R-Link uses two methods to assess hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure simultaneously: the first is based on a predetermined vibration magnitude (programmed in a tool tag), and the second based on the vibration magnitude detected by the watch itself. Taken together, these methods paint a more complete picture of your workers’ risk, by helping you identify where an individual workers’ exposure to HAV has varied from expected levels.

Both of these methods are valuable for achieving effective management of a workers’ risk of developing Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), but there are key differences between the two. In this article, we’ll review the two methods and explain how safety managers can use them to monitor and manage their team’s exposure to risk from vibrating tools and equipment.

Assessing HAV exposure to ensure compliance with HSE regulations

The Control Of Vibrations At Work Regulations 2005 (the ‘Regulations’) require that employers manage their employee’s exposure to HAV risk. If assessments indicate that an operation can lead to a daily exposure of HAV that can exceed the Regulations’ prescribed exposure action value (EAV), the employer must implement control measures to reduce the risk of HAV exposure to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

Reactec’s R-Link smartwatch automates this assessment to enable organisations to monitor the daily exposure of workers without disrupting operations. R-Link does this by combining the trigger time (the actual time the tool is in use) with pre-programmed tool vibration levels to calculate a workers’ daily exposure to HAV. It’s important to note that the pre-programmed tool vibration data should be representative of actual use.

You can think of pre-programmed vibration data in the same way that you might think about the estimated gas mileage of a car. When a manufacturer builds a vehicle, they run a battery of tests to determine how far someone can drive the car before it runs out of fuel. But this number isn’t set in stone, it’s representative, because the manufacturer doesn’t test the fuel efficiency of every single car that comes down the assembly line – that means that this number is also variable, and it can change based on how the car is driven, where the car is driven, where the car is kept, what kind of fuel is pumped into it, how old it is, and how well it’s cared for. The reported fuel efficiency can vary – sometimes marginally, sometimes substantially – based on these (and other) factors.

If an independent expert carried out their own tests to determine fuel efficiency, these would be a snapshot of a moment in time, and would reflect how the car behaves when it’s being used by a certain driver, at a certain time, in certain conditions.

Similarly, pre-defined tool vibration data isn’t determined by testing every single tool that a manufacturer rolls out, or by testing every tool within an organisation for every type of potential use. Therefore, once the tool is in use, the vibration magnitude of that tool can vary based on operator competency, working conditions, tool age, and tool condition. So, while this method provides a simple, straightforward baseline assessment of exposure, it does not account for the real-world conditions that impact the amount of risk to which any given worker is exposed on a daily basis.

R-Link: Collecting supplementary information to identify when exposure to HAV has varied from expected levels

R-Link also uses real-time, sensed vibration magnitude to generate an in-use, representative assessment of actual risk to individual workers. This information is gathered by a triaxial accelerometer, worn at the wrist, which is corrected to determine a vibration at the tool grip point, live, while the worker uses each tool. This data is then transmitted to an analytics platform where it’s transformed into insights that EHS professionals and direct line management can use to gain a deeper understanding of their team’s actual risk from exposure to HAV. This method accounts for tool variability and individual operator skill, which makes it an effective method for risk monitoring and management at the individual level.

Returning to the fuel efficiency example: R-Link functions much like the real-time monitoring systems found in modern vehicles. These use sensors to determine fuel efficiency in real-time, and take into account changing real-world conditions such as speed, weather, and vehicle condition. When fuel efficiency is hampered, these systems generate alerts automatically, enabling drivers to correct their behaviour or take additional precautions to avoid inconvenient or potentially dangerous situations.

How R-Link paints a more complete picture of your workplace risk environment

The most effective method for understanding your team’s risk from exposure to HAV is to rely on both the exposure risk based on predetermined or expected tool behaviour, and the kind of supplementary information provided by R-Link.

Expected tool behaviour is useful for establishing baselines and undertaking initial risk assessments, while the data collected by R-Link is critical for understanding individual workers’ exposure levels, and for identifying issues related to tool condition, tool rotation, operator competency, and more.

R-Link utilises both of these methods to generate a 360-degree view of your workplace risk environment. It collects data while workers carry out their tasks, and then feeds that data into an analytics platform where it’s transformed into digestible, actionable insights that safety managers or direct supervisors can use to identify areas of concern. For example:

R-Link will clearly show you if one specific member of your team is experiencing more risk from vibration than other workers, which enables you to quickly address and correct their behaviour. Similarly, R-Link can reveal issues of equipment condition, and help you identify the most efficient and effective methods for tool rotation.

Importantly, R-Link can be deployed on your team without any need for IT support or intervention. The system is user-friendly and intuitive, and uptake is generally swift and frictionless.

The best approach to monitoring and managing risk from exposure to HAV involves collecting real-time, personalised data that managers can use to take meaningful control measures and drive real change.

To speak with a member of our team about how R-Link can help you paint a more complete picture of your workplace risk environment, just get in touch.