Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome
Course Overview
This short course provides you with an introduction to Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome, otherwise known as HAVS. You will learn about the symptoms and consequences of the disorder along with the risks, responsibilities and laws.
Course Content
This hand arm vibration syndrome course explains HAVS as a group of conditions caused by regular use of vibrating hand-held tools, including vibration white finger, nerve and muscle damage, and reduced grip strength.
HAVS awareness e-learning is built around the legal framework set out in the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, which introduced two key thresholds for hand-arm vibration: the exposure action value (EAV) of 2.5 m/s² A(8), at which employers must introduce technical and organisational measures to reduce exposure, and the exposure limit value (ELV) of 5.0 m/s² A(8), which must not be exceeded.
Vibration white finger training covers the early and late-stage symptoms of HAVS: numbness, tingling and reduced sense of touch, progressing to permanent numbness, loss of strength, and the characteristic whitening of fingers associated with vibration white finger itself.
Choosing lower-vibration tools, maintaining equipment properly, and limiting trigger time all reduce daily vibration exposure. The course covers how tool selection is one of the most effective practical controls available, before relying on exposure time limits alone.
HAVS health surveillance training covers the employer's duty to provide health surveillance for employees regularly exposed to vibration above the action value, so that early signs of HAVS are caught before permanent damage occurs.
Anyone who regularly uses vibrating hand-held power tools, such as grinders, drills, breakers and chainsaws, is potentially at risk and needs to understand when they're exposed and how to reduce that exposure.
Anyone using vibrating tools regularly as part of their job, plus supervisors responsible for managing vibration exposure across a team.
Course Duration
40 mins
Course Certification
Approved by CPD
