Services - Noise & Vibration Assessments
Noise at Work Assessments
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (the Noise Regulations) came into force for all industry sectors in Great Britain on 6 April 2006 (except for the music and entertainment sectors where they came into force on 6 April 2008).
The aim of the Noise Regulations is to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise at their place of work, which could cause them to lose their hearing and/or to suffer from tinnitus (permanent ringing in the ears).
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 replace the Noise at Work Regulations 1989.
The level at which employers must provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones is now 85 decibels (daily or weekly average exposure) and the level at which employers must assess the risk to workers' health and provide them with information and training is now 80 decibels. There is also an exposure limit value of 87 decibels, taking account of any reduction in exposure provided by hearing protection, above which workers must not be exposed.
We can help you meet legislative requirements and protect your employees hearing by carrying out Noise at Work Risk Assessments. The risk assessment will give you a range of practical solutions to help you achieve this.
Hand Arm Vibration Assessments
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 road breakers, and hand-guided equipment, such as powered lawnmowers, or by holding materials being processed by machines, such as pedestal grinders.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (the Vibration Regulations), came into force on 6 July 2005 and aim to protect workers from risks to health from vibration.
The regulations introduce action and limit values for hand-arm and whole-body vibration.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations require employers to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to vibration at work. Employees have duties under the regulations too. The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations require you as an employer to:
Assess the vibration risk to your employees
Take action to reduce vibration exposure that produces those risks
Decide if employees 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
Daily exposure limit value (ELV) and if they are: take immediate
action to reduce their exposure below the limit value
Make sure the legal limits on vibration exposure are not exceeded
Provide information and training to employees on health risks and the actions you are taking to control those risks
Carry out health surveillance (regular health checks) where there is a risk to health
We can carry out the assessments of the equipment to help you establish the vibration levels. From there we can provide information and advice on how to comply with the legal requirements and protect your employees.
