Who can assess hand-arm vibration exposure?
An employer can assess vibration risk with sufficient knowledge of the work or appoint competent help. For direct measurements, HSE stresses the competence and experience of the person using specialist equipment and judging whether results represent real work.
Check my situationVerify competence for the actual tools
Ask the provider how they will record trigger time, choose representative vibration data, combine multiple tasks and decide whether direct measurement is needed. A company listing is provider-source evidence, not Vendor Atlas approval.
- Identify the named assessor and comparable tool and process experience.
- Ask for the vibration-data source, uncertainty method and instrument calibration where measurements are proposed.
- Request current insurance and evidence for any claimed professional membership.
What to do next: Send the same tool inventory and work pattern to each provider. Compare the named assessor, method, deliverables, exclusions and full fee; confirm geography where the checked provider page did not establish it.
Evidence before measurement
HSE accepts suitable representative data from sources such as a manufacturer or supplier. A competent provider should explain why it is fit for the way the tool is used or why site measurements are warranted.
What measurement involves
HSE describes specialised equipment and warns that results vary with operator, tool condition and material. Ask what will be measured during actual use, how trigger time is captured and how variability will be recorded.
Report acceptance
The report should give a traceable tool and worker scope, exposure estimate, action-value comparison, controls, uncertainty and review trigger. Health-surveillance advice is not itself a medical assessment.