LEV Testing · Corsham
The workshops of Corsham - engineering, timber and vehicle alike - raise the fume, mist and dust that COSHH says must be captured and the capture proven by a thorough examination and test.
In and around Corsham the stone-masonry and engineering works cut, grind and fabricate, the joinery and timber shops cut and sand, and the vehicle shops refinish. Welding and grinding throw off weld fume and metal dust; the joinery and refinishing work adds wood dust, oil mist and paint mist - none of it fit for a worker to breathe.
Local exhaust ventilation catches it at source, and the law will not take that on trust. COSHH requires the weld-fume arms, the wood-dust extraction and the spray and mist extraction to be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, measured in use rather than 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.
Typical jobs we handle, by sector and area - representative of the work we do, not named clients.
At a Bath-stone masonry works near Corsham, sawing and dressing stone, the extraction had lost capture and the shop was hazing by mid-shift. We tested capture at each point, checked the dampers and filters, and found a damper stuck and the filters loaded. We set out the fix, re-tested to confirm capture was back to spec, and certified to HSG258 with a dated label.
At a joinery unit near Corsham, running the saws, planers and sander, the extraction had lost capture and the shop was hazing by mid-shift. We measured the capture velocities, inspected the fan and ducting, and identified a leaking run losing pull. We listed the remedials, and re-tested to prove the control once put right, then certified to HSG258.
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.
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.
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 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.
No more than every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9, and sooner for certain higher-risk work. We judge the right interval for your process and put the next-due date on both the plant label and the report.
An HSG258 thorough-examination-and-test report, a clear pass or fail at every point with remedials listed, and a dated plant label carrying the next test date.
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 Corsham workshops and units, and across Corsham and the wider Wiltshire.
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.
Around Corsham the metal, timber and vehicle work raises weld fume, metal and wood dust, oil mist and paint mist. Every workshop that produces it carries the same duty: capture it at source, and prove with a measured test that the capture works.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Wiltshire 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 Wiltshire.
