Maintenance is key to ensure longevity is preserved. With this in mind, we’ve assembled a comprehensive local exhaust ventilation (LEV) Maintenance Checklist. This is to help you and your business maintain LEV systems to ensure that they’re adequately controlling airborne contaminants at work.
Maintenance tasks will vary depending on the size, nature of the LEV equipment and the constituents it is controlling. Despite this, the maintenance task for each item of the system will be detailed in the user manual.
As per an LEV test, maintenance regimes are typically determined by one of P602-qualified LEV testing engineers. In addition, when you select Auto Extract Systems as your preferred LEV system installer, as we fully understand your LEV requirements and processes, we’ll recommend a comprehensive LEV maintenance regime that’s tailored to your business’s requirements.
Maintenance tasks are there to ensure the system complies with the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Regulation 9 (Maintenance, examination and testing of control measures) of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (2002) Regulations, which state: LEV systems should be “Maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition.”
Download Your LEV Maintenance Checklist
Download your maintenance checklist to ensure your extraction systems are optimised, working at their most efficient and controlling hazardous substances in the workplace. Scroll down to get your copy!
What Are The Benefits of Maintaining Your LEV System
There are many benefits of maintaining your LEV systems. By ensuring that the air velocity at both the hood and in the ducting are maintained, as per the design specification will ensure the system works efficiently. Every element of the system should be working properly and have as little damage as possible. This will reduce the amount of pressure lost through weaknesses and vulnerabilities within the system.
With regular routine maintenance and inspections, in addition to LEV tests, you can ensure that the system remains and operates in good working order.
LEV Testing
LEV testing is a legal requirement in the HSE’s HSG258: Controlling Airborne Contaminants at Work: A Guide to Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) guidance.
In the guidance, LEV testing is defined as a “Detailed and systematic examination sufficient to make sure that the LEV can continue to perform as intended by design and will contribute to the adequate control of exposure. The thorough examination would normally include such functional testing to provide sufficient evidence to indicate adequate control is being achieved.”
The maximum period between LEV tests for most systems is once in 14 months. However, we typically recommend regular testing is carried out every 12 months for regularity.
LEV Servicing
By servicing both dust and fume extraction regularly will help to identify problems before equipment failures begin. LEV extraction systems are prone to wear and tear with daily use and with regular checks will ensure that systems competently control contaminants.
What Are The Benefits of Servicing Your LEV System?
We’re frequently asked what are the benefits of servicing your LEV system? So, in our article, What Are The Benefits of Servicing Your LEV System? we’ve put together the top five benefits of servicing your local exhaust ventilation systems and why these can have a positive impact on your business’s operations.
LEV Logbooks
In chapter 9 – User Manual and Logbook of the HSE’s HSG258 guidance, when a new LEV system is installed and commissioned, it should be supplied with instructions on how to operate the system safely, maintain it correctly and examine it thoroughly. These documents should be supplied upon successful completion of the commissioning test.
All LEV systems must have a logbook and the logbook should be kept up to date and should contain:
- Schedules for regular checks and maintenance
- Records of regular checks, maintenance, replacements and repairs
- Checks of compliance with the correct way of working with the LEV system
- The name of the person who made these checks
It’s important to note that these documents should be readily available. If they’re lost, they must be replaced as they are essential to identifying suitable inspection and maintenance regimes. Replacement documents must be prepared by a competent person, such as an LEV testing engineer or via the equipment’s original supplier.
At Auto Extract Systems, we hold all records and make them readily available for you on our safe and secure LEV Report Portal. When you select us as your nominated LEV maintenance provider, you’ll be given access to your own area in the portal to access LEV commissioning reports, logbooks and LEV test reports. These are digitally held and always readily available for you to access, should you get an impromptu visit by a HSE inspector.
Daily, Weekly and Monthly Check Examples
- Hoods, including airflow indicators, physical damage and blockages
- Ducts, including damage, wear and partial blockage
- Dampers – position
- Air Cleaner, including damage, static pressure across the cleaner and failure alarms
- Air mover, including power consumption and changes in noise and vibration
- Maintenance carried out
- Replacements made
- Planned and unplanned repairs
- Operator’s use of LEV – check they are following the correct procedures.
- Space to report the results of each check against the item
- Signature and date
Save Yourself Time and Money
Save yourself time and money out of maintaining your LEV systems with a comprehensive Service Level Agreements (SLA). We offer tailored maintenance service contracts for all types of LEV equipment and we can tailor maintenance schedules around you to suit you and your business’s operational requirements.
Why Choose Auto Extract Systems?
Auto Extract Systems is the UK’s leading LEV company. Over the last 20 years, we’ve helped thousands of businesses create dust and fume free workplaces. We have been helping businesses maintain LEV systems and provide pollution-free workplaces with comprehensive LEV Maintenance services. Find out more about us here.
Our team of P601 qualified LEV system design engineers have the know-how and the ability to comprehensive service and test your businesses’ LEV systems to help your business meet HSE’s HSG258 guidance.
As experts in all things LEV, we can help your business become COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Regulation 2002 compliant with a tailored LEV solution. We provide comprehensive design, installation, maintenance and certification services across a range of industry sectors.
Get in touch with our LEV testing and servicing team today to discuss your requirements. Call us on 01942 267444, email info@autoxtract.co.uk.
