LEV Testing · Cowes
The yacht yards, aerospace works and marine units at Cowes and East Cowes laminate, weld, machine and spray, raising resin vapour, composite dust and weld fume the law says must be controlled. We examine and test local exhaust ventilation to HSG258 and certify it.
Cowes builds boats and aircraft parts as much as it sails, the yacht yards and composite laminators on the Medina, the aluminium shipbuilding in the East Cowes hangars, and the aerospace works whose sites design and machine airframe structures. Their resin and glassfibre lay-up, composite trimming, aluminium welding and spray booths all raise something their local exhaust ventilation has to capture at source.
LEV works hard and quietly loses its edge - filters load, ducts fur, a fan tires - until a hood stops holding the exposure. We carry out thorough examination and testing to HSG258 across Cowes: measured capture and face velocities at the working points, a judgement against how the system was meant to perform, and a label carrying a next-due date you can trust.
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 Cowes composite boatbuilder the lay-up extraction and the trimming-dust system needed thorough examination. We measured capture at the benches and the transport velocity through the ducting, found one branch below draw, set the fix, and re-tested before certifying.
An East Cowes aerospace machine shop needed its machining-mist and spray extraction testing. We measured capture at each bench and the booth airflow, and labelled the plant with the readings and next-due date.
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 inspect the system's condition - hoods, ducting, filter and fan - and identify how it is meant to control each process.
We take the readings: capture and face velocities, duct transport velocity and static pressure at the key points.
We assess the readings against the benchmark and set out clearly whether the system is controlling the exposure.
The system is labelled with the test result and next-due date, and you get the report for your COSHH file.
At least every 14 months for most systems, sooner for higher-risk work such as resin lay-up and spraying. We match the interval to the process and label the next-due date on the plant.
The condition of hoods, ducts, filters and fan, and measured capture, face, transport and static-pressure readings - all weighed against how the LEV should perform to control the exposure.
We set out what failed and why, usually a single reading, so it can be corrected, then re-test to confirm control before certifying.
Yes - the yacht, composite, aerospace and marine units across both sides of the Medina, and the wider Isle of Wight.
No - resin and styrene vapour, composite and wood dust, weld fume, machining mist, paint spray, fume cupboards and salon and dental extraction all fall under the same duty.
The Cowes and East Cowes works carry the town's boatbuilding, composite, aerospace and welding trades, the resin vapour, dust, mist and fume drawn off wherever it is raised. We test to HSG258 so those lines can prove their extraction holds what their people would otherwise breathe.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Isle of Wight 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 Isle of Wight.
