To HAVi or not to HAVi

There has been great progress over the last few years into the prevention of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), but even with these developments, people are still being affected by this debilitating condition.

With lower vibrating equipment now available, job rotation systems in place, and operative training commonplace in the vast majority of organisations; HAV awareness is at an all time high. So as a safety manager, what else could you be doing to protect your staff against HAVS?

The fact of the matter is that workers need to operate vibrating equipment to carry out their jobs, so the best way to protect them is to monitor their daily exposure in guidance with HSE regulations.

The HAVI is a simple and effective, low cost tool timer which is programmed to indicate the Exposure Action Value (EAV), and Exposure Limit Value (ELV), notifying the operator when they must stop using the tool for the day.

By simply strapping the HAVI to the tool, the operator has a live view of HSE points and actual trigger time exposure, useful to see when you have a full day of tool operating work to complete! Recording data over time will help safety managers understand where their staff are in regards to the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005; and, just as importantly, ensure the continued health of tool operators.