@Jane-2192 great to hear from ya! 

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to make vibration monitoring available to all our customers. In fact, this message is so well timed as we’re about to launch this in the next few days.

A quick couple of questions from me, what kind of information is most important in the vibration register? Are you referring to vibration exposure from things like power tools or more maintenance of equipment? Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts and see how we can help.

Amazing news Ideally, for most of my clients, a vibration register, to record who used what tools, what vibration rating they were and record how long they used them for. Ideally, it would be great if it determined exposure points like the HSE’s calculator. https://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav/calculator-guide.htm

Hi, @Jane-2192 - thanks for this info, really interesting.

Our vibration monitoring efforts have been focused more on machinery and preventative maintenance thus far but i’d be really keen to learn more about this and how we can help.

Could we set up a call, maybe the week commencing 03/06 to understand more?

In the UK we have the HSE points method for use of tools.

I am slightly confused with the question and the answer with regards to the following.

HAVS.

In the UK Hand Arm Vibration monitoring is something where we must try and record individual vibration.

This cannot be done in my opinion by just checking.

It is individual. There in SC we must have a link to the coal face front working personnel.

We currently have a log in system for all individuals. They get trained on HAVS and trigger times and the effect.

When they sign out via a tablet they enter the approx trigger times.

This is split in red amber and green zones.

Times are entered for any zones they may have been in.

Then they enter.

If the information is above the 1st or 2nd exposure levels then an alarm is activated and the site management effectively check why.

If an input error this is recorded.

If the work activity is the issue then we look at solutions.

So the HAVS monitoring is open to user interpretation so that is a flaw of the system. However we currently do not have resources to give all agency, contractors and flexible contractors devices that monitor and feedback live.

So my query relates to how SC intend to look at this. Is this going to be a Sensor they can utilise that links to the system for random testing.

Again with that it is limited because all personnel cannot use at the same time.

I look forward to hearing more on this subject as this is important in the UK and especially construction where I do not see any true systems to capture this.

The ability for SC training to cover HAVS is also positive but again this needs to be for all personnel.

It is a stark fact that at the moment based on cost for an average premium user account to access training and complete audits we can only expect in our sector that 5-10% inclusivity.

We really need to be having contractor management rolled out with inductions (HAVS module included as standard at registration)

Then is it covers all personnel who may be on site then record vibration exposure we then get to 90+ %.

This imo is where the current gap is with SC and need to be reviewed.

Yes it needs pricing in but needs to be feasible as then organisations can actively progress areas of monitoring and recording that are required and include the end user feeding in.

Example use of MEWPS.

Person using is the end user

They need to inspect.

Hence they should have access to the template for this via assets and a qr code scan that allows pre use inspection.

The same applies to vibration.

Regards John.

Apologies

For any text error - from mobile.

Hi John, 

Completely agree with everything you are saying :) 

I have been in contact with SC about their new contractor management module (which is in development) as it still has a lot of problems for the construction industry and my current workaround isn’t ideal. 

I can build a vibration register in SC and using my current workaround, can log it against an employee but a lot of my clients are still using the free version so it would require the Site Manager to complete the register on the operative’s behalf and this will never happen. I currently have employees in the asset module; this way, I can log inductions, return to work forms, PPE issue forms, etc., against each employee. It’s not an ideal setup, but it would mean I could log vibration registers against each employee for record keeping. I can trigger alerts up the chain this way, but like I said, it isn’t ideal. Most of my client's operatives don’t have a work phone or work email, so they cannot be free users even if my clients did pay for the system. 

Agreed with the end user needing to complete inspections, this is one of our issues too. Site Managers are the only ones with access, so they are the only ones logging inspections of plant and equipment. They don’t have time to complete all inspections so we are having to combine paper checks for end users along with SC checks which isn’t ideal. When I have had calls with SC developers they haven’t really thought about construction workers / sub-contractor operatives not having work phones or work emails.

The new contractor management module looks more like credentials whereas I think it should look more like the asset register. 

QR codes for assets should allow anyone with a phone to inspect an asset and not just submit a reactive report. Or a QR code for submitting your time using an asset to log vibration exposure. 

Hi @Jane-2192  Not sure if suitable, but have you looked at SC sensors?

We have gone through a lot of research and discussion and are rolling out air quality monitoring for our offices as part of our ESG commitment. 

Hi @jonnyg - thanks for the context, this is really interesting.

The vibration monitoring solution we have recently launched is more in regard to physical assets - by placing a vibration sensor on a key piece of machinery you can track anomalies and identify maintenance ahead of a break down. You can also set alerts when somethings falls outside of range and proactively manage your assets.

In regards to vibration monitoring to an individual though, we don’t have a solution in this area (yet!) but we are working hard on bringing more and more solutions via Sensors to our customers. We have had brief discussions previously about vibration sensors for hand tools and the ability to track individual vibration exposure however, nothing concrete came of that. We’ll keep looking for a way to solve this problem but if you come across a better way than the one you’ve mentioned above, please share with the community. 

It would be a very good driver to look into this. 

Vibration related diseases are on the rise.

Some methods are very expensive..

SC may have a solution if they have sensors that can be linked at an intermittent stage.

There is also the first example I gave where all personnel are trained to a std level and then we have a simple matrix that is in line with legislation and a simple record for all personnel to record.

There is a big cashcow for this solution as nearly every construction worker can be exposed to vibration whilst at work.

Ta John