Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) Medical

Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) comes from the use of hand-held power tools and is the cause of significant ill health. (painful and disabling disorders of the blood vessels, nerves and joints)

Hand Arm vibration medicals - Lloyd OH

Which jobs and industries are most likely to involve hand-arm vibration?

Jobs requiring regular and frequent use of vibrating tools and equipment and handling of vibrating materials are found in a wide range of industries, for example  ….

  • Building and maintenance of roads and railways

  • Construction

  • Estate management (e.g. maintenance of grounds, parks, water courses, road and rail side verges);

  • Forestry;

  • Foundries

  • Heavy engineering

  • Manufacturing concrete products

  • Mining and quarrying

  • Motor vehicle manufacture and repair

  • Public utilities (e.g. water, gas, electricity, telecommunications);

  • Shipbuilding and repair

A simple approach to health surveillance for HAVS

A simple approach to Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) Medical surveillance involves working through a number of stages. Briefly, this ‘tiered’ system works as follows:

Tier 1

Tier 1 is a short questionnaire used as a first check for people moving into jobs involving exposure to vibration. The replies to the questionnaire will indicate whether they need to be referred to Tier 3 for a HAVS health assessment.

Tier 2 is a short questionnaire that you can issue once a year to employees exposed to vibration risks to check whether they need to be referred to Tier 3 for a HAVS health assessment.

Tier 3 HAVS clinical questionnaire is assessed by our Occupational Health Nurse.  If an issue is identified the employee is referred to tier 4

Tier 4 involves a formal diagnosis and is carried out by our doctors. The doctor will advise you on the employee’s fitness for work.

Tier 5 involves referral of the employee for certain tests for HAVS. The results may help the doctor assess fitness for work.

Adoption of this approach may help you keep costs down and avoid long term absences.

For all enquiries call now on 0161 327 3818