An innovative system which will provide critical ‘live’ data on tool operators’ daily exposure rates to Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) is rolling off the production line.

The device works by providing visual warnings to the operator when they are reaching prescribed maximum daily exposure levels. This system will further increase the accuracy of health and safety data, as well as eliminating the need for operators to complete laborious daily paper-based records of vibration levels.

Developed with the market by Reactec over the last 3 years, the specialists in noise and vibration are proud to finally launch the system. It is the first device in the World to calculate and record cumulative vibration information across all vibratory tools used by the operator throughout the working day. The system incorporates significant advances in technology which mean the unit can be submerged in water and still continues doing its job.

Managing Director Mark-Paul Buckingham says "Reactec have invested a significant amount of both time and money to develop a system that meets the demanding needs of the construction industry. From design to delivery we have maintained close contact with the major companies and organisations involved with solving the issues that Hand-Arm-Vibration poses, ensuring that the HAVmeter does exactly what is required by the market."

"As experts in vibration we simply asked the market to tell us exactly what they needed and we have now delivered. It has taken a long time in development, but the system launched provides significant ROI for companies that adopt the technology across their organisation. Having supported trials since inception Tarmac is the first to implement on this scale." Buckingham added.

The system features four main components: a durable, colour-coded tool tag on each piece of equipment, a magnetic swipe card for each operator and a base station within the team’s crewbus, which will incorporate up to eight individual HAVmeters.

Each tool is allocated a tag - colour coded green, orange or red - to signify the general level of vibration produced and the recommended safe daily dosage.

Using a personal swipe card, each operator will sign-out a HAVmeter from the base station which attaches magnetically to the tool tag on the equipment. Information held within the tag – tool manufacturer, model, unique ID, average tool vibration level - is automatically uploaded into the HAVmeter.

At the end of the working day, the HAVmeter is returned to the base station where the unit is recharged and the vibration data automatically saved to the station’s internal memory. Information is then downloaded onto the organisations Health and Safety database, where operator exposure records and HAV trends are analysed.

Current HSE guidance has set an Exposure Action Level (EAV) of 2.5ms˛ equivalent to 100 points, or a daily Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 5.0ms˛ at 400 points.