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Hand-arm vibration syndrome is current major industry health focus.

Issued at 2013-10-23



Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) or using old vernacular ''vibration white finger'', can be a nasty disease with far reaching consequences, affecting both the working and social lives of sufferers. It is primarily caused by damage to nerves and blood vessels in the fingers and thumbs as a result of excessive vibrations from using powered tools such as angle grinders, jack-hammers, sanders etc. and symptoms can include tingling sensations, numbness in the fingertips, a cold sensation in the fingers and discolouration.

As it gets worse these effects may travel up the whole length of the fingers, and in the worst of cases it is possible to lose any sensation in the fingers or thumb affected and to lose dexterity for delicate tasks such as fastening buttons or picking up screws etc.

Reportable under RIDDOR at present, it is feasible to develop the symptoms in a very short space of time dependent on the activity undertaken and tools used. If not swiftly addressed when symptoms appear, it can rapidly develop into a permanent condition, and by the time the blanched fingers appear it is too late.

Diagnosis and changes to working patterns or processes needs to be made when the very early symptoms appear. Employees must not be afraid of reporting these to their employers. Employers are required under specific legislation to risk assess activities where exposure to vibration at work will occur. This is in addition to the general requirements placed on them with respect of the safety and health of their employees whilst at work.

HSE has made great efforts in trying to educate us all to the risks and measures both employers and employees should take. Their web pages have been updated with lots of useful advice for both employers and employees and publications such as ACOPS and guidance documents are free to download. Suppliers of manually operated powered tools and abrasives continue to develop their products.

There remains however, a black hole of knowledge and application within plenty of industries. This must not detract from the fact that some companies have taken it on board fully and committed a lot of time and effort to resolving any issues found amongst their workforce. Businesses should look to replace old equipment when possible with vibration damped models and to ensure that they are using the right abrasives for the materials they are processing. Risk assessment forms the backbone of addressing HAVs.

As part of the work being undertaken in the foundry industry, HAVs has been a dedicated item at the SHAD events held successfully throughout the past 18 months (a fourth is planned for later this year). CHASAC is currently in the process of updating the guidance document for HAVs to be published later this year on the SHIFT website.

The SHIFT Initiative itself has hosted several expert speakers on the topic from inspectors to monitoring equipment providers and through to occupational health providers in recent years. As the industry recognises that more needs to be done, following on from its work on RPE, the initiative of tackling HAVs will be SHIFT’s next health topic for members and will be launched on 12 November 2013 at its final forum event for this year.

For more information contact Richard Heath at the Cast Metals Federation, Tel: 0121 601 6392; 
email: richardheath@cmfed.co.uk


Source: Foundry Trade Journal



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