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Personal Protective Equipment

Are you at danger of developing Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome?

CEL-960 Vibration Meter Kit

CEL-960 Vibration Meter Kit

Prolonged use of vibrating machinery and equipment can cause conditions such as Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome is the effect on a person’s hands and arms due to the transmission of vibration through equipment including hand-held power tools or hand-guided equipment such as lawnmowers.

Other equipment used which could cause HAVS includes chainsaws, road breakers, drills, jigsaws, polishers and strimmers/brush cutters.

Using equipment like this regularly can lead to permanent health effects and can cause hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

Construction, forestry, heavy engineering, the manufacturing of concrete products and also the repair and manufacture of motor vehicles or ships are a few examples of the type of applications that would use such machinery.

Those who suffer from HAVS can experience a range of different symptoms.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by the activities mentioned above, meaning the worker will experience pain, numbness or a burning sensation in the hands and fingers.  This is due to the compression of the median nerve which disrupts nerve signals and tendons which pass through the carpal tunnel, controlling the movement of the hand.

Symptoms of such occupational disease can be identified at an early stage, allowing action to be taken to prevent the effects becoming more serious.  These symptoms can include tingling and numbness in the fingers, loss of strength in the hands and also the inability to feel things properly.

Vibration white finger is another condition cause by hand-arm vibration.  This causes the fingers to go white (known as blanching) and then, on recovery, turn red which causes pain.  This will probably occur in the tips of the fingers first and is found to be more common when the person faces cold and wet conditions.

Suffering from hand-arm vibration can affect a person’s work life, as well as personal and social activities.  Sufferers will experience pain, distress and may be unable to do everyday tasks at both work and home.  Even small actions such as assembling small components or fastening buttons can prove to be difficult.

Svantek Human Vibration Meter & Analyser

Svantek Human Vibration Meter & Analyser

As vibration white finger worsens in colder conditions, it may become impossible to do outdoor work, which would potentially cause painful blanching on the fingers.  This may also cause inability to carry out work safely as sufferers may experience reduced grip strength and sleep disturbances, causing tiredness.

It is important that such conditions of hand-arm vibration are prevented before effects become worse.  Statistics released by the HSE show that conditions such as vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome have declined over the past ten years.  This could be due to the use of equipment such as vibration kits and seat pads.

Recent incidents which highlight the problems of HAVS include the case of 29 employees of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council who were diagnosed with the weakening condition, leaving them with on-going problems with their hands.  The council were prosecuted by the HSE after it was discovered there was a lack of risk assessments and that workers’ duties were poor evaluated.

Another incident also saw GKN Aerospace prosecuted after they failed to comply with the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.  Despite previously identifying that employees were suffering from the causes of continuous use of vibrating hand tools, GKN continued to act as before and did not take action on these signs.

This resulted in five workers in the company being left with the long-term damage that HAVS brings.

There is a range of instrumentation available from Frontline Safety which can be beneficial to those working with applications where hand-arm vibration may be present.  The Six-Channel Human Vibration Meter from Svantek allows simultaneous measurements to be taken.  The instrument is pocket-sized and can be used with a hand-vibration accelerometers or the whole-body seat accelerometer.  The triaxial accelerometer can be attached to a direct fixing for a tool, whereas the seat-accelerometer can be placed directly onto a seat-cushion or fixed to the back of a seat.

Casella also offer similar products to help tackle the effects of working with vibrating machinery or equipment.  The CEL-960 vibration meter kit acts as a whole-body and hand-arm vibration analyser and has system hardware which consists of an accelerometer.

Both of these products can be purchased through the images above, or by visiting the Frontline Safety website.  For further info please contact us through [email protected].

Written by Dawn Mitchell