LEV Testing · Middleton
The Stakehill and Middleton Junction estates machine, weld and fabricate, raising fume, mist and dust the law says must be controlled. We examine and test local exhaust ventilation to HSG258 and certify it.
Middleton's industry runs on the Stakehill and Middleton Junction estates, some of the larger working ground in north Manchester. The engineering and machining units, the fabricators and the joineries all raise fume, mist or dust, and each depends on local exhaust ventilation that captures it at source.
LEV loses its edge unseen - filters clog, ducts fur, a fan tires - until a hood no longer controls the exposure. We carry out thorough examination and testing to HSG258 across Middleton: measured capture and face velocities at the working points, a verdict against the system's intended performance, 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.
At a machine shop on the Stakehill estate, the oil-mist extraction over the CNC line needed its thorough examination. We measured capture at the enclosures and the transport velocity through the system, benchmarked it against the design, and labelled it with the readings and next-due date.
A fabricator at Middleton Junction needed its weld-fume arms testing. We measured capture at each arm, flagged one running slow, and re-tested after the fix before certifying.
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 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.
At least every 14 months for most systems, more often for higher-risk work. We set the interval to the process and label it on the plant.
Condition of hoods, ducts, filters and fan; measured capture and face velocities; transport velocity and static pressure - all against how the LEV should perform to control the exposure.
We set out exactly what failed - often one reading - so it can be put right, and re-test to confirm control before certifying.
Yes - the Stakehill and Middleton Junction units and the workshops across Middleton, and the wider Greater Manchester.
No - machining mist, welding fume, wood and metal dust, spray booths, fume cupboards and salon and dental extraction all fall under the same duty.
The Stakehill estate carries a large share of north Manchester's engineering and fabrication, unit after unit machining, welding and working wood - each raising 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 Greater Manchester 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 Greater Manchester.
