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Workplace health - vibration law
Vibration at work causes permanent, disabling injury - and the law requires employers to control it. The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 cover both hand-arm vibration, from hand-held tools, and whole-body vibration, from vehicles and machinery, setting exposure values that trigger action. Here are the vibration regulations explained, for any employer whose people are exposed.
The short answer
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 place duties on employers to assess and control their workers' exposure to vibration, which causes permanent injury. They cover two kinds. Hand-arm vibration comes from hand-held vibrating tools and causes hand-arm vibration syndrome - permanent nerve and blood-vessel damage; its Exposure Action Value (EAV) is 2.5 m/s2 A(8), at which controls must be introduced, and its Exposure Limit Value (ELV) is 5 m/s2 A(8), which must not be exceeded. Whole-body vibration comes from vehicles and machinery transmitting vibration through the seat or feet, and is linked to back pain and injury; its EAV is 0.5 m/s2 A(8) and its ELV is 1.15 m/s2 A(8). For both, the employer must assess the exposure, introduce controls when the EAV is reached, keep exposure below the ELV, and provide health surveillance where there is a risk. The Regulations turn the abstract hazard of vibration into a measurable, manageable duty - which is why understanding them matters for any employer whose people use vibrating tools or vehicles.
Why vibration is regulated
Vibration at work is regulated because it causes permanent, disabling injury - which is why the law requires it to be controlled rather than left to chance. Regular exposure to vibration, transmitted into the body through the hands from tools or through the seat and feet from vehicles and machinery, damages the body over time, and the damage does not heal. So vibration is not a minor nuisance but a cause of lasting harm, and the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 exist to require employers to manage the risk and prevent the injury, given that once done it cannot be undone.
The Regulations reflect the seriousness of the harm by placing clear duties on employers and setting specific exposure values that trigger action. Rather than leaving it to judgement, they define measurable thresholds and require action at them, giving vibration control a concrete, legally-backed framework. This matters because vibration injury builds up gradually and unnoticed, so without a framework requiring assessment and control at defined levels, it would be easy to let exposure accumulate until the harm is done. The Regulations force the issue: assess the exposure, act at the action value, do not exceed the limit value. So the reason vibration is regulated, and regulated with specific values, is the permanence of the injury - the law making sure the risk is managed before the irreversible harm occurs.
Hand-arm vibration
The first kind the Regulations cover is hand-arm vibration - vibration transmitted to the hands and arms through hand-held vibrating tools and equipment, such as grinders, breakers, sanders and many others. Regular exposure causes hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), permanent damage to the nerves, blood vessels and joints of the hands - including vibration white finger, loss of sensation and grip, and joint problems - which does not heal once established. So hand-arm vibration from tools is a cause of serious, lasting hand injury, which the Regulations require employers to control.
For hand-arm vibration, the Regulations set an Exposure Action Value (EAV) of 2.5 m/s2 A(8) - a daily exposure averaged over an eight-hour day - at which the employer must introduce measures to reduce the exposure, and an Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 5 m/s2 A(8), which must not be exceeded. So reaching the EAV triggers a duty to bring in controls, and the ELV is a ceiling that exposure must be kept below. Exposure is assessed by combining the vibration level of the tools with how long they are used, to estimate the daily exposure against these values. These figures give employers a concrete framework for the hand-arm risk: measure where workers stand against the EAV and ELV, control when the action value is reached, and never exceed the limit. That is how the Regulations turn the hand-arm vibration hazard into a manageable duty.
Whole-body vibration
The second kind the Regulations cover is whole-body vibration - vibration transmitted through the whole body, usually through the seat or the feet, from driving vehicles or operating machinery over rough surfaces or that vibrates. This affects people who drive or operate plant, vehicles, and machinery - on construction sites, in agriculture, in transport, and elsewhere - where the vibration passes into the body through the seat or standing surface. Whole-body vibration is linked to back pain and back injury, and prolonged exposure is associated with lasting harm to the back and spine. So it is a distinct vibration hazard from hand-arm, affecting a different part of the body and a different group of workers, but likewise a cause of injury the Regulations require to be controlled.
For whole-body vibration, the Regulations set lower exposure values, reflecting the different way it affects the body: an Exposure Action Value (EAV) of 0.5 m/s2 A(8), at which the employer must introduce controls, and an Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 1.15 m/s2 A(8), which must not be exceeded. As with hand-arm, the exposure is assessed against these values, controls are required at the action value, and the limit value is a ceiling. So the Regulations handle whole-body vibration on the same principle as hand-arm - assess, act at the EAV, stay below the ELV - but with values suited to whole-body exposure. An employer whose workers drive vehicles or operate vibrating machinery has to consider whole-body vibration under the Regulations just as one whose workers use vibrating tools has to consider hand-arm. Both are covered, both have their values, and both must be assessed and controlled.
What the Regulations require
The duties the Regulations place on employers, for both kinds of vibration, follow a consistent pattern. First, assess the exposure: identify where workers are exposed to vibration, and assess the level against the exposure values, so the employer knows where they stand. Second, control the exposure: where the action value is reached, introduce measures to reduce it - lower-vibration tools or vehicles, less time exposed, maintenance, good working practices - and ensure the limit value is not exceeded. The aim is to reduce exposure so far as is reasonably practicable, and at least to keep it under control relative to the values. Third, provide health surveillance where there is a risk to health - monitoring exposed workers for early signs of vibration injury, so that if it is starting, it can be caught and their exposure reduced.
Together these duties give a clear compliance framework: know the exposure, control it against the values, and watch for harm. For an employer, meeting them means going through the vibration exposures in the workplace - the tools, the vehicles, the machinery - assessing each against the relevant values, bringing in controls where the action values are reached, keeping exposure below the limit values, and putting health surveillance in place where the risk warrants it. This is how the abstract requirement to control vibration becomes a set of concrete actions. Understanding the Regulations - the two kinds of vibration, their exposure values, and the duties to assess, control and survey - is what lets an employer meet the duty properly. And since vibration injury is permanent, meeting the duty is not a formality but the way to prevent lasting harm to the workers exposed. The Regulations are the framework; controlling the exposure is the point.
The takeaway
The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 require employers to assess and control their workers' exposure to vibration, which causes permanent injury. They cover hand-arm vibration - from hand-held tools, causing HAVS, with an EAV of 2.5 m/s2 A(8) and an ELV of 5 m/s2 A(8) - and whole-body vibration - from vehicles and machinery, linked to back injury, with an EAV of 0.5 m/s2 A(8) and an ELV of 1.15 m/s2 A(8). For both, the exposure values set a threshold at which controls must be introduced and a ceiling that must not be exceeded, turning the hazard into a measurable, manageable duty.
The duties follow a consistent pattern for both kinds: assess the exposure against the values, control it where the action value is reached and keep it below the limit value, and provide health surveillance where there is a risk. Meeting them means going through the vibration exposures in the workplace, assessing each, controlling where needed, and watching for harm. Because vibration injury is permanent, this is not a formality but the way to prevent lasting damage. So for any employer whose people use vibrating tools or drive vibrating vehicles, understanding the Regulations - the two kinds, their values, and the duties to assess, control and survey - is what lets them meet the duty and protect their workers from an injury that, once done, cannot be undone.
Questions
They require employers to assess and control their workers' exposure to vibration, which causes permanent injury. This means assessing the exposure against set values, introducing controls when the action value is reached, keeping exposure below the limit value, and providing health surveillance where there is a risk to health. They cover both hand-arm and whole-body vibration.
Hand-arm vibration, from hand-held vibrating tools, which causes hand-arm vibration syndrome (permanent nerve and blood-vessel damage to the hands); and whole-body vibration, from vehicles and machinery transmitting vibration through the seat or feet, which is linked to back pain and injury. They affect different parts of the body and different workers, but both are covered by the Regulations.
An Exposure Action Value (EAV) of 2.5 m/s2 A(8) - a daily exposure over an eight-hour day - at which the employer must introduce measures to reduce exposure, and an Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 5 m/s2 A(8), which must not be exceeded. Exposure is assessed by combining the tool's vibration level with how long it is used, against these values.
Lower than for hand-arm, reflecting the different exposure: an Exposure Action Value (EAV) of 0.5 m/s2 A(8), at which controls must be introduced, and an Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 1.15 m/s2 A(8), which must not be exceeded. As with hand-arm, exposure is assessed against these values, controls required at the action value, and the limit value a ceiling.
Assess the vibration exposures in the workplace against the relevant values; control the exposure where an action value is reached (lower-vibration tools or vehicles, less time, maintenance, good practices) and keep it below the limit value; and provide health surveillance where there is a risk, to catch early signs of injury. The pattern - assess, control, survey - applies to both kinds of vibration.
HAVS - hand-arm vibration syndrome - is the injury that hand-arm vibration causes, and the Regulations are the law that requires it to be prevented by controlling the exposure. So the Regulations are the legal framework, and HAVS is the specific permanent injury on the hand-arm side that the framework exists to prevent. Whole-body vibration, the other side, has its own associated injuries, chiefly to the back.
Controlling workplace health hazards - vibration, dust, fume - is about assessing and managing exposure. We test the LEV that controls airborne hazards, part of the same duty to protect workers' health.
