Health and Safety Executive

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005

Guidance on Regulations

Hand-arm vibration or HAV is a widespread hazard for employees in many industries and occupations. This second edition of L140 outlines what an employer’s duties are under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 as they relate specifically to HAV (HSE publication L141 deals with whole-body vibration).

The book looks at the employer’s legal obligations to control risks to employees’ health and safety from exposure to HAV and to prevent HAV-related diseases such as hand-arm vibration syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome. It covers the management and control of the risks from HAV and how to protect employees, with practical guidance on risk assessments, controlling vibration exposure and arranging health surveillance.

The guidance is aimed at employers as well as those who advise employers, L140 (Second edition) such as health and safety professionals, vibration specialists and occupational Published 2019 health professionals.

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First published 2005 Second edition 2019

ISBN 978 0 7176 6565 5

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This guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory, unless specifically stated, and you are free to take other action. But if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. Health and safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance.

Contents

Introduction 5 PART 1 Legal duties of employers and others to control the risks to health and safety from hand-arm vibration 7 Regulation 1 Citation and commencement 7 Regulation 2 Interpretation 7 Regulation 3 Application and transitional provisions 8 Regulation 4 Exposure limit values and action values 10 Regulation 5 Assessment of the risk to health created by vibration at the workplace 11 Regulation 6 Elimination or control of exposure to vibration at the workplace 15 Regulation 7 Health surveillance 19 Regulation 8 Information, instruction and training 21 Regulation 9 Exemption certificates for emergency services 23 Regulation 10 Exemption certificates for air transport 24 Regulation 11 Exemptions relating to the Ministry of Defence 24 Regulation 12 Extension outside Great Britain 24 Regulation 13 Amendments 25 Schedule 1 Hand-arm vibration 26 Schedule 2 Whole-body vibration 28 PART 2 Management and control of risk from hand-arm vibration 30 PART 3 Health surveillance 43 APPENDIX 1 Estimation of daily vibration exposure 51 APPENDIX 2 Vibration measurement and instrumentation 61 APPENDIX 3 Sources of vibration magnitude data 64 APPENDIX 4 Anti-vibration gloves 70 APPENDIX 5 Information from manufacturers and suppliers of machinery 72

APPENDIX 6 Guidance for machinery manufacturers: A suggested approach to warning of residual risk from vibration 77 APPENDIX 7 Training and competence for those advising employers 80 APPENDIX 8 Guidance on health surveillance for occupational health professionals 84 APPENDIX 9 Sample questionnaires 93 References 106 Further information 109

Introduction

1 Hand-arm vibration (HAV) is a widespread hazard for employees in many industries and occupations, eg energy, extraction, manufacturing and construction. HAV exposure at work can arise from the use of handheld machines (such as grinders and hammer drills), hand-guided machinery (such as lawnmowers and plate compactors) and hand-fed machines (such as pedestal grinders and forge hammers). Regular and frequent exposure to this vibration, usually over many months or years, can affect the operator’s health. But the risks from vibration can be controlled and most employees can be protected from ill health caused by vibration. To protect employees, and to comply with the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (the Vibration Regulations), employers need to assess the risks from vibration and implement measures to control them.

2 This book is aimed at employers, but is expected to be of particular interest to those advising employers on the Vibration Regulations as they relate to HAV, including competent person(s), health and safety professionals, vibration specialists and occupational health professionals. It does not contain guidance on those parts of the Regulations which apply only to whole-body vibration as this is provided in a separate book, Whole-body vibration. The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.1 The parts of the Vibration Regulations which apply specifically to whole- body vibration are identified by grey shading.

3 The Vibration Regulations place specific duties on employers and are based on a European Union Directive2 requiring similar basic laws throughout the EU on reducing the risks of vibration-related diseases. If employers comply with the Vibration Regulations and follow HSE’s guidance, employees are unlikely to develop advanced (disabling) stages of these diseases.

4 This book sets out the legal, technical and medical principles. The legal duties described in this book are in addition to the general obligations to safeguard workers’ health (including the effects of vibration) which employers and others (including advisers to employers) have had since 1975 under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (the HSW Act).3 These general obligations also apply to the safeguarding of the health of people who are not employees, such as students, voluntary workers, visitors and members of the public. Employees also have duties under the HSW Act to take care of their own health and safety and that of others whom their work may affect; and to co-operate with employers so that they may comply with health and safety law.

Part 1 Legal duties of employers and others to control the risks to health and safety from hand-arm vibration 5 Part 1 of this book includes the text of the Vibration Regulations and explains what they mean and what they require you to do. It sets out your legal obligations as an employer to control risks to health and safety from exposure to HAV, including preventing HAV-related diseases which affect the hands and arms, and

providing health surveillance for the conditions known as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and vibration-related carpal tunnel syndrome (v-CTS).

Part 2 Management and control of risk from hand-arm vibration 6 Part 2 of the book includes practical information for employers managing vibration risk: assessing exposure and risk; deciding how the Regulations apply; and planning and applying control of risk. It is supplemented by Appendices 1–7.

Part 3 Health surveillance

7 Part 3 of the book provides practical information on what would be expected from a health surveillance programme. Appendices 8–9 provide supplementary technical and medical guidance for occupational health professionals and health and safety professionals. They should read Part 3 and will find it helpful to familiarise themselves with Parts 1 and 2 so that they have a good understanding of what the employer has to do and what help they need.

Reasons for this revision

8 This guidance has been updated in keeping with changes to related legislation, technical advances and experience. The layout of this revision has been modified to emphasise control of exposure. There are minor changes to the legislation but no changes to HSE’s policy on the control of HAV.

9 A revised Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC came into force across Europe on 29 December 2009, implemented in the UK as the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations (SMR) 2008.4,5,6 Harmonised standards supplementing and elaborating on the requirements of this Directive have improved the information about vibration being supplied with powered hand tools.

10 The guidance in this book will continue to help dutyholders to reduce risks from vibration to the lowest level reasonably practicable. Further information is available on the vibration pages of HSE’s website: www.hse.gov.uk/vibration.

11 HSE has also produced a leaflet for employers, Hand-arm vibration at work: A brief guide,7 which includes a brief introduction to the Vibration Regulations and provides the essential information that you will need to comply with them. Hand- arm vibration: A guide for employees8 is a pocket card that contains straightforward advice for employees.

PART 1 Legal duties of employers and others to control the risks to health and safety from hand-arm vibration

Regulation 1 Citation and commencement These Regulations may be cited as the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations Regulation 1 2005 and shall come into force on 6th July 2005.

Regulation 2 Interpretation (1) In these Regulations – Regulation 2 “daily exposure” means the quantity of mechanical vibration to which a worker is exposed during a working day, normalised to an 8-hour reference period, which takes account of the magnitude and duration of the vibration;

“emergency services” include –

(a) police, fire, rescue and ambulance services; (b) Her Majesty’s Coastguard;

“enforcing authority” means the Executive, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, local authority or Office of Rail and Road determined in accordance with —

(a) section 18(1A) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; (b) the provisions of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998; and (c) the provisions of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority for Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems) Regulations 2006;

“exposure action value” means the level of daily exposure set out in regulation 4 for any worker which, if reached or exceeded, requires specified action to be taken to reduce risk;

“exposure limit value” means the level of daily exposure set out in regulation 4 for any worker which must not be exceeded, save as set out in regulation 6(5);

“the Executive” means the Health and Safety Executive;

“hand-arm vibration” means mechanical vibration which is transmitted into the hands and arms during a work activity;

“health surveillance” means assessment of the state of health of an employee, as related to exposure to vibration;

“mechanical vibration” means vibration occurring in a piece of machinery or equipment or in a vehicle as a result of its operation;

Regulation 2 “risk assessment” means the assessment of risk required by regulation 5;

“whole-body vibration” means mechanical vibration which is transmitted into the body, when seated or standing, through the supporting surface, during a work activity or as described in regulation 5(3)(f); and

“working day” means a daily working period, irrespective of the time of day when it begins or ends, and of whether it begins or ends on the same calendar day.

(2) In these Regulations, a reference to an employee being exposed to vibration is a reference to the exposure of that employee to mechanical vibration arising out of or in connection with his work.

Regulation 3 Application and transitional provisions Regulation 3 (1) These Regulations shall have effect with a view to protecting persons against risk to their health and safety arising from exposure to vibration at work.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), regulation 6(4) shall not apply until 6th July 2010 where work equipment is used which –

(a) was first provided to employees prior to 6th July 2007 by any employer; and (b) does not permit compliance with the exposure limit values,

but in using such equipment the employer shall take into account the latest technical advances and the organisational measures taken in accordance with regulation 6(2).

(3) For the agriculture and forestry sectors, regulation 6(4) shall not apply to whole-body vibration until 6th July 2014 in respect of work equipment which –

(a) was first provided to employees prior to 6th July 2007 by any employer; and (b) does not permit compliance with the exposure limit value for whole-body vibration,

but in using such equipment the employer shall take into account the latest technical advances and the organisational measures taken in accordance with regulation 6(2).

(4) Where a duty is placed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of his employees, he shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be under a like duty in respect of any other person, whether at work or not, who may be affected by the work carried out by the employer except that the duties of the employer –

(a) under regulation 7 (health surveillance) shall not extend to persons who are not his employees; and (b) under regulation 8 (information, instruction and training) shall not extend to persons who are not his employees, unless those persons are on the premises where the work is being carried out.

(5) These Regulations shall apply to a relevant self-employed person as they apply to an employer and an employee and as if that relevant self-employed person were both an employer and an employee, except that regulation 7 shall not apply to a relevant self-employed person.

(5A) For the purposes of this regulation, “relevant self-employed person” means a Regulation 3 self-employed person who conducts an undertaking of a prescribed description for the purposes of section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

(6) These Regulations shall not apply to the master or crew of a ship or to the employer of such persons in respect of the normal shipboard activities of a ship’s crew which are carried out solely by the crew under the direction of the master, and for the purposes of this paragraph “ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation, other than a ship forming part of Her Majesty’s Navy.

Guidance 3 Transitional period

12 Regulation 3(2) refers to the transitional period for the exposure limit value which applied only until 6 July 2010. The transitional period has now passed.

People who are not your employees 13 Sometimes your activities may cause people who you do not directly employ to be exposed to vibration; for example, where sub-contractors use vibrating equipment for work you specify and control, or where volunteers are engaged alongside workers. Regulation 3(4) applies to all the employers involved and each will have a responsibility:

(a) to their own employees; (b) so far as is reasonably practicable, to anyone else who is exposed to vibration in work activities under their control.

14 This responsibility applies to all the duties under these Regulations except health surveillance (regulation 7) for anyone other than their own employees, while information, instruction and training (regulation 8) shall not extend to persons who are not his employees, unless those persons are on the premises where the work is being carried out.

15 Employers must exchange information and collaborate when working on joint projects to ensure they fulfil their duties without confusion or unnecessary duplication. On multi-contractor sites they will need to co-ordinate action to comply with health and safety requirements; this will normally be the person in overall control of the work. Where contractors and subcontractors are involved it is usually best for responsibilities to be set out in the contractual arrangements. For construction projects, the principal contractor under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 20159 should ensure co-operation between all contractors through the use of pre-tender health and safety plans, method statements etc.

The relevant self-employed

16 Regulation 3(5) defines both employer and employee to include relevant self-employed people. So if you are a relevant self-employed person you will need to take action as set out in the Vibration Regulations to protect yourself from vibration risks.

Guidance 3 Trainees

17 The Health and Safety (Training for Employment) Regulations 199010 require trainees on relevant work training schemes in the workplace (but not those on courses at educational establishments such as universities or schools) to be treated as the employee of the person whose undertaking is providing the training. Your duties towards trainees will include all the requirements of these Vibration Regulations, including assessment and control of risks, provision of health surveillance and provision of information and training.

Application to ships, other vessels and aircraft

18 The Vibration Regulations apply to work taking place in ships, boats, and other vessels operated by Her Majesty’s Navy at all times. They also apply to work on any vessel carried out alongside shore workers when it is moored or in dock. Regulation 3(6) states that these Regulations do not apply to the master and crew of a ship. This refers to work done by the crew under the control of the ship’s master when the ship is under way or work done by them in harbour when no shore-based workers are involved. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has introduced the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Control of Vibration at Work) Regulations 2007,11 which apply to vessels in UK waters and to UK-registered vessels in international waters.

19 The Vibration Regulations apply to aircraft in flight over British soil. However, the Regulations are not intended to interfere with the flight safety of aircraft. Any proposals to alter an aircraft to comply with the Regulations should be agreed with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Regulation 4 Exposure limit values and action values Regulation 4 (1) For hand-arm vibration –

(a) the daily exposure limit value is 5 m/s2 A(8); (b) the daily exposure action value is 2.5 m/s2 A(8),

and daily exposure shall be ascertained on the basis set out in Schedule 1 Part I.

(2) For whole-body vibration –

(a) the daily exposure limit value is 1.15 m/s2 A(8); (b) the daily exposure action value is 0.5 m/s2 A(8),

and daily exposure shall be ascertained on the basis set out in Schedule 2 Part I.

20 The daily exposure limit value (ELV) is the maximum amount of vibration an Guidance 4 employee may be exposed to on any single day (see regulation 6(4)). The daily exposure action value