Company in court due to workers being exposed to harmful vibration levels

Here we have yet another case of workers being the victims of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). The company in question is being fined after three of its workers were diagnosed with the condition, leaving them with permanent nerve damage. High levels of hand arm vibration for prolonged periods can be extremely harmful, and when left unchecked can lead to all sorts of conditions, the most predominant of which is HAVS. In this instance the employees were using hedge cutters and strimmers whilst maintaining the grounds of a naval base in Cornwall. Grounds maintenance staff can quite easily work with such tools on a daily basis for up to and beyond eight hours a day, meaning vibration preventative measures are of the utmost importance. However, their employer failed to put in place any such measures and as a result are facing legal action and fines. Despite its severity, HAVS is an easily prevented condition. The most important and effective means of prevention is through education and training, and Fivesquared offer a range of courses to do just this. However, this is just the first step as companies need to continually ensure that their employees are protected against hand arm vibration. There are a variety of methods that can be used to help, such as offering lower vibration alternatives. However, given that this is not always possible many companies are opting to have their tools routinely tested to find out their vibration levels. These tools can then be fitted with safety tags to ensure the user knows exactly how long they can use the tools for. Some companies are going a step further by using specific hardware and software, such as TOOLMINDER and Reactec’s HAVmeter, to track an employee’s vibration exposure in real time.

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