Vibration & Noise

HAND ARM VIBRATION

Vibration from tools such as breakers, compaction plates, angle grinders, strimmers,chainsaws etc is transmitted straight into the hands through the handles.
Even equipment which the user walks behind, such as a trench rammer, can cause high levels of vibration in the hands and arms. Some equipment causes more
vibration than others.

WHC Hire Services has now had in place since July 2002 its Hand Arm Vibration Testing Equipment and Facilities. With this we test our Hand Arm Vibration equipment, download the information on to our data base and produce data reports on the safe working times and risks posed by the equipment.

WHOLE BODY VIBRATION

Whole body vibration is concerned with cases where the human body is subject to vibration via: feet, buttocks, back, and seat. (standing or seated employees)

The effects of direct vibration on the body can be serious. High levels of periodic, random or transient vibration can cause: degraded health,
impaired activity, impaired comfort, motion sickness. The long term effects on health can cause permanent damage to: internal organs,
lower back (lumbar spine), digestive system and reproductive organs.

Whole body vibration can be caused by the movement of the wheels of a tracked vehicle or mobile machine crossing an uneven surface, or while using mobile machines to excavate holes or trenches in the ground or to load materials such as sand / gravel into lorries.

As of July 2005 Whole Body Vibration Testing has also become part of WHC Hire Services Health and Safety Policy as a new directive is being released by the HSE in 2010. Company’s will have to start thinking about doing risk assessments on their Plant
and Vehicles, before it comes into force.

WHC Hire Services are trained to the IOSH accredited Hand Arm Risk Assessment and Management Standard and work to the BSEN ISO 5349-1&2 and 2631 Standards.

DO YOU HAVE A NOISE PROBLEM AT WORK?

This will depend on how loud the noise is & how long people are exposed to it. As a simple guide you will probably need to do something about the noise if any of the following apply.

• Is the noise intrusive – like a busy street, a vacuum cleaner or a crowded restaurant for most of the working day?
• Do your employees have to raise their voices to carry out a normal conversation when about 2M apart for at least part of the day?
• Do your employees use noisy powered tools or machinery for more than half an hour a day?
• Do you work in a noisy industry, e.g. construction, demolition, or road repair, woodworking, plastic processing, engineering, textile manufacture, general fabrication, forging, pressing or stamping, paper or board making, canning or bottling foundries?
• Are there noises due to impacts (such as hammering, drop forging, pneumatic impact tools etc), explosive sources such as cartridge operated tools or detonators, or guns?

WHC Hire Services are trained to the IOSH accredited Noise at Work, Risk Assessment and Management Standard.