Alan Finley suffers from the impact of working with power tools: he has hand arm vibration syndrome, along with 300,000 sufferers in the UK; there are 2 million more at risk of developing the disease.
For Alan, the impacts have been life changing: “I would wake up in the middle of the night with cramps. It would be like as if you had been lying on your hands and they had gone numb. Even if I picked up a little drill to do a few bits and bobs around the house, I felt the tingling and would be in constant pain.”
Symptoms include bouts of vibration white finger, where fingers lose all feeling and turn white in cold temperatures, muscle fatigue, potentially resulting in disability, and in some cases carpal tunnel syndrome. The impacts can take time to become apparent but once evident there is no treatment to reverse the harm and quality of life impact for sufferers is extreme. Day-to-day activities such as pulling up a zip, holding a glass or playing with their children are affected.
Reactec has today launched a robust call for industry to go above and beyond in the fight against HAVS. A new report by leading journalist, Paul Wilkinson, ‘The Hidden Threat’ brings together evidence and human experience to create a compelling call for action which goes beyond the current recommended guidelines.
Worryingly, 10% of workers exposed at what is termed the Exposure Action Value, which many might consider a safe level, will get hand arm vibration syndrome within 12 years, according to the HSE.
However current guidelines have not reduced incidence of the disease – it remains the most reported illness at work in 2018. Current methods of risk assessment generally tend to measure vibration from the tool rather than monitoring the specific impact on individuals – in one study traditional assessment methods of those most at risk resulted in an underestimation of vibration exposure by 76%[i].
Mr. Finley is more fortunate than many: seven years ago, he became a manager at his present employer, Volker Rail, where he no longer uses tools and is in the forefront of efforts to improve industry safety culture. Doctors say he needs an operation for carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition caused by compression of the median nerve through the wrist, another issue which can result from exposure to vibration
“I’ve been lucky that I have never been out of work, but I know people who have, and it has had a big impact on them,” Mr. Finley says.
He added: “I think each company should have a policy where HAVS is monitored because at the end of the day, it cocks your life up.”
In essence Alan is looking for employers to do more than what current guidance on regulations might appear to ask employers to do. As a sufferer he knows better than most why this should be considered.
Join Reactec’s call to industry to do more to protect against the hidden threat of HAVS. Download the report here
- Utility Company case study – reviews the effectiveness of a generic risk assessment
- The Telegraph newspaper interview with Reactec on HAVS risk in the FM sector
- IOM report on the validity of the data produced by Reactec’s HAVWEAR to inform a suitable and sufficient risk assessment
- International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics paper on understanding the effectiveness of hand transmitted vibration measurement on the human
