LEV Testing · Wallsend
Wallsend's riverside built ships and now builds offshore and marine structures - fabrication that raises weld fume, grinding dust and mist the law says must be controlled. We examine and test LEV to HSG258 and certify it.
Wallsend's riverside made the great ships and now fabricates for the offshore and marine industries on the same ground. The heavy fabrication and welding bays of the yards, the engineering and machining units and the workshops of Howdon and Willington Quay all raise weld fume, grinding dust and mist, and each depends on local exhaust ventilation that captures it at source.
LEV is tested hard by heavy fabrication and quietly loses its edge - filters load, ducts fur, a fan tires - until a hood no longer controls the exposure. We carry out thorough examination and testing to HSG258 across Wallsend: 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.
In a riverside fabrication yard, the weld-fume extraction over the bays needed its thorough examination. We measured capture at each arm and the transport velocity through the system, found the pull down on one bay, set the fix, and re-tested before certifying.
At an engineering unit toward Willington Quay, the grinding-dust extraction needed testing. We measured capture at the stations, checked the ducting and fan, and labelled the system with the readings and 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.
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 for most systems, more often for higher-risk work such as heavy welding and grinding. 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 fabrication yards and engineering units along the Wallsend riverside, and across Tyne and Wear.
No - weld fume, grinding and metal dust, machining mist, wood dust, spray booths, fume cupboards and salon and dental extraction all fall under the same duty.
The Wallsend riverside remains a heavy-fabrication heartland, the yards that built ships now welding and machining offshore and marine structures - each raising weld fume, grinding dust and mist its LEV has to draw off at source. We test to HSG258 so those yards can prove their extraction controls what their people breathe.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Tyne and Wear 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 Tyne and Wear.
