Has anyone else been advised to X2 the HAV magnitude of hand tools to get the true Magnitude. We have been advised by the HSE to do this after changing all our tools. I have read the EU good practice guide to HAV that recommends this practice. I thought test under the ISO would be sufficient for the magnitude according to the manufacturers guidance. Although I am aware that the test is carried out under test conditions and not in normal use.

Invictus I have just completed a review of HAVS in our organisation and am happy to share my findings. We use angle grinders for dressing fabricated units, and we have approximately 50 workers using angle grinders all day. I made a list of all the different types of angle grinders and put the manufacturers figures onto a spreadsheet, for both soft pad and hard disc. Next I joined an organisation called HAVTEC, which tests vibratory tools. I put their figures into the spreadsheet for comparism. Next I hired a Castle vibration monitor and measured the vibration levels of the different grinders, calculated the vector sums and put these readings into the spreadsheet. I found that both my measurements, and those of HAVTECs were within 10% of the manufacturers data, something which could have been caused by wear and tear on the grinders. The organisation has gone on to buy some HAVI monitors which record the trigger time in points like the HSE calculator. Hope this helps.

To answer the original question, this used to be the case when the old ISO allowed tools to be tested by the manufacturer running in free air rather than in actual use....(under-estimation). The new standard is a lot more realistic, and the HSE's advice has been updated (badly) to reflect this (if they read their own advice): http://www.hse.gov.uk/vi...tion/hav/regulations.htm "" Please be aware: Please refer to page 6, 'Estimating exposure,' second paragraph - "However, if the only information available to you is the vibration emission declared in the equipment’s handbook, it may be safer to double this figure before using it for estimating daily exposures." - Due to the implementation (29/12/2009) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, supplementary European Standards have been revised to help manufacturers provide information that can be used to estimate daily HAV exposure - see Estimating Exposure. "" So realistically it will depend on the age of the measurements you have and how they were taken - the standard used may be available in the manufacturers guidance. Des