Introduction

The New ‘Control of Vibration at Work’ Regulations 2005 came into force on 6th July 2005 covering Hand-Arm (HAV) and Whole-Body Vibration (WBV). This Legislation represents a formalised approach to Human Vibration risk assessment and control, such as we previously had in the HSE publication HS(G)88 and other limited guidance on Whole Body Vibration.

The regulations introduce Action and Limit values, compulsory health surveillance, weekly averaging and stricter monitoring protocols, this piece of law has more to it than might appear on the surface.

There is also another major issue not addressed by this legislation and one that industry must take into account and that is potential litigation; it is very often the case that complying with the regulations will only take you part way to protecting your organisation from claims!

The legislation text can be downloaded from the HSE web site and a guidance book is available from HSE books, which is a must for anyone with potential Vibration risks. This article looks at the main changes from the original position as well as some of the issues employers are going to face as a result

So what's new and what does it all mean

Following wide industry consultation, the regulations were introduced in July 2005. The following details the main points and any changes from the existing guidance.