Hi All, 

The Company I work services and repairs large diesel engines that drive generators and pumps worldwide. One of our engineers has had a defibrillator fitted and at present this is preventing us sending him out on jobs, as we do not know, be certain, of  the EMF levels he may be exposed to, particularly when working outside the UK/EU.

We have had an EMF Assessment carried out on a typical site here in the UK. This has revealed that there are areas and equipment that he must stay away from, e.g. some motors, generators and HV cabling etc. We are in the process of putting up warning signs and safe distance floor marking demarcations.

We found that motors of a similar size, appearance and function emit different levels of EMF. So this will prevent him going near equipment when it is operating, thus restricting his ability to work. The engine he would be working on would be isolated but sub systems on the engine, cooling water, lub oil etc. may still be in operation, thus he may be exposed to levels of EMF that may affect his implant.

My issue is that not all sites we work around the world will have an EMF assessment in place and will not know where EMF levels are high. This puts our engineer at risk.

At present I am not happy to agree to send this engineer to work on customer sites as there may other equipment away from what we are working on, that also may affect his implant.

The company who carried our EMF assessment told us that you can buy personal EMF dosimeters that can be set to warn the individual that they are approaching an EMF and that they need to move away from the equipment.

As yet I have been unable to source such a monitor. Can anybody offer any suggestions?

Sorry, to ramble, but I am wondering if we will be able to continue to employ the engineer, but then that raises all sorts of HR issues. I can’t see how we can make reasonable adjustments to his role to totally remove him from all sources of EMF.  Any help, thoughts or advice on how we can manage this risk on sites not controlled by ourselves will again be appreciated.

Thanks

Originally Posted by: Tim Eaves

The company who carried our EMF assessment told us that you can buy personal EMF dosimeters that can be set to warn the individual that they are approaching an EMF and that they need to move away from the equipment.

If you work in a global market your employees must be able to service that market.

Sending an engineer (I am going to presume as a lone worker or vital member of a small time restricted team) with a device that prevents approaching particular equipment is going to impede execution of contract.

The what if's include:

- why have you not considered other employees carrying such devices for their protection (you state you do not know what levels to expect at the customer site)

- what to do if the monitor is broken or malfunctioning upon arrival at site

- who would complete the task if the engineer should not approach (likely there will be client expectation of timely completion rather than waiting for another engineer to be sent)

- are the company insurers happy with the risk of this engineering potentially falling ill abroad?

Ill health retirement is unfortunate but for some a reality.

This is a question that only a medically qualified person can answer, in particular a person who understands the function of the ICD that has been fitted to that individual. They should be able to advise based on the parameters of the device if it is safe to work in an environment with a particular level of EMF. I would not be happy to rely on a device to warn the employee if it there is a dangerous level of EMF, since there is no guarantee that device will give a warning BEFORE the ICD goes wrong. It would be a bit like wearing a device that warns of carbon monoxide set at a level just below a the lethal level rather than the WEL.