Edinburgh-based noise and vibration expert Reactec is set to protect the health and safety of millions of workers in the UK with the global launch of a pioneering electronic monitoring and protection device.
With some 1000 new cases of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome reported each year to the Health and Safety Executive and an estimated two million workers in the UK at risk, it is widely accepted that stringent measures are required to further protect tool operators from this harmful disorder.
The HAVmeter is the first device in the world that can record workers’ exposure to Hand Arm Vibration and alert employees when they are approaching their legal vibration exposure limit. It does this by giving power tool users a running total of their vibration point’s exposure throughout the day and warning them before high exposure levels are reached.
Designed and developed over the last three years in close collaboration with major global construction companies, public bodies and local industries, the low-cost ground-breaking device has widespread implications for protecting the health and safety of million of workers within the construction, highways, manufacturing and automotive sectors.
Reactec Managing Director Mark-Paul Buckingham said, “The launch of the HAVmeter means that, for the first time, organisations can access crucial real-time information on individual exposure rates to Hand Arm Vibration. This means that the health and welfare of workforces across the construction, road and automotive industries can now be more closely monitored than ever before.
“Reactec has invested significantly in developing a system that meets the demanding needs of various industrial sectors. From design to delivery, we’ve maintained close contact with the major companies and organisations involved with solving the health and safety issues that Hand-Arm-Vibration poses to ensure that the HAVmeter does exactly what is required by the market.
“The HAVmeter will provide those organisations that adopt it with a significant return on investment. That’s why our first production run has been almost entirely allocated by customers placing pre-orders.”
The device works by providing visual warnings to the operator when they are approaching prescribed maximum daily exposure levels as set by the Health and Safety Executive. As such, it increases the accuracy of health and safety data and eliminates the need for operators to complete laborious daily paper-based records of vibration levels.
The system features four main components: a durable, colour-coded tool tag on each piece of equipment; a magnetic swipe card for each operator; rugged HAVmeter, which is both dust and water proof, and a base station which will incorporate up to eight individual HAVmeters.
Following a two year collaboration with Tarmac, incorporating extensive on-site testing of the system, the HAVmeter is currently being rolled-out across the UK by Tarmac’s National Contracting division. This national roll-out will ensure the device is used by over 1000 Tarmac employees nationwide.
Established in June 2001 as a spin-out from the University of Edinburgh, Reactec is a high growth company working in the engineering sector. Reactec is dedicated to creating new possibilities in the field of vibration control and monitoring.
ENDS
For more information please call Mark-Paul Buckingham 0131 221 0930
Issued on behalf of Reactec by Liquorice Media tel 0141 564 8058 or 07971 823651
Date 12th June 08
Notes to Editors
• Each tool is allocated a tag - colour coded green, orange or red - to signify the general level of vibration produced and the recommended safe daily dosage.
• Using a personal swipe card, each operator signs-out a HAVmeter from the base station which attaches magnetically to the tool tag on the equipment.
• Information held on an RFiD chip within the tool tag – tool manufacturer, model, unique ID, average tool vibration level – is automatically uploaded to the HAVmeter.
• At the end of the working day, the HAVmeter is returned to the base station where the unit is recharged and the vibration data automatically saved to the station’s internal memory. Information is then downloaded onto the organisation’s Health and Safety database, where operator exposure records and HAV trends analysed
