Variation between manufacturers’ declared vibration emission values and those measured under simulated workplace conditions for a range of hand-held power tools typically found in the construction industry

• Published in: International journal of industrial ergonomics 2008-09, Vol.38 (9), p.661-675
• Main Authors: Rimell, Andrew N., Notini, Luca, Mansfield, Neil J., Edwards, David J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ANSI S2.70; Hand-transmitted vibration; ISO 5349; Power tools; Vibration exposure
• ISSN: 0169-8141; 1872-8219
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ergon.2007.10.023

Tool manufacturers are required to declare the vibration emission of their hand-held power tools in order to sell them within Europe. To enable comparison between different manufacturers, tests are carried out in accordance with the relevant test code (such as those defined in the ISO 8662 and EN 60745 series). These tests may be carried out in artificial circumstances which do not necessarily correctly predict the vibration emission that would be obtained in the workplace and often underestimate the magnitude of the vibration. In practice, tools are used with a range of inserted tools on different materials, resulting in a range of vibration emission values for a given tool. CEN Technical Report, CEN/TR 15350 provides multiplication factors to enable an estimate of the workplace vibration emission to be obtained from the manufacturers’ data. This paper compares the manufacturers’ declared vibration emission values with those measured for the public-domain OPERC HAVTEC database. The OPERC measurements have been made according to ISO 5349 using simulated workplace conditions, with a range of inserted tools for each machine tested. A total of 656 tool/attachment combinations are presented from 105 different tool models, covering a wide range of applications typically found within the construction industry. The measured data are compared with the manufacturers declared emission value, with and without the multiplication factors given in CEN/TR 15350. It was found that, in general, the manufacturers’ declared values underestimated the workplace vibration emission, whereas the multiplication factors given in CEN/TR 15350 overestimated the workplace vibration emission. This paper discusses 656 measurements made on 105 models of power tools commonly found in industry. The data and analysis presented may assist practising managers in the assessment of exposure to vibration of their employees, thereby ensuring that they remain within the limits specified by the EU Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive and ANSI S2.70 (2006).