Home / LEV Testing / Guide
LEV testing - what you pay for
Two LEV quotes can be far apart, and the gap is usually depth. A thorough examination and test is a structured, competent assessment - not a two-minute look at a gauge. Here is the work the price actually pays for.
The short answer
A proper LEV test is a thorough examination and test carried out to HSG258 by a competent examiner - a structured, three-stage assessment that measures whether the system is actually controlling exposure and produces a defensible report. A cheap test is often a quick airflow reading that skips most of that. The price gap reflects a difference in the work, not just the margin.
What a real examination is
HSG258 structures a thorough examination and test in three stages, and a proper test does all three. First, a thorough visual examination of the system's condition and integrity - hoods, ducting, filter housings, fans, discharge points, airflow indicators and labelling. Second, measurement of technical performance: quantitative readings such as face velocity and capture at each hood, to check the system is actually doing its job. Third, an assessment of whether that performance is genuinely controlling exposure for the people using it.
Each stage takes time and competence. A test that skips to a single airflow reading has done a fraction of this, and cannot honestly say whether the system controls exposure - which is the whole question the examination exists to answer.
Who does it
A thorough examination and test has to be carried out by a competent person - someone with the training and knowledge to assess an LEV system against its design intent, take valid measurements and judge whether control is adequate. That competence, often demonstrated through recognised qualifications, is part of what the price reflects.
It matters because the judgement is the point. Anyone can read a gauge; knowing what the reading should be for that hood and that process, and whether the system is protecting the worker, is skilled work. A cheap test from someone without that competence can pass a system that is not actually controlling exposure - which is worse than no test, because it creates false confidence.
What you get
The deliverable of a proper test is a report that states, with figures, whether each part of the system is controlling exposure, together with any remedial actions and a clear next-due date. That report is what an HSE inspector will want to see and what your own risk assessment relies on. It is the evidence the whole exercise exists to produce.
A thin report with no real measurements is not that. It may be cheaper on the day, but it does not give you defensible evidence, and it may not satisfy an inspector - so the saving is often illusory. The value is in the quality of the report, which is exactly what a rushed test cannot produce.
Why cheap can cost more
The real risk of the cheapest test is not that it wastes a little money - it is that it can pass a system that is failing. A superficial examination that ticks everything off gives you a certificate but not control, so the exposure it was meant to catch carries on unnoticed until it surfaces as a health problem, an enforcement finding, or both.
Put that way, a proper test is not the expensive option - it is the one that actually does the job you are paying for. A cheap test that misses a failing hood can cost far more than the difference in price once the consequences arrive.
Judging a quote
The way to compare LEV quotes is to ask what the test involves and what you get. Does it cover all three stages of a thorough examination and test to HSG258. Is it carried out by a competent, suitably qualified examiner. Does it produce a report with measured figures for each point and clear remedial actions. Once two quotes describe the same depth of examination, the price becomes real information.
Judged on the examination rather than the headline, the right test is the one that genuinely tells you whether your system is controlling exposure - which is the only version worth buying, and the reason a proper test costs what it does.
What to look for
Because competence is central to a proper test, it helps to know what competence looks like from the outside. LEV examiners often hold recognised qualifications - the BOHS P600 series for LEV, such as the P601 examination and testing unit - and may belong to professional bodies for ventilation engineers. These are not just letters after a name; they show the examiner has been trained and assessed to take valid measurements and judge control properly.
Asking about qualifications and experience is a fair question, not an awkward one. A competent examiner will answer it readily. It is one of the clearest ways to tell a thorough examination and test from a superficial airflow check dressed up as one - and to make sure the report you are paying for will actually stand up.
Questions
A three-stage thorough examination and test to HSG258: a visual examination of the system's condition, measurement of technical performance such as face velocity and capture at each hood, and an assessment of whether exposure is being controlled.
Because they do less - often a quick airflow reading that skips most of the examination. That cannot honestly say whether the system controls exposure, which is the whole point of the test.
A competent person with the training and knowledge to assess the system against its design intent, take valid measurements and judge whether control is adequate - often demonstrated through recognised qualifications.
Measured figures showing whether each part of the system is controlling exposure, any remedial actions, and a clear next-due date. That is the evidence an inspector and your risk assessment rely on.
Because it can pass a system that is actually failing, giving you a certificate but not control. The exposure it should have caught carries on until it surfaces as a health or enforcement problem.
Ask what the test involves - all three stages, a competent examiner, a report with measured figures - so you are comparing the same depth of examination rather than just the headline price.
We carry out the full thorough examination and test to HSG258, with measured figures and clear actions.
