Posted By Ken John
Hey everyone.
I have been asked to put a system together for vibration for the lads on the factory floor.

A bit of background
We have had lots of vibration testing done both internally and externally, numerous records have been collated.
Employees have been monitored to see exactly how often they use vibration tools during their job, and how much exposure they have.
It has been extensive.

In the main, we are talking about grinders in various sizes used for steel fabrication. We currently provide times which state how long it would take to reach the 2.5m value depending on the size, type of disc, or application (cutting/grinding).

As you could imagine this takes a lot to work out for some of the lads. "Have I been using this grinder for 10 minutes or 30"? What if I use one type of grinder and then another? etc etc.

My manager believes this is not ideal and I tend to agree. We want to give enough information to the lads so that they will not be over exposed. Unfortunately the use of grinders is currently part of the job and while we have made efforts to reduce the need for grinding applications, sometimes it is still required.

After all the testing of tools we have found that one current manufacturer has a grinder which has very little exposure to vibration during trigger time. So, we have begun to replace our older machines with these new ones. I understand that the vibration will increase over time and use of the grinder, when it becomes to an unacceptable level we will simply replace new for old, with planned maintenance in between.

So back to my original query.

Has anyone got a system that they may use at the moment which provides the users with the information so they do not over expose themselves (we cannot employ someone to watch over each person during their shift). They must look after themselves to some degree, but I would like the system to be simple enough.

I am aware of the HSE points system, does anyone have experience of this and does it work well. I still think there will be some element of mathematics involved for our lads, particularly if they begin to use different tools.

Ideally, if there was one grinder that no matter how much you used it you would never be exposed then that would be fantastic.

Any information would be great. Sorry for my ramblings and thanks in advance.

Ken

Posted By allan wood
have you looked at using in line tool timers. these can be pre-set and once a determined level of exposure is met, the device would then stop the vibratory tool from being used. these type of devices would then have to be re-set usually by means of a key held by a designated person such as a line manager.