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HAVS can lead to a range of health issues including hand-arm vibration syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, nerve damage, and musculoskeletal disorders.
These conditions can cause pain, numbness, reduced grip strength, and decreased dexterity, which can significantly impact the affected employee's ability to perform their job effectively. It can also lead to long-term health complications and reduced quality of life.
Employers have a legal obligation to provide a safe working environment and protect the health and well-being of their employees. Failure to address HAVS hazards can result in legal liabilities, compensation claims, and increased insurance costs.
The device is a wearable wristband that uses an accelerometer to calculate when users are approaching an EAV (Exposure Action Value) or ELV (Exposure Limit Value).
Thresholds are broken up into low, medium, high and severe - allowing Health & Safety Managers to get a simple view on the levels of exposure each worker (or wearable) is facing.
spacebands’ simple dashboard gives insights on time of exposure and level of exposure to hand arm vibration, allowing workers to stay within HSE advised limits.
We offer a simple health surveillance solution; no need to rely on busy workers to mess about with complicated tool tagging systems.
In order to use spacebands HAVS system, you will need the equipment below:
spacebands’ wearable wristband tracks vibration levels through an accelerometer within the device.
When a vibration threshold event occurs, the time and date of the event and the duration and severity of the event is stored to the analytics dashboard. Exposure measurement is tracked with accumulated time count in a day for each wearable and at what threshold level the exposure occurred at.
Configured to low, medium, high and severe thresholds
Length of time in seconds alert runs
Vibrate/Light/Beep
Length of time exposure permitted
According to the International Labour Organization, around 2 million workers worldwide are exposed to hand-arm vibration in their workplaces, and up to 50% of these workers could develop HAV-related health problems.
In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that in 2019/2020, there were 486 new cases of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) reported, and 61% of these cases resulted in more than 20 days off work.
In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that 2 million workers are exposed to hand-arm vibration, and that as many as half of them will develop HAV-related health issues.
spacebands are helping Health & Safety managers around the world reduce accidents, injuries and legal claims
spacebands were a game-changer for us. We can now monitor HAVS and loud noise easily on workers moving between different areas on site. Now I feel confident we have the best tools to keep our team safe.
We started off with spacebands on one site, and we've just rolled them out on another 3 sites. We don't just use them for NIHL, but also for HAVS, machine collisions and PPE reminders.
We find them really useful to get an overview on different hazards and the team actually use them, which makes my life easier!
One of the potential hurdles for us was our trade union, who quite rightly, want to protect the privacy of our workers. spacebands work anonymously, you could assign a wearable to a specific worker, but we use it holisticallly to measure exposure levels in a more general sense.
We got spacebands thinking it would be the devices keeping people safe, but we weren't expecting the level of detail in the analytics platform and the suggestions it provides to improve safety. It's allowed us to see areas in need of improvement.
Investing in spacebands is a great way to prove to your workforce that you genuinely care about their safety and well-being at work.
Our system keeps employees safe, as well as saving HSE managers significant time spent on admin, freeing up time to focus on keeping your team safe.
spacebands are helping Health & Safety managers around the world reduce accidents, injuries and legal claims
While staying below the EAV/ELV is a crucial step in ensuring worker safety, it doesn't guarantee complete compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.
Other factors that need to be considered include:
Risk assessment, PPE and emergency procedures.
spacebands HAVS feature is a great solution for monitoring exposure levels but alone it does not guarantee HSE compliance.
All HAVS information is saved on each wearable device and uploaded to the analytics dashboard when the device is charged. Information is saved on the dashboard over time and you can look back at different date ranges and share this with your insurance company - only if you would like to do so!
A HAV monitoring device can help your company to protect the health and safety of workers who use vibrating tools and equipment, comply with health and safety regulations, prevent work-related injuries and illnesses, and reduce workers' compensation costs.
While regular monitoring for HAVS is important, it should be part of a comprehensive approach to preventing and managing the condition, including risk assessments, preventive measures, and regular health surveillance.
A Hand-Arm Vibration monitoring device is a tool used to measure the level of vibration emitted by tools and equipment used by workers, which can help to identify the risk of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). HAV devices can help employers to identify the risk of HAVS and implement appropriate preventive measures.
spacebands device is a single-axis accelerometer: measuring vibration in a single direction from the wrist. The HAVS safety feature is intended as a rough guide to exposure to hand arm vibration.
There are more accurate devices on the market, but none that offer the range of features spacebands offer.
spacebands' HAVS feature allows H&S Managers to get a simple overview of exposure levels for individual workers.
