LEV Testing · Patchway
Across Patchway, 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.
The workshops of Patchway are where the engineering and fabrication units weld and machine, the joinery and timber shops cut and sand, and the vehicle and refinishing shops grind and spray. The arc and the grinder raise weld fume and metal dust, and the joinery and spray work add wood dust, oil mist and paint mist, all of which a worker should be kept from breathing.
It is local exhaust ventilation that captures the fume and dust at source - and the control has to be proven, not assumed. Under COSHH the weld-fume arms, wood-dust extraction and spray and mist extraction must be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, measured against how they are actually run.
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 fabrication unit near Patchway, welding, grinding and fabricating, capture had slipped below what the process needed and weld fume and metal dust was carrying across the floor. We surveyed the system, measured capture and static pressure, and found leakage and an overloaded filter starving the hoods. We set out the remedial work and re-tested to confirm control before certifying to HSG258.
At a vehicle bodyshop near Patchway, spraying and finishing, the draw at the arms had dropped and the air was thick by mid-shift. We measured face velocities and static pressure, checked the run, and found undersized ducting and a worn fan. We reported what needed putting right and re-tested to confirm it held spec, certifying 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.
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 under COSHH Regulation 9 - and sooner for certain higher-risk processes. We set the right interval for what you run and put the next-due date on the label and the report.
A thorough-examination-and-test report against HSG258, a pass/fail on each point with any remedials listed, and a dated label on the plant showing when the next test falls due.
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 Patchway workshops and units, and across Patchway and the wider Bristol area.
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 Patchway 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 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.
