New Vibration Device Helps to Safeguard Workers

Efficiency and cost-effectiveness were two of the reasons behind Cheshire West and Chester Council’s selection of a CEL-960 Human Vibration Monitor from specialist manufacturer, Casella CEL (UK), to help protect staff from the effects of prolonged use of certain equipment.

The unitary Council, which employs more than 12,000 staff in the North West of England, was looking for a reliable, compact and easy-to-use device that would assist with its programme of monitoring park rangers and streetscene employees, who are exposed to the hazards of hand-arm vibration during the course of their work.

According to Eric Burt, Health and Safety Manager at Cheshire West and Chester Council, they needed to find the best means of measuring exposure levels to vibration.

He says: “The CEL-960’s Bluetooth feature enables us to take and analyse measurements in-situ, without having to return to the office to download and analyse the results, which is a much more efficient way of working!”

Eric continues: “The price of the meter was another consideration. Not only was it competitive with other similar products that we looked at, but the on-going cost of calibration was a significant factor too. We were obviously keen to ensure good value for money for the Council’s investment.”

The Council, which already uses Casella’s noise dosimeter and dust monitoring device, is now in the process of reviewing its programme of vibration monitoring.

Initially, the CEL-960 will be used by members of the Health & Safety Team to review existing vibration exposure levels and risk assessments for key employees who use equipment such as hand-held power tools and mobile machinery on a regular basis.

The lightweight, cutting-edge CEL-960 is designed to measure ‘hand-arm’ (HAV) and ‘whole-body’ (WBV) vibrations, according to the requirements of European Directive 2002/44/EC.

It aims to reduce or eliminate the risks associated with vibration, including painful and disabling disorders of the blood vessels, nerves and joints, as well as severe back pain caused by shocks and jolts when operating work vehicles over rough or uneven surfaces.

With just one button to operate, it is exceptionally simple to measure exposure to HAV and WBV using the CEL-960. Remote operation via Bluetooth to a laptop or tablet PC also means that the person conducting the measurement does not get in the way of the machine operator whose exposure levels are being monitored, allowing a better quality of data to be collected.

Comprising an acquisition unit, signal processing, data storage and data transfer, the CEL-960 measures tri-axial vibration levels and has options for signal and 1/3 octave spectrum recording. It also features a presence detector (for whole body vibration) and warning light.

Fully compliant with standards ISO 8041 (2005), ISO 5349 (2001) and ISO 2361 (1997), the CEL-960 comes complete with transducer, desktop charger giving up to 20 hours’ operating time, dB96 wireless remote control software, carrying case, CD and documentation.

Casella provides full training to customers who purchase any of its measuring equipment. This can be carried out in the customer’s offices for maximum convenience.