| Reducing hand arm vibration exposure |
As the second most commonplace industrial disease within the Tarmac Group, hand arm vibration exposure poses some serious challenges. Tarmac has been looking to control the risk of pneumatic powered breakers in particular.
The company has been working with GE Equipment Services to develop a small Tractaire fitted with a hydraulic breaker on a remote arm. Exposure to hand arm vibration is reduced by 80 per cent for break-out work; manual handling is eliminated entirely; noise levels are reduced dramatically; and there is no danger of whiplash injuries from pneumatic hoses parting.
The main disadvantage is that operators are unable to gain access to all work areas, but this is being addressed through the development of a revised version with an integral portable hydraulic breaker. |