LEV Testing · Kingswood and Fishponds
The east Bristol trading estates around Kingswood and Fishponds weld, machine and spray, raising fume, mist and dust that the law says must be controlled. We examine and test local exhaust ventilation to HSG258 and certify it.
Kingswood grew on manufacturing - boots, motorcycles and light engineering - and the trade still runs on the estates around Kingswood and Fishponds. The engineering units, the bodyshops and the joineries across east Bristol raise fume, mist and dust, and each depends on local exhaust ventilation that genuinely captures it.
An LEV system drifts out of tune unseen: filters load, ducts fur and fans tire until a hood that once captured no longer controls the exposure. We carry out thorough examination and testing to HSG258 across Kingswood and Fishponds - measured capture and face velocities at the working points, a verdict against how the system should perform, and a label whose next-due date holds.
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.
On a Kingswood trading estate, a fabrication shop's weld-fume arms needed their thorough examination. We measured capture at each arm and the transport velocity through the ducting, flagged one arm running slow, and re-tested it after the fix before certifying.
A Fishponds bodyshop's spray booth needed testing. We measured the booth airflow and capture, checked the filters, set out what to correct, and labelled the plant with the readings and the 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.
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 for most systems, more often for higher-risk work. We set the interval to the process and label the next-due date on the plant.
The condition of hoods, ducts, filters and fan; measured capture and face velocities at the working points; transport velocity and static pressure; all assessed against how the LEV should perform to control the exposure.
We set out exactly what failed - often a single reading - so it can be put right, and re-test to confirm control before certifying.
Yes - the Kingswood and Fishponds trading estates and the units across east Bristol, and the wider Bristol area.
No - welding fume, wood and metal dust, spray booths, mist extraction, fume cupboards and salon and dental extraction all fall under the same duty and the same clock.
The trading estates that ring Kingswood keep east Bristol's engineering and vehicle trades working, unit after unit welding, machining and spraying - and every one of those processes raises something its LEV has to draw off at source. We test to HSG258 so those workshops can prove their extraction controls what their people breathe.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across West of England 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 West of England.
