I work for a construction company and we are looking at moving to an electronic based HAVS monitoring system. Does anyone know of a good system to use? I have been in contact with a couple of companies who I met at the H&S Expo in May and they have an electronic system but we would have to buy their entire package in order to use their electronic logging system. If anyone can help, it would gratefully appreciated.

We implemented one of these systems were I worked. They don't measure vibration; you have to enter it into the system. The devices merely monitor the exposure time (cumulative as you go from one piece of equipment to another). The one big benefit was it monitored actual trigger time, which is far less than people thought. We were able to download various information from the system. The thing that let it down was the software, it didn't quite do what we wanted, there was something I wanted from the system that seemed obvious to me at the time, but it simply didn't do. I guess the software will have moved on as this was about 4/5 years ago. Sorry for the life of me I cannot remember what I had a problem with. Once the employees understood that it was not some sort of time and motion study to make them work harder they were ok with it.

From my experience there are 3 types of systems on the market, ordered in increasing cost/complexity: 1. Movement induced tool timers such as 'HAVi' & Reactec meters which require the known input of the tools vibration on to the device which then alarms after a set period of use. Complications can arise when multiple tools are used throughout the day. 2. Wireless/scan systems which can incorporate a worker using various tools for various times which can attempt to provide actual usage and exposure on a daily weekly basis, but still require individual tools exposures are known. 3. Actual dosimeter systems which measure the actual vibration emitted by the tool in addition to the time used which can also include a wireless / individual logging system such as 'HAVSense'. These can be tool or even glove based The first 2 require you to still measure your tools and accessories vibration levels, the practicality of this will depend on the number of tools you use including accessories / combinations. This will still give you a good idea of likely exposures but far from 100% accurate - due to user variation, deterioration of tools / accessories over time, angle, charge, pressure applied etc... The 3rd option I have only seen on the market recently measures actual exposure, not assumed/calculated exposure. The system which works right for you will depend on your budget, size of workforce and tool/accessory catalogue. To be honest, I don't / wouldnt use one, but it depends on what you hope to get out of it. Des