LEV Testing · Shaw
The workshops of Shaw - engineering, timber and vehicle alike - raise the fume, mist and dust that COSHH says must be captured and the capture proven by a thorough examination and test.
The workshops of Shaw are where the engineering and distribution units weld, machine and fabricate, the joinery and timber shops cut and sand, and the vehicle and depot workshops grind and refinish. 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.
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 an engineering unit on an estate in Shaw, welding, grinding and fabricating, the arms and hoods were barely pulling and weld fume and metal dust drifted into the workspace. We checked capture at the hoods, the ducting and the filters, and found the fan and filters below the duty the process needed. We set out the remedial work and re-tested to confirm control before certifying to HSG258.
At a joinery workshop near Shaw, running the saws, planers and sander, capture had slipped below what the process needed and wood dust was carrying across the floor. We measured the capture velocities, inspected the fan and ducting, and identified a leaking run losing pull. We set out what to put right, re-tested after the work, and certified the system 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 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 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 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 Shaw workshops and units, and across Shaw and the wider Greater Manchester.
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.
Shaw works its metal, timber and vehicles, welding and grinding, sawing and sanding, and refinishing - raising weld fume, metal and wood dust, oil mist and paint mist. Every one carries a duty to control what its work throws off - and to prove it with a measured test.
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.
