LEV Testing · Clitheroe, Ribble Valley
If a workshop makes fume, mist or dust, the extraction that controls it has to be examined and tested - by law, and on time. We measure what the system actually does, and report it.
Behind the market town is a working town. The Salthill Industrial Estate and Lincoln Way, off the edge of the centre, are Clitheroe's manufacturing quarter - and the trades there are exactly the ones the law has in mind. Ultraframe builds its glass and solid conservatory roof systems from a Salthill Road factory that supports around 400 jobs; vehicle body and accident-repair work on Lincoln Way brings isocyanate paint mist and weld fume; trailer builders and general fabricators throw off welding fume; and the Ribblesdale cement works on the edge of town works mineral dust at industrial scale.
Every one of those processes needs local exhaust ventilation, and every LEV system that controls them must be thoroughly examined and tested, by law, at least every 14 months. Welding fume was reclassified by the HSE as a carcinogen in 2019; isocyanates from vehicle paint are the leading cause of occupational asthma in Great Britain; metalworking-fluid mist and metal dust off a machining line carry their own harm.
The extraction is what stands between the worker on the Salthill bench and those exposures - but only if it is genuinely capturing, not just running. A running fan is not proof of control; only measurement at the hood and through the ducting shows whether the system is still doing its job.
The hoods and capture points are where the system either catches the fume, mist or dust or lets it escape. We measure capture and face velocities where the contaminant is released.
We check the ducting for transport velocity and leaks and assess the filter or air cleaner - the parts that quietly degrade and drop a system below its design performance.
We test the fan performance and the discharge, and measure the static pressure across the system - the readings that reveal a system pulling below its design figure.
The point of a thorough examination and test is to prove the extraction still controls the exposure - so we measure it, we do not eyeball it. Condition, capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure are checked against the design intent under HSG258, and the result is written up and labelled on the plant.
Real jobs, described by sector and area - never by a client's name.
On a pre-planned maintenance visit to a metal fabrication shop, we found the capture velocity at the extraction hood was inadequate to control the process contaminant. We inspected all the ducting, joints and dampers for damage or leakage and re-tested following minor adjustments on site. The system failed on static pressure alone - every other reading was within tolerance - and a full statutory test certificate was issued once resolved. The client's own competent person had never seen a full instrumented test before and observed throughout; the test had to be paused briefly while a forklift cleared the test area.
The 14-month COSHH interval is a maximum, not a target, and the duty to have it done sits with the employer, not whoever fitted the system. That means a diary date and a report that proves, with readings, that the extraction was controlling the exposure on the day it was tested.
We examine the condition of the hoods, ducting, filter and fan and how each is meant to control its process.
We measure capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure at every key point.
The readings are judged against the design benchmark under HSG258, with a clear pass or fail on control.
The plant is labelled and you get the report and next-due date for your COSHH records.
The duty. COSHH Regulation 9 requires LEV to be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, and the employer carries that duty - the report is the first thing an inspector asks for.
Proof, not assumption. A fan that turns can still be failing to capture. Measurement is the only thing that tells you the system is genuinely controlling the exposure.
The long game. The diseases these fumes and dusts cause are serious and often delayed, so a control you have actually proven is what protects the worker years down the line.
Yes. We test LEV throughout Clitheroe and the wider the Ribble Valley, including the market place, King Street and Castle Street premises, and out towards the Salthill industrial area. Call 07961 915018 or use the contact form and we will confirm and quote.
Under COSHH Regulation 9, at least every 14 months for most systems, and more often for certain high-risk processes. It is the employer's legal duty to keep it in date.
A structured examination of the system plus measured readings - capture and face velocities, duct transport velocity and static pressure - assessed against how the system should perform, following HSE guidance HSG258, ending in a report and a label.
A thorough examination and test report with the measured readings, a clear verdict on whether the system controls the exposure, a label on the system and your next-due date for the COSHH file.
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 control before issuing the certificate.
Tell us about your workshop and your processes - no-obligation quote across the Ribble Valley.
