Anyone working in the energy industry will understand the risk of hand and arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
Workers in the industry, who are consistently using power tools, are at risk of over-exposure to vibration. Prolonged and regular exposure to vibration is the cause of pain and disabling disorders of blood vessels, nerves and joints, which can lead to white finger, and in some cases inability to work. HAVs is preventable, but once the damage is done it is permanent.
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations provide guidance on control methods to reduce or prevent the risk, however most methods used fail to accurately determine daily exposure and provide very little value in reducing risk.
Gary Taylor, business development director at First Integrated, part of the First Tech Group, explains: “We have always worked to provide maintenance and management services. We rent and supply low vibration power tools, and we carry out onshore and offshore vibration assessments and analysis.
“But the one thing we couldn’t provide, that the market was asking for, was an ATEX monitor to allow companies and individuals to manage their risk of vibration exposure in hazardous areas in real time; a paperless, wearable tech solution that would take away the need for guesstimating and any elements of doubt on the exposure they’ve had to HAVS, and also give employers improved protection from liability claims.”
And it was from this realisation that the exclusive partnership deal between First Integrated and HAVi Technologies Ltd was born.
HAVi Technologies Ltd is a market leader in HAVS risk management. For the best part of 15 years, HAVi has been developing solutions which have been tried, tested and approved in the harshest of environments.
“We carried out some market research on the products available, and engaged with HAVi,” says Gary. “We found that our culture and their culture fit well together, and we shared the goal of providing a holistic, safe solution for managing HAVS risk.
“The collaboration made sense; we signed an exclusive partnership deal for the energy sector.”
The HAVi equipment is an element of compliance with regulations put in place to manage the health and safety of employees who use vibratory power tools. Elements of this new service include the supply of industry recognised low vibration tools, vibration analysis carried out in accordance with BS EN ISO 5349-2 (Mechanical Vibration Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration) complete with HAVi ATEX trigger timers and watches pre-set and ready to use, together with full back up and support to implement the system and provide paperless monitoring of the risks to their workforce.
“We are offering a real-time solution with wearable tech that can work out and calculate workers’ exposure, to the second, to protect them from the negative effects of vibration white finger,” adds Gary.
But HAVS is not the only risk managed by the work of First Integrated. The company also supplies the energy industry with a range of equipment including powered respirators and Working at Height Tooling accessories designed to reduce the risk of injury from dropping power tools from a height.
CleanSpace Respirators are the world’s only smart respirator, delivering the highest level of protection of a Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR). CleanSpace has a range of P3 filters and combination gas filters to suit a range of industries. The respirators have a simple one button operation, are easy to put on, are compatible with other PPE, require few parts and low inventory and require no service and maintenance.
Working at Height Tooling is one of the highest risk areas in any scope of work. Through adopting safe working processes by securing power tools when working at height can significantly reduce near miss and dropped object incidents. First Integrated offer bespoke branded project kits and complete suites of holistic working at height products.
“Ultimately,” says Gary, “we are aiming to protect the future of all those working in the energy sector, working towards the prevention of harm or illness.”
If you would like to know more about First Integrated products, please get in touch at firstintegrated.co.uk
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