Hand-arm vibration online course

What gets asked for. Under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 the employer has to record the findings of the vibration risk assessment. An inspector is entitled to ask to see health records, and HSE's guidance says training should cover how to spot and report symptoms. A certificate for each person shows who has been taught.

Who it is for

Groundworkers and site crews who use breakers, Stihl saws and hammer drills
Fabricators, welders and engineers on grinders and sanders
Garage and workshop staff who use impact wrenches and grinders
Grounds, forestry and tree crews on chainsaws, strimmers and hedge trimmers
Anyone who uses a hand-held or hand-guided power tool regularly, most days

What it covers

What hand-arm vibration does to the hands, and why HAVS is permanent
The tools that cause it, and HSE's rough guide to how long is too long
The exposure action value and limit value, and HSE's points system
Trigger time, and working out a day's exposure from the tool's figure
Cutting exposure: a different method, a better tool, sharp tools, a light grip, short bursts
Keeping hands warm, and what gloves are for: HSE says they keep hands warm and should not be relied on against vibration
Early symptoms, reporting them, and health surveillance
Whole-body vibration, and the employer's part in the practical sign-off

How it works

Buy places. Pay by card. Your order page is ready as soon as the payment goes through.
Send the join link to your staff. One link covers everyone. Each person types their name and starts.
They do the lessons on their own phone. It takes about 30 minutes in all, and they can stop and carry on later.
They sit the test. It is marked by the system. Anyone who misses is told which lessons to read again. After a miss there is a wait before the next try, and after six tries in a row the lessons are read again.
A pass gives a certificate. It has a QR code anyone can scan to check it, and your order page links to every one.
You sign off the practical. Each certificate comes with a sign-off sheet. You watch the person do the job on your own equipment, tick each check and sign. The online course teaches the knowledge. You decide who is authorised to do the work.

The law behind it

An employer whose work is liable to expose employees to vibration has to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, and record the significant findings and the measures taken and planned. Source: legislation.gov.uk
The law sets a daily level at which the employer must start acting, the action value (2.5 m/s² A(8)), and a ceiling employees must not be exposed above, the limit value (5 m/s² A(8)). Source: legislation.gov.uk
The employer has to get rid of the vibration risk or cut it as far as they reasonably can. Once the action value is likely to be reached, they must run a plan of changes to how the work is done and the tools used. Employees must not be exposed above the limit value. Source: legislation.gov.uk
Employees whose risk assessment shows a risk to their health from vibration, or who are likely to be exposed at or above an action value, have to be placed under suitable health surveillance, where it is appropriate. Source: legislation.gov.uk
Those employees have to be given suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training, including why and how to detect and report signs of injury. Source: legislation.gov.uk

What you get

The online course for each place you buy: ten short lessons and a test
A certificate for each person who passes, with a QR code anyone can scan to check it
A page for you showing who has taken the course and who has passed
A sign-off sheet for each person. You watch them use your own tools, tick what you see, and sign to authorise them for those tools in writing.

£22.50 a place is the whole price. It costs the same for one place or fifty.

The lessons

What hand-arm vibration does to your hands3 min
Which tools, and how long is too long3 min
The action value and the limit value3 min
Trigger time and working out your points5 min
Do it another way, or use a better tool3 min
Using the tool: keep it sharp and grip it light3 min
Warm hands, and what gloves are for2 min
Spotting it early, and what health checks are for4 min
Whole-body vibration2 min
Who does what, and how this course works2 min

Read the first lesson free

Free preview

What hand-arm vibration does to your hands

What it is

Hand-arm vibration is the shaking that passes from a tool, or from something you are holding, into your hands and arms. Breakers, grinders, saws, drills and strimmers all do it.

Use them regularly, day after day, and it can lead to hand-arm vibration syndrome, called HAVS for short. It can also lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve disorder of the hand. Both are permanent.

What you notice

Tingling and numbness in your fingers, which can disturb your sleep
Not being able to feel things properly
Less strength in your hands
Fingers going white in the cold and wet, then red and painful as they recover

At first the signs come and go. Keep using the tools and they can become long lasting, then permanent. For some people that takes a few months. For most it takes a few years.

HAVS can be prevented. Once the damage is done, it is permanent.

What it takes from you

Some people cannot do up a button. HSE says these effects can severely limit the jobs a person is able to do.

Occasional use is unlikely to cause ill health. The risk comes from regular, frequent use. This course is for people who do that. The next lessons show you how to work out your day and what to report.

Practice question

What is true of HAVS once the damage is done?

Questions

How long does it take?

About half an hour, test included. It is ten short lessons, so a person can do one on a break and come back to it.

What is the certificate?

It says the person completed the online hand-arm vibration course and passed the test. It carries a certificate number and a QR code, and it is training evidence you keep on file.

How does the practical part work?

The course does the teaching. You then watch each person on your own tools and tick the sheet: finding the tool's vibration figure, working out their time on the tool, spotting a worn tool, holding it lightly. If you do not hold a figure for a tool, the maker's handbook or supplier usually has one, and HSE publishes typical figures. When every box is ticked, you sign to authorise them for those tools and tasks. Until you do, they are not authorised.

Can staff do it on a phone?

Yes. It is written for a phone screen, in short blocks.

How can anyone check a certificate?

Scan the QR code on it. It opens a live check page that confirms whether the certificate is real, so a customer, an auditor or an inspector can check it themselves.

What happens if someone fails?

They are told which lessons to read again, and they can retake the test as many times as they like, with a fresh set of questions each time. There is nothing extra to pay.

What if someone loses their link?

They can ask for it again by email on the "Lost my link" page, as long as they gave an email address when they started.

Ready?

£22.50 a place, the whole price

This is PHW training with a certificate of completion. It is not an accredited qualification, so it is for you to decide whether it is enough for your business.