LEV Testing · Desborough
Across Desborough, the engineering, joinery and vehicle workshops throw off fume, mist and dust the law requires to be controlled - and the control proven by a thorough examination and test.
In and around Desborough the shoe-manufacturing and engineering units weld and machine, the joinery and timber shops cut and sand, and the vehicle shops grind and 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 shoe factory in Desborough, finishing and bonding, the extraction had lost capture and the shop was hazing by mid-shift. We took capture readings at every hood, inspected the ductwork and filters, and found a blocked filter bank throttling the system. We reported what needed putting right and re-tested to confirm it held spec, certifying to HSG258.
At a joinery unit near Desborough, running the saws, planers and sander, capture had slipped below what the process needed and wood dust was carrying across the floor. We took capture readings at every hood, inspected the ductwork and filters, and found a blocked filter bank throttling the system. We set out the fix, re-tested to confirm capture was back to spec, and certified to HSG258 with a dated label.
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.
A report of the thorough examination and test to HSG258, each point marked pass or fail with any remedial work set out, and a dated label on the plant with the next-due 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 Desborough workshops and units, and across Desborough and the wider Northamptonshire.
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.
Welding, grinding, sawing, sanding and spraying go on across Desborough, and each throws off something a worker should not breathe - weld fume, metal and wood dust, oil mist and paint mist. The duty is to control it at source and prove the control with a measured test.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Northamptonshire 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 Northamptonshire.
