In the UK, under Regulation 7 of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, health surveillance must be provided for employees who are likely to be exposed to hand-arm vibration in excess of the daily exposure action value of 2.5 m/s2 A(8), or, are considered to be at risk for any other reason, such as:
- employees likely to be occasionally exposed above the exposure action value where the risk assessment identifies that the frequency and severity of exposure may pose a risk to health
- employees who have a diagnosis of HAVS (even when exposed below the exposure action value)
For Whole Body Vibration, the HSE recommends that you set up a simple system of health monitoring for your employees whose jobs carry a higher than average risk of back pain.
The purpose of health surveillance is to:
- Identify anyone exposed or about to be exposed to hand-arm vibration who may be at particular risk, for example people with blood circulatory diseases such as Raynaud's Disease
- Identify any vibration-related disease at an early stage in employees regularly exposed to hand-arm vibration
- Help you prevent disease progression and eventual disability
- Help people stay in work
- Check the effectiveness of your vibration control measures
Please see the links on this page for further information about vibration-related health surveillance.
Further information
- Hand arm vibration - Health surveillance (hse.gov.uk)
- Health surveillance - Guidance for Occupational Health Professionals (hse.gov.uk)
- Hand-arm vibration - The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 L140 (hse.gov.uk) pages 19-21
- Hand-arm vibration at work: A brief guide for employers INDG175 (hse.gov.uk) page 5
- Control back-pain risks from whole-body vibration - Advice for employers on the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 INDG242 (hse.gov.uk) page 8
- The identification and management of hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) (SOM Revised v20 Dec 2020). NOTE: this guide is useful primarily for occupational health practitioners who are engaged with managing and supporting workers with HAVS and CTS. It is not aimed at occupational hygienists.