LEV Testing · Newtown
Across Newtown, 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 Newtown the engineering and metalworking units weld and machine, the joinery and stair-making shops cut and sand, and the vehicle and refinishing units grind and spray. 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 is what captures it at source, and the law does not take the control on trust. Under COSHH the weld-fume arms, the wood-dust extraction and the spray and mist extraction have to be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, measured against how they are used, not just switched on and 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 an engineering unit on the Mochdre estate in Newtown, welding, grinding and fabricating, the system was failing to catch the weld fume and metal dust at source. We measured the capture velocities, inspected the fan and ducting, and identified a leaking run losing pull. We reported what needed putting right and re-tested to confirm it held spec, certifying to HSG258.
At a joinery and stair-making works on the Vastre estate in Newtown, running the saws, planers and sander, the system was failing to catch the wood dust at source. We surveyed the system, measured capture and static pressure, and found leakage and an overloaded filter starving the hoods. 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 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.
COSHH Regulation 9 sets a maximum of 14 months between tests, and some higher-risk processes need it sooner. We set the interval to match what you run and record the next-due date on the 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 Newtown workshops and units, and across Newtown and the wider Mid Wales.
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 Newtown 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 Mid Wales 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 Mid Wales.
