LEV Testing · Barrow-in-Furness
From the shipyard fabrication halls to the engineering and finishing units, Barrow workplaces raise fume, mist and dust that the law says must be controlled - and the control proven by a thorough examination and test.
Barrow builds submarines, and the fabrication halls that raise the pressure-hull sections weld and grind heavy steel a shift long. Where a hall welds thick section and grinds the weld back the manganese-bearing fume and the grinding dust are real - and much of it happens inside a hull section, a confined space a worker cannot walk away from - and the yard's machining and finishing add oil mist and abrasive dust, all things a worker should not breathe.
Local exhaust ventilation is what captures it at source, and the law does not take the control on trust. Under COSHH the on-torch capture, the confined-space extraction and the grinding capture have to be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, measured against how they are used, not just switched on and assumed to work.
CNC and manual machining raises oil mist and metal dust at the enclosure and bench that has to be captured at source.
Flour, powders and steam need capture at the mixing and process points, from bakeries to production kitchens.
Saws, sanders and routers throw fine wood dust that has to be drawn off at the tool and the bench.
Weld fume and grinding dust need capture at the arm and booth, wherever steel is fabricated.
Bodyshop spray booths and prep bays carry paint mist and solvent vapour that the extraction has to hold and clear.
Fume cupboards, safety cabinets and dental and salon extraction all count as LEV and all fall due on the same clock.
Real jobs, described by sector and area - never by a client's name.
At a shipyard fabrication hall in Barrow, welding and grinding pressure-hull sections, the on-torch and portable weld-fume capture had lost draw and manganese fume was building inside the sections. We measured capture at the torch and in the confined hull bays, checked the ducting and the filter, and found a unit below duty and blocked capture dragging the run. We set out the remedial action, and re-tested to confirm the control before certifying.
At an engineering unit on the Park Road area near Barrow, the mist extraction and grinding capture over the machining had lost draw and the shop was hazing by mid-shift. We measured capture and face velocities at each point, checked the ducting and the filters, and reported what needed putting right so it held its spec on a re-test.
Condition of hoods, ducting, filters and fan - the damage, blockage and wear that quietly drops performance.
Measured capture and face velocities at the working points, plus transport velocity and static pressure through the system.
The readings assessed against how the LEV should perform to actually control the exposure - not just whether the fan turns.
Where the process warrants it, sampling to confirm the control is keeping the substance out of the breathing zone.
A thorough examination and test under COSHH is a real assessment, not a rubber stamp. It is a structured examination of the system's condition, measurement of its actual performance, and an assessment of those readings against how the system should perform to control the exposure. It follows the HSE's guidance, HSG258, and ends in a report and a label.
We test to the HSE's guidance, HSG258, and the job ends in a report and a label on the plant: what was measured, what passed, what needs putting right, and the date the next test falls due.
We examine the hoods, ducting, filter and fan and identify how each is meant to control its process.
We record capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure at every key point.
The readings are assessed against the design intent under HSG258, with a clear verdict on control.
The plant is labelled with the result and next-due date, and you get the report for the COSHH file.
At least every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9 - and sooner for certain higher-risk processes. We set the right interval for what you run and put the next-due date on the label and the report.
A thorough-examination-and-test report against HSG258, a pass/fail on each point with any remedials listed, and a dated label on the plant showing when the next test falls due.
We set out exactly what failed and why - often a single reading such as static pressure or capture velocity - so it can be put right, and we re-test to confirm the control before certifying.
Yes - the the Park Road and Ironworks Road areas and the town's units, and across Barrow-in-Furness and the wider Cumbria.
No - any LEV: welding fume arms, wood and grain dust systems, spray booths, mist extraction, fume cupboards, and dental and salon extraction all fall under the same duty and the same clock.
Barrow builds submarines in its dockside halls beside the Park Road engineering units, welding and grinding heavy steel, much of it in confined hull sections - raising manganese weld fume, grinding dust and oil mist. Every one carries a duty to control what its work throws off - and to prove it with a measured test.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Cumbria and the UK. From a machine shop to a joinery, a spray booth or a lab fume cupboard, the job ends the same way: measured readings, a clear verdict, and a label whose next-due date you can rely on.
Tell us what you run and we will examine, measure, report and label it to HSG258 - across Cumbria.
