COSHH 2002 regulation 9, UK wide
LEV Testing and Thorough Examination
Local exhaust ventilation is the control most workplaces rely on to keep dust and fume out of people's lungs. It is also the control most likely to be quietly failing. AL23 Safety carries out thorough examination and testing of LEV under regulation 9 of COSHH 2002, measuring what the system actually achieves rather than confirming that it makes a noise, for clients UK wide.
What is an LEV thorough examination and test?
A performance test against how the system was designed to work
Regulation 9(2) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 requires engineering controls to be thoroughly examined and tested at set intervals. A thorough examination and test is a structured piece of work with three parts. We examine the system physically, measure its technical performance and then judge whether it still controls exposure adequately for the process it serves.
The measurement is what separates it from a visual check. A visual check tells you the fan is running, the hose is attached and nothing is obviously broken. It cannot tell you that duct velocity has dropped below the level needed to keep dust airborne, that a partially blinded filter has pulled hood face velocity down by a third or that a damper adjusted for one bench has starved another. Those failures are invisible and they are common.
Visual checks still matter. They belong to someone on the floor, weekly or monthly, alongside daily user checks. They sit underneath the statutory examination rather than replacing it.
Who needs one
Anyone whose COSHH assessment names extraction as a control
- Welding bays, fume arms and downdraught benches
- Woodworking machinery, sanding booths and dust extraction plant
- Grinding, polishing, linishing and fettling stations
- Spray booths, mixing rooms and solvent processes
- Soldering benches, laboratory fume cupboards and laminar flow cabinets
- On-tool extraction used with cutting, drilling and grinding equipment
- Any system that has been moved, extended, re-ducted or reconfigured since it was last examined
If extraction is doing the work in your control strategy, the LEV examination is what keeps your COSHH assessment honest. An assessment that names LEV as the control, with no evidence the LEV performs, is an assessment waiting to fail.
The regulations that apply
Your legal framework, in plain terms
The duty comes from the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, made under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Regulation 9 requires control measures to be maintained in efficient working order and in good repair, with engineering controls thoroughly examined and tested. Schedule 4 sets shorter intervals for four specific processes.
The default interval
LEV must be thoroughly examined and tested at least once every 14 months.
One month
Blasting of castings in connection with the manufacture of metal articles. The same interval applies to the manufacture of jute cloth.
Six months
Grinding, abrading or polishing of non-precious metal by mechanical power for more than 12 hours a week. The same interval applies to processes giving off dust or fume in the production of non-ferrous metal castings.
Records
The record of each examination and test must be kept for five years.
The wider duty
Regulation 7 still requires adequate control through the Schedule 2A principles of good control practice. Regulation 6 still requires the assessment behind it to be valid.
One thing is worth saying plainly. The 14-month interval is a maximum rather than a recommendation. It exists so an annual test never drifts out of compliance. A system that is heavily used, dirty in service or recently altered should be examined more often than the law demands.
What the service covers
Every hood measured against its design intent
- Comparison against the original commissioning data, measuring performance against design intent rather than against last year's decline
- Hood face velocities at every extraction point, measured at defined positions and recorded individually
- Capture velocity at the point where the contaminant is actually released, which is the number that decides whether the hood works
- Duct transport velocities, checked against what the contaminant needs to stay entrained and reach the filter
- Static pressures at hoods, across the filter and at the fan, which is how developing blockage and filter blinding are detected
- Filter condition, cleaning mechanism, differential pressure indication and evidence of bypass, plus fan performance, rotation and drive condition
- Ductwork condition, covering leaks, settled dust, blast gates, damper positions and airflow indicators
- Discharge arrangements and whether extracted air can re-enter the building
- Replacement air supply, since extraction cannot work in a sealed room
- How the hoods are actually used, including positioning, distance and whether operators work inside the capture zone
Our process
Inspect, measure, then judge control honestly
- 01
Pre-visit review
We ask for the commissioning report, the log book, previous examination reports and the COSHH assessment the system supports.
- 02
Visual examination
We inspect hoods, ductwork, filters, fan and discharge, recording condition, damage and modifications made since installation.
- 03
Measurement
We take velocity and pressure readings at defined test points, using calibrated instruments, with the process running as it normally does.
- 04
Judgement on control
We compare results to commissioning benchmarks and to the exposure the system exists to prevent, then record a clear result for each hood.
- 05
Report and log book
We issue the report, update the log book and set out any remedial work by priority.
What you get
A clear pass or fail for every hood
- A written thorough examination and test report giving a clear pass or fail for every hood, with the measurements behind it
- Recorded velocity and pressure readings against commissioning or baseline values, making drift visible next time
- A schematic or hood schedule identifying each extraction point by a unique reference
- Labels applied at each hood showing the test date and result
- A prioritised remedial list separating immediate stop-use items from planned maintenance
- A statement of the next due date, with the correct interval applied where Schedule 4 shortens it
What we need from you
The paperwork and the process running normally
- The commissioning report and user manual where they exist
- The LEV log book and previous examination reports
- The COSHH assessments the extraction supports
- Access with the process running normally, including an operator who can demonstrate the work
- Confirmation of any modifications, extensions or relocations since the last examination
Why AL23 Safety
A fail is recorded as a fail
Accountable
A hood that fails is recorded as a fail. We do not issue a pass with an observation attached where the system is not controlling exposure.
Joined to the assessment
We test the LEV against the exposure it exists to control, not as an isolated ventilation exercise.
Practical, not just compliant
Remedial lists are ranked by priority, letting you fix the hoods that matter before the ones that do not.
UK wide
We examine LEV systems for clients across the UK from our Manchester base, including multi-site examination programmes.
Talk to us about LEV
Find out whether your extraction is actually working
If you know how many hoods you have and roughly what they serve, we can scope an examination on a single call. No obligation and no pressure.
Common questions
Answers, up front
Cannot see your question? Get in touch and we will answer it directly.
Contact usPrice is driven by the number of extraction points, the complexity of the system and site access. A workshop with six fume arms is straightforward. A woodworking plant with a central collector, forty machine take-offs and a filter house is not. Send us a hood count and a description of the processes served and we will quote against that.
Most small systems are examined in a single visit, with the report following. Larger installations may need more than one day, especially where the process has to keep running and testing has to fit around production. We agree the visit plan before attending.
The legal interval is at least once every 14 months, which is why people call it an annual test. The extra two months are headroom rather than an extension. Four processes have shorter intervals under Schedule 4. One month applies to blasting of castings and to jute cloth manufacture. Six months applies to heavy mechanical grinding of non-precious metal and to dust or fume in non-ferrous casting.
Yes, though the first examination becomes a baseline exercise as well as a test. Without design figures we cannot say whether performance has declined, only whether it currently controls exposure. We record the readings as a benchmark for future examinations and state clearly in the report that comparison against design intent was not possible.
No. A pass means the system performs as it was designed to perform. It does not prove the design was ever right for your process, nor that operators use the hoods correctly. Adequate control is judged against exposure, which is why the examination is read alongside the COSHH assessment and, where relevant, the same discipline we apply to a health and safety audit.
The person must be competent, meaning they understand LEV design principles, can use and interpret the instruments and can judge whether exposure is being controlled. Competence is not conferred by owning an anemometer. Where systems form part of larger machinery, we align the findings with your PUWER inspection regime rather than leaving two separate paper trails.
Related services