Vibration Screening

Prolonged exposure to vibration is known to bring with it some health risks, and it is the employer's responsibility to monitor for this and help ensure that those team members being exposed to vibration on an ongoing/regular basis are subject to appropriate health surveillance.

The purpose of health surveillance is to:

• Identify anyone exposed or about to be exposed to hand-arm vibration who may be at particular risk, for example, people with blood circulatory diseases such as Raynaud's Disease;
• Identify any vibration-related disease at an early stage in employees regularly exposed to hand-arm vibration;
• Help you prevent disease progression and eventual disability;
• Help people stay in work;
• Check the effectiveness of your vibration control measures.

It is important that everyone working with vibratory tools understands that health surveillance aims to protect them from developing advanced symptoms of ill health so that they can continue to work.

Team members are legally required to co-operate with their managers when asked to attend health surveillance.

Health surveillance

Basic health surveillance consists of regularly seeking information about early symptoms of ill health by using a questionnaire. These questionnaires are reviewed by our Occupational Nurse, who is then able to take the necessary next step to evaluate any impact vibration has had on a person.

The council will:

• Keep records of the health surveillance and fitness for work advice provided for each employee (but not the confidential medical records, which are kept by the doctor). The HSE are entitled to see these health records as part of their checks that the council are complying with these regulations;
• Make employees' records available to them;
• Act upon any recommendations made by the doctor about employees' continued exposure to vibration;
• Use the results to review and, if necessary, revise risk assessments, including plans to control risks;
• Discuss any changes to your risk assessment with your trade union safety representative or employee representative;
• Notify the relevant enforcing authority when advised in writing by a doctor that an employee in listed occupations has HAVS or carpal tunnel syndrome, as required by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).

More information is available on the “Vibration at work” page that will help understand the matter of vibration and its potential effect on health.

Specific information on the screening process can be found in GD 27 – Vibration Health Surveillance.

Concerns about vibration can be raised with the Occupational Nurse or the Service Health and Safety Officer.