| Hand arm vibration – addressing the risks |
When Lafarge Contracting conducted a thorough survey of plant and equipment to identify and categorise the exposure rates, it decided that more needed to be done to raise awareness about – and hopefully reduce – hand arm vibration.
The safety department at this Mountsorrel site was set a number of tasks, which it responded to with the following changes:
• purchasing improved equipment, such as a replacement for the heavy duty breaker and a vibration
meter
• reviewing current work methods and amending to reduce operatives’ exposure to hand arm vibration
• identifying those in the workforce who may have symptoms of hand arm vibration and carrying out
further medical examinations and monitoring with the help of an occupational medical company
• developing a toolbox talk
• developing a training package
• making presentations at national safety days.
|