Posted By Descarte
Yes, but whether I would conduct the monitoring or not would be based on the amount of time that they were using these tools for in an average week and the manufacturers expected exposure ( though this will likely be an under-exstimate) you could then use this as a base for determining whether exposure is likely to come close to or over the occupational exposure limit. If it does it would be worth having the tools properly measured during use by your employees, quite a simple task and not too expensive, last set we had done was less than £500 (Aberdeen area)

Posted By Merv Newman
I do a lot of work with the automotive industry. Cars and HGV.

You would have to measure it and a lot depends on the cycle time - how many times per minute/hour/shift do they have to torque up some nuts.

Fitting wheels on a HGV, for example, is approximately one wheel per minute. Car assembly requires as many nuts as it takes to do what you have to do within 60 seconds. Then do it again. And again. And again. But fitting wheels is mostly automated.

I would be more inclined to look at "Torque-shock" ie the lash-back that happens when the nut is torqued to the set limit.

Just for your information, one accident I witnessed last year was to an operator who was holding the air-driven tool in his right hand and the rotating shaft in his left. (wro-ong !)

His glove wound around the shaft and exploded.

Four fingers dislocated at the base.

Merv