Health Surveillance
Health surveillance services ensure compliance with HSE legislation, provide a risk management solution, and assist employees to continue to work at full health throughout their career With the use of our onsite and offsite services we are able to carry out the following health surveillance on sites across the UK.
Audio
If the noise level in your workplace exceeds the upper exposure value of 85dB(A), an employee would have a predisposed risk to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
Workplace hearing tests help you to fulfill your legal requirements by Identifying employees that show early signs of hearing damage, Providing an opportunity to prevent hearing damage from getting worse, and Checking the effectiveness of existing control measures.
Pre-employment audiometry testing should take place to establish a baseline of hearing, followed by annual testing for the first two years of employment. An audiometry may then be carried out over three-yearly intervals. Where a hearing abnormality is identified or the risk of hearing damage is high audiometry may be carried out more frequently.
Lung Function Test
Lung function studies form part of higher-level surveillance for occupational asthma and are required for workers exposed to products or processes including R42/43, isocyanates, dust from flour grain or wood, solder fume, glues, and resins.
Skin Analysis
Skin inspections are required to determine the ‘local effects’ following exposure to hazardous substances known to cause dermatitis, sensitisation, or de-pigmentation of the skin. Skin surveillance can be carried out in conjunction with other health surveillance on or off-site.
Hand Arm Vibration
An important health and safety issue facing many heavy-industry and construction workers is the risk of vibration injury from certain handheld tools that leads to a condition called hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
The tools most likely to create risk include chainsaws, grinders, jackhammers, floor polishers, and impact drills. The occupations that involve regular and frequent exposure to vibration include but are not limited to:
- Construction
- Forestry
- Automotive industry
- Shipbuilding and repair
- Foundries
- Rail
The Control of Vibrations at work regulations 2005 defines a daily exposure action value and a daily exposure limit value for hand transmitted vibration (HTV).