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LEV testing - what TExT means
LEV testing has a formal name - Thorough Examination and Test - and the words are chosen deliberately. It is thorough, it is an examination as well as a test, and it is a defined process, not a quick check. Understanding what the phrase actually means clears up a lot about what your LEV test is supposed to involve and why it is more than someone waving a meter at a hood.
The short answer
Thorough Examination and Test - often shortened to TExT - is the formal name for the statutory examination of LEV, and each word matters. It is thorough: a comprehensive assessment of the whole system, not a cursory look. It is an examination and a test: a visual and structural inspection of the system's condition combined with measurement of its performance. And it culminates in an assessment - a judgement, by a competent person, of whether the system is adequately controlling exposure. So the phrase describes a defined, rigorous process of inspecting, measuring and assessing the whole system, required at least every fourteen months, not a quick check that the extraction is running.
The words are chosen deliberately
LEV testing is often referred to casually - the test, the LEV check - but it has a proper, formal name: Thorough Examination and Test, sometimes abbreviated to TExT. This is not just officialese; the words are chosen to describe what the process actually is, and each carries meaning. Understanding the phrase is a good way into understanding what a proper LEV test involves, because the name itself sets out the character of the thing: thorough, an examination as well as a test, and a defined process rather than an informal look. Taking the words seriously dispels the idea that an LEV test is a quick, casual check.
This matters because casual language can create casual expectations. If you think of it as just the test, you might imagine someone quickly confirming the extraction works and moving on. The formal name signals something more substantial - a comprehensive, rigorous process with defined elements, done by a competent person, to a real standard. So it is worth unpacking what Thorough Examination and Test actually means, word by word, because doing so explains what your LEV examination is supposed to be, and why it is a proper piece of work rather than a formality.
Thorough, and an examination
Thorough means comprehensive - the assessment covers the whole system and looks at it properly, rather than glancing at part of it. Every extraction point, the ductwork, the fan, the filters - the system as a whole is assessed, and assessed carefully, not sampled or skimmed. The word rules out the cursory: a thorough examination is one that genuinely covers the system in depth, which is why it takes real time and attention rather than a few minutes. Thoroughness is the standard the examination is held to.
Examination signals that the process is more than measurement - it is an examination of the system, which includes inspecting its physical condition, not just testing its output. This is the visual and structural inspection: looking at the condition, integrity, damage, wear and soundness of the system's parts. So the examination side is about the state of the system, assessed by inspecting it, alongside the test side which measures what it achieves. The phrase deliberately pairs examination with test because the process is genuinely both - an inspection of condition and a measurement of performance - and calling it only a test would understate the inspection half. Together, thorough and examination establish that this is a comprehensive assessment of the whole system's condition, not a narrow performance check.
And test - measurement and assessment
Test is the measurement side: quantifying what the system is actually achieving. This is where airflow, capture velocity at the hoods, and pressures are measured, establishing in numbers how the system is performing. The test provides the objective, quantified evidence of the system's performance - not an impression that it seems to be working, but measured figures for what it is doing. Paired with the examination of condition, the test gives the performance half of the picture: the examination shows the state of the system, the test shows what that system is achieving.
But the process does not stop at measurement - it culminates in an assessment, which is the point of the whole exercise. A competent person takes the inspection findings and the measurements and judges whether the system is adequately controlling exposure. This is the conclusion the examination exists to reach: not just what the readings are, but whether the system is doing its job of protecting people. The assessment is where the thoroughness, the inspection and the measurement come together into a judgement about control. So Thorough Examination and Test is really a three-part process - inspect the condition, measure the performance, and assess whether the system is controlling exposure - with the assessment as the meaningful outcome.
Not a quick check
Putting the words together, Thorough Examination and Test describes a defined, rigorous process: a comprehensive inspection of the whole system's condition, a measurement of its performance, and a competent assessment of whether it is adequately controlling exposure - required at least every fourteen months. This is a substantial piece of work with a real standard behind it, which is exactly what the formal name conveys and what distinguishes it from a casual check that the extraction runs.
This is worth holding onto because it sets the right expectation of what your LEV examination should be. It should be thorough, covering the whole system properly. It should genuinely examine the system's condition as well as test its performance. And it should reach a competent assessment of whether the system is controlling exposure, not just leave you with some readings. If what you get called an LEV test is a quick look that skips the inspection, samples rather than covers the system, or offers numbers without an assessment, it is falling short of what Thorough Examination and Test actually means. The formal name is, in effect, a description of the standard - and knowing it helps you recognise a proper examination, and its absence.
The takeaway
Thorough Examination and Test is the formal name for LEV testing, and every word means something. Thorough: a comprehensive assessment of the whole system, in depth, not a cursory look. Examination: an inspection of the system's physical condition, not just a measurement. Test: the measurement of what the system is actually achieving. And the process culminates in an assessment - a competent judgement of whether the system is adequately controlling exposure, which is the point of the whole exercise.
So the phrase describes a defined, rigorous, three-part process - inspect the condition, measure the performance, assess the control - required at least every fourteen months, not a quick check that the extraction is running. Knowing what the name means sets the right expectation of your LEV examination: it should be thorough, genuinely examine as well as test, and reach a real assessment. The formal name is a description of the standard - and recognising that helps you tell a proper examination from a going-through-the-motions one.
Questions
It is the formal name for the statutory LEV examination, often shortened to TExT. Each word matters: thorough (comprehensive, whole-system), examination (inspecting the system's condition), and test (measuring its performance). It culminates in a competent assessment of whether the system is adequately controlling exposure.
Because it is genuinely more than measurement - it includes a visual and structural inspection of the system's physical condition, integrity, damage and wear, alongside the performance measurement. Calling it only a test would understate the inspection half. The name pairs examination with test because the process is both.
Comprehensive and in depth - the whole system is assessed carefully, not sampled or skimmed. Every extraction point, the ductwork, fan and filters are covered. The word rules out the cursory: a thorough examination genuinely covers the system, which is why it takes real time rather than a few minutes.
The measurement side - quantifying what the system is actually achieving by measuring airflow, capture velocity at the hoods, and pressures. It provides objective, numbered evidence of performance rather than an impression that the system seems to work, giving the performance half of the picture alongside the inspection of condition.
The conclusion the whole process exists to reach: a competent person takes the inspection findings and measurements and judges whether the system is adequately controlling exposure. It is not just what the readings are, but whether the system is doing its job of protecting people - the meaningful outcome.
Entirely. A quick check just confirms the extraction runs; a Thorough Examination and Test is a defined, rigorous, three-part process - inspect the condition, measure the performance, assess the control - required at least every fourteen months. If what you get skips the inspection, samples the system, or gives numbers without an assessment, it falls short of what the name means.
Our thorough examination is exactly what the name says - a comprehensive inspection of your system's condition, a measurement of its performance, and a competent assessment of whether it is controlling exposure.
