For some people, symptoms may appear after only a few months of exposure, but for others they may take a few years. They are likely to get worse with continued exposure to vibration and may become permanent.
Once exposure has ceased, one would generally expect the symptoms to manifest within 18 months, if not before. Symptoms of HAVS generally start with numbness and/or tingling in the fingers and may also be accompanied by a blanching (whiteness) in the finger tips.
Stage 1 - mild, with only occasional attacks affecting the tips of one or more fingers. Stage 2 - moderate, with occasional attacks affecting the distal or middle phalanges of one or more fingers. Stage 3 - severe, with frequent attacks affecting all phalanges of most fingers.
One of the first signs of HAVS you might notice is tingling in your fingers or hands. It might come and go, and you may notice it more at night or after using vibrating equipment.
It is probably due to slight but repeated injury to the small nerves and blood vessels in the fingers. Over time these may gradually lose some of their function and cause symptoms. Possibly, up to 1 in 10 people who work regularly with vibrating tools may develop HAVS.
The tests provide a quantitative assessment of the neurological and vascular state of the hands. The results of the tests are compared to normal values for diagnosis. A detailed report combines the findings from the interview and tests. The tests commence with a measure of grip strength and finger dexterity.
HAVS can be painful and cannot be cured, it can however be prevented. The Health & Safety Executive recommends that employees exposed to the use of vibrating tools are regularly checked.
How common is HAVS? The prevalence of HAVS ranges from 20-50% of exposed workers in certain occupational groups.
A time study shows that the trigger time for the hammer is 15 minutes per 8-hour shift. Results: The total exposure points value of 594 in this example exceeds the Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 400 points, indicating safe limits have been exceeded and employees are at significant risk of developing HAVS.
It's also important to remember that these are daily exposure limits. They are averaged over 8 hours because that is a standard work shift, but it doesn't mean that every 8 hours you can restart your vibration allowance. If you are going to be exposed for 10 hours, you still need to stay below the 8-hour average limit.
Improve the design of workstations to minimise loads on employees' hands, wrists and arms caused by poor posture. Use devices such as jigs and suspension systems to reduce the need to grip heavy tools tightly.
How often should HAVS be undertaken? Level 1 HAVS surveillance should be conducted at the new-starter stage. Level 2 HAVS surveillance should be conducted annually for those who do not have any symptoms of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) with a level 3 surveillance being conducted every 3 years.
HAVs affects the nerves, blood vessels, muscles and joints of the hand, wrist and arm. It is not just a discomfort. It can become seriously disabling, if ignored. The early signs are tingling and numbness in the fingers and loss of strength/grip in the hands.
HAVS is an abbreviation for Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome that harms the ability to feel sensation in your hands and arms which leads to permanent numbness and tingling in fingers, muscles and joints. In many cases, it also causes bouts of white finger.
Hand-arm vibration is vibration transmitted from work processes into workers' hands and arms. It can be caused by operating hand-held power tools, such as road breakers, and hand-guided equipment, such as powered lawnmowers, or by holding materials being processed by machines, such as pedestal grinders.
It is not usually possible to assess the vibration reduction provided in use by anti-vibration gloves, so you should not generally rely on them to provide protection from vibration. However, gloves and other warm clothing can be useful to protect vibration-exposed workers from cold, helping to maintain circulation.
The Exposure Limit Value (ELV) is the maximum amount of vibration an employee may be exposed to on any sin- gle day. For hand-arm vibration the ELV is a daily expo- sure of 5 m/s2 A(8). It represents a high risk above which employees should not be exposed.
If you are suffering from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) symptoms, you should make a claim for compensation. You will naturally have concerns about making a claim against your employer, but it is their legal duty to protect you at work and this condition is avoidable.
The aim of a HAVS Assessment is to find out which power tools or processes cause hand-arm vibration, understand which of your employees are at risk of overexposure to vibration at their place of work, and then to help you decide what you need to do to protect them.
The Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome is primarily caused by the use of vibrating hand-held tools, for instance, pneumatic jackhammers, drills, gas powered chain saws and electrical tools such as grinders. Such tools involve vibration which is transferred form the tool to the hands and arms of the person holding the tool.
Vibration syndrome has adverse circulatory and neural effects in the fingers. The signs and symptoms include numbness, pain, and blanching (turning pale and ashen).
Vibration-Induced White Finger (VWF), also known as "Dead Finger" or "Dead Hand" is the result of impaired circulation (poor blood supply in the fingers, caused by the prolonged use of vibrating tools. VWF may appear after only several months on the job, or may not appear until twenty to forty years on the job.
If your hand shakes after using power tools you may be developing symptoms caused by nerve damage. Not only this, but the blood vessels and joints in your fingers, hands, wrists and arms can become badly damaged by using powerful vibratory tools.