnitudes.

When multiple tools are used throughout the day, their exposure values are added together using the table on the previous slide.

Calculating Exposure

Hammer action drillVibration magnitude:

10m/sTotal period of use: 1 hour

Nine inch grinderVibration magnitude:

5.5m/sTotal period of use: 2

hours

Cathy is a stonemason on a construction project in Motherwell. She has been tasked with indenting a number of stones which requires removing the existing stones (with a grinder), cutting new stones (with a grinder), inserting supporting dowels (with a drill) and building the new stones in position. The table below shows the vibration magnitude of each piece of equipment Cathy used and how long she used it for.

Using the exposure calculator we can see that using the grinder for 2 hours at a VM of 5.5m/s would give a value of 120 and using the drill at a VM of 10m/s for 1 hour would give a value of 200.

If we add the values together we get a total exposure value of 320 which is below the ELV but above the EAV. This means we need to consider a range of protection measures for Cathy.

Use the exposure calculator to determine whether the following activities are above or below the ELV.

Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Activity

PolisherVibration magnitude:

4.5m/sTotal period of use: 1 hour

Nine inch grinderVibration magnitude:

5.5m/sTotal period of use: 2

hours

Pneumatic hammerVibration magnitude:

19m/sTotal period of use: 2 hour

Hammer action drillVibration magnitude:

10m/sTotal period of use: 2

hours

Vibrating plate compactorVibration magnitude:

16m/sTotal period of use: 1 hour

Vibrating PokerVibration magnitude: 8m/s

Total period of use: 2 hours

The information in this presentation has been sourced from:

Hand-arm Vibration Advice for employees: HSE Publications

Control the risks from hand-arm vibration: HSE Publications

http://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/

 

References

Developed by The Stonemasonry DepartmentCity of Glasgow College

2011