Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, UK wide
Hand-Arm Vibration Assessments
Hand-arm vibration syndrome is permanent. Once the blanching fingers, numbness and lost grip strength arrive, they do not reverse. AL23 Safety measures tool vibration and trigger time, turns them into A(8) exposure figures and exposure points and shows you which tasks cross the action and limit values, for clients UK wide.
What is a hand-arm vibration assessment?
Trigger time and tool data turned into a figure you can defend
Vibration exposure is calculated as A(8), the daily exposure averaged over eight hours. It depends on the vibration magnitude of the tool in metres per second squared and on trigger time, the time the tool is actually running in the hand. Trigger time is always shorter than the job takes. It is also longer than operators estimate. Getting it right is the whole assessment.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 set two thresholds for each exposure route.
The exposure points ready reckoner
A(8) is hard to work with day to day, which is why HSE publishes a points system. Points from every tool an operator uses add up across the shift. 100 points is the action value. 400 points is the limit value.
As an indication, a tool at 3 m/s² earns roughly 20 points an hour, one at 5 m/s² roughly 50, one at 10 m/s² roughly 200 and one at 15 m/s² roughly 450. A 10 m/s² breaker therefore reaches the action value after half an hour of trigger time and the limit value after two. A supervisor can work that out on a whiteboard, which is why we build the assessment around points rather than a formula nobody uses.
Hand-arm vibration
Exposure action value 2.5 m/s² A(8). Exposure limit value 5.0 m/s² A(8).
Whole-body vibration
Exposure action value 0.5 m/s² A(8). Exposure limit value 1.15 m/s² A(8).
Who needs one
Any operation where powered tools are held or ride-on plant is driven
Regulation 5 requires an assessment where employees are liable to be exposed at or above the exposure action value. Typical triggers include the following.
- Daily use of grinders, needle guns, breakers, chipping hammers, chainsaws, impact wrenches, sanders or compaction plates
- Ride-on plant driven over rough ground, including forklifts, dumpers, rollers and tractors
- Operators reporting tingling, numbness, cold-induced blanching or dropped tools
- A tool fleet bought without vibration data or aged without magnitudes being rechecked
- A written HAVS or carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis already received for anyone on site
Where vibrating tools are used high noise usually follows. The same operators normally warrant a noise at work assessment in the same visit.
The regulations that apply
Your legal framework, in plain terms
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 sit beneath the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and interlock with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 on the suitability and maintenance of the tools. A blunt disc, a worn bearing or an unbalanced wheel raises vibration magnitude, which makes tool maintenance a vibration control rather than a housekeeping matter.
Regulation 4
Sets the hand-arm values of 2.5 and 5.0 m/s² and the whole-body values of 0.5 and 1.15 m/s².
Regulation 5
Requires assessment where employees are liable to be exposed at or above the exposure action value.
Regulation 6
Requires exposure to be eliminated at source or reduced to as low as is reasonably practicable. The exposure limit value must not be exceeded.
Regulation 7
Requires health surveillance for those likely to be regularly exposed above the action value and for anyone otherwise at risk, including workers with an existing diagnosis.
RIDDOR 2013, regulation 8
Hand-arm vibration syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome are reportable diseases on written diagnosis by a doctor where the work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools.
What we assess
Every tool, its trigger time and its condition
- Trigger time per tool per operator, timed on site rather than estimated from shift length
- A tool inventory with the vibration magnitude used for each item and the source of that figure named
- A(8) and exposure points for every role, task and realistic worst-case day
- Whole-body vibration for ride-on plant, covering seat condition, suspension, tyre pressures and ground surface
- Tool condition and maintenance, covering worn abrasives, blunt bits, unbalanced wheels, overdue servicing and whether procurement asks for magnitude data before buying
- Alternatives that remove the exposure, such as mechanised methods, jigs, rigs and hydraulic splitting in place of breaking
- Health surveillance arrangements, referral routes and how findings feed back into task allocation and job rotation
- Whether operators know which early symptoms to report and to whom
Our process
Timed on site, then turned into points
- 01
Scoping and tool inventory
We list every vibrating tool and item of ride-on plant in scope with make, model and age, then agree the roles and tasks the survey must cover.
- 02
On-site trigger time study
We watch and time real work, tool by tool. Where magnitudes are uncertain or the tool is old, we advise on measurement rather than accepting a catalogue figure.
- 03
Exposure calculation
We produce A(8) and exposure points for each role against the 2.5 and 5.0 m/s² values, plus 0.5 and 1.15 m/s² for whole-body exposure.
- 04
Control plan and exposure budget
We set a maximum daily trigger time per tool in plain minutes, then rank the changes that cut exposure at source.
- 05
Health surveillance design
We set out who enters surveillance, at which tier and how results return to the assessment.
What you get
Exposure in minutes the shop floor can use
- A written report giving A(8) and exposure points by role, task and tool
- A tool-by-tool exposure budget giving the maximum daily trigger time in minutes before 100 and 400 points are reached
- A tool fleet review flagging the items to retire, service or replace first
- A prioritised action plan separating elimination and substitution from administrative limits
- A health surveillance specification setting out the tiers, who runs each one and the referral triggers
- A RIDDOR briefing note covering what to do on receipt of a written diagnosis
What we need from you
A tool list and real work to watch
- A tool and plant list with make, model, age and service history
- Manufacturer or purchase vibration data where you hold it
- Typical daily and seasonal task patterns, including overtime
- Access to operators doing normal work rather than a demonstration
Why AL23 Safety
Every magnitude sourced and every finding stated plainly
Accountable
If your points totals breach the limit value we say so in writing and set out what has to stop. We do not soften findings to avoid a difficult conversation.
Measured, not assumed
We name the source of every magnitude figure used. You can see at a glance which numbers are manufacturer data and which are measured.
Practical, not just compliant
An exposure budget in minutes gets used on the shop floor. A spreadsheet of A(8) values does not.
UK wide
We assess vibration exposure for clients across the UK from our Manchester base, including multi-site fleets.
Talk to us about vibration
Know your points before anyone else asks for them
Tell us your main tools and roughly how long they run and we can usually indicate on one call whether you are near the action value. No obligation and no pressure.
Common questions
Answers, up front
Cannot see your question? Get in touch and we will answer it directly.
Contact usThe drivers are the number of distinct tools, the number of roles and sites and whether trigger time has to be observed across more than one shift. A groundworks contractor with eight tool types on two gangs is a small job. A manufacturer with 200 line-side tools is not. Send the tool list and headcount and we will price against it.
HSE guidance sets out a tiered model. Tier 1 is an initial screening questionnaire for new starters and tier 2 an annual screening questionnaire, both of which a competent responsible person inside your business can run. Tier 3 is an assessment by a qualified occupational health nurse, tier 4 a formal diagnosis by a doctor with appropriate HAVS training and tier 5 optional standardised referral tests. AL23 designs the scheme and trains your responsible person. Medical diagnosis stays with occupational health.
Yes. Hand-arm vibration syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome are both reportable diseases under regulation 8 of RIDDOR 2013, on written diagnosis by a doctor, where the work involves regular use of percussive or vibrating tools. The report goes in without delay on receipt of the diagnosis. A diagnosis also shows controls failed some time ago, which is why we treat it as a trigger to reassess rather than a form to file.
The exposure limit value is not a target to manage down towards. It must not be exceeded. The immediate step is to cut trigger time or stop the task while the fix is engineered, then work through substitution, mechanisation and tool replacement. Where equipment condition is driving the magnitude, that feeds into your PUWER inspection regime rather than sitting in a separate document.
The regulations require the assessment to stay valid rather than setting a fixed interval. Review it when tools, consumables, output or crew sizes change, when surveillance flags a case and when a new task enters the programme. Exposure moves the moment the work rate does, a point we test in any health and safety audit of a tool-heavy operation.
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