Many businesses see providing local exhaust ventilation systems as a chore and are reluctant to provide them for their staff as they don’t produce a return on investment (ROI), can (depending on the processes) hinder the manufacturing process and require maintenance costs on an annual basis. However, the benefits significantly outweigh the drawbacks when you do decide that providing local exhaust ventilation systems is the [morally] right thing to do for your business and employees well-being. In this article, we’ve outlined some of the main benefits of providing a LEV system. We offer comprehensive LEV installation and LEV maintenance services, learn more now.

 

HSE Inspections

If the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visit your premises or site and find something wrong or suspects you to be in material breach of the health and safety regulations, they will expect you to put it right. They may give you verbal or written advice, issue a formal caution or an enforcement notice.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 Mock Up
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 Mock Up

By providing a local exhaust ventilation system you will comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the HSE’s Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002. In the guidance, it states: Every employer shall ensure that the exposure of his employees to substances hazardous to health is either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.”

Also, in the guidance, it states that engineering controls, such as LEV “Is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition” and ” In the case of local exhaust ventilation plant, at least once every 14 months.” We offer a comprehensive LEV testing service to help maintain extraction systems and comply with the HSE’s regulations.

 

HSE Fee For Intervention Scheme

Fee For Intervention (FFI) Explained
Fee For Intervention (FFI) Explained

The Fee For Intervention (FFI) scheme is a cost recovery scheme whereby the HSE can charge businesses that fail to meet their legal obligations and are found to be in material breach of health and safety law. The HSE will set a time limit for enforcement actions to be carried out and completed. The current rate of the HSE’s FFI scheme is at £160 per hour, per inspector. Learn more in our post ‘Fees For Intervention: Explained.’

By providing a local exhaust ventilation system, you’ll ensure that control measures are provided. LEV systems should be designed in accordance with HSG258 – Controlling Airborne Contaminants at Work: A Guide to Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) guidance. Designing a system in compliance with this guidance will ensure that airborne contaminants are captured at-source before they dissipate into the broader working environment.

 

Staff Retention

Staff Retention Illustration
Staff Retention Illustration

HSE regulation compliance can have a positive effect on staff morale and staff turnover. As an employer, demonstrating the required duty of care can represent the respect you have for staff and their safety whilst at work. This unspoken gesture can be the difference between happy and unhappy staff and can affect productivity, profitability and staff’s attitudes towards employment, which shouldn’t be ignored or taken for granted. This could be the difference between how often a business has to recruit.

By providing a local exhaust ventilation system, you can help to reduce employee turnover and develop your staff retention strategy. This is because, by providing a LEV system, you can help to make your employees feel valued by ensuring their safety is cared for and significantly help improve your businesses retention rates.

 

Negligence Claims

Negligence Claims Illustration
Negligence Claims Illustration

The consequences of exposure to harmful dust and fumes in work and the symptoms of respiratory diseases can prevail after a long time period. It’s integral to remember too that there’s a long latency with symptoms presenting and when they do, they’re often irreversible. By this stage, the consequences of exposure are not appreciated.

By providing local exhaust ventilation systems, you can help reduce the risk of employees developing COPD and reduce the air pollution in your workplace. With the correct controls in place and a properly maintained LEV system, respiratory diseases like Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), silicosis and cancers can significantly impact the quality of life and are completely preventable.

It’s essential to remember too that you may be liable for no win, no fee negligence claims too should an employee (or former employee) develop health conditions due to engineering controls not being present at the time of exposure.

 

Request a FREE LEV Site Assessment

We’ll call to arrange a convenient time and date to visit your site. We’ll analyse your working processes, assess the substances used and the contaminants generated. We’ll workout how best to control the dust and fume in a way that’s in line with your COSHH risk assessment. Next, we’ll design you a comprehensive LEV system that adheres to HSG258 guidance and send this you to via email.
 
We’ll do all this to ensure we fully understand your dust and fume extraction requirements and help you to provide a pollution-free workplace!
 
This is an amazing service we do for thousands of businesses throughout the UK & Ireland every year. We work with such a wide variety industries, from manufacturing, industrial, woodworking, pharmaceutical and automotive workshops to schools, colleges and military establishments. 
Request your FREE, no-obligation LEV site assessment today!

HSE Statistics

Health and Safety at Work - Summary Statistics 2020
Health and Safety at Work – Summary Statistics 2020

HSE has recently published new statistics in the Health and Safety at Work – Summary Statistics for Great Britain 2020. Some key statistics from the report include:

  • 6.3 million estimated working days lost due to non-fatal workplace injuries according to self-reports from the Labour Force Survey in 2019/20
  • 12,000 lung disease deaths each year estimated to be linked to past exposures at work
  • 1.6 million workers suffering from work-related ill-health (new or long-standing) in 2019/20

 

Essential Elements of COSHH

The 7 Essential Elements of COSHH
The 7 Essential Elements of COSHH

The 7 essential elements of COSHH can help to manage hazardous substances more effectively; identifying strategies for elimination and substitution, assessing risk and providing guidance on how to control the use of substances within your business.  Learn more in our post: ‘The 7 Essential Elements of COSHH [Infographic].’

 

A Guide to LEV Extraction System Design

A Guide to LEV Extraction System Design
A Guide to LEV Extraction System Design

We’ve put together a guide that details everything you need to know about LEV extraction system design to help you understand the different elements involved. Learn more in our post: ‘A Guide to LEV Extraction System Design‘.

 

Checklist – How to Choose a Local Exhaust Ventilation System Supplier

Checklist - How to Choose a Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Supplier
Checklist – How to Choose a Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Supplier

If you’re in the market for a new Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) system, it can be a tough decision to decide which is the best LEV solutions provider to choose. We want to help, so we’ve assembled this checklist (and article) to help you select the right LEV supplier for your business and requirements. Whether you’ve got a dust, fume, vapour, gases or mist problem in your workplace, as an employer, you are required by law to protect your employees from exposure to the contaminant.

 

Why Choose Auto Extract Systems?

Celebrating 20 Years In Business
Celebrating 20 Years In Business

Auto Extract Systems is the UK’s leading LEV company. Over the last 20 years, we’ve helped thousands of businesses create pollution-free workplaces, and avoid a costly fee for intervention fines.

We are 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. Find out more about us here.

We're Qualified and Accredited
We’re Qualified and Accredited

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