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For health and safety professionals across all sectors, LEV’s play a vital role in protecting staff from airborne hazards. Like you, we are committed to protecting and improving health in the workplace and so wanted to share our 5 tips. These tips have been tried, tested and implemented in our clients across the UK. Everywhere from hospitals through to manufacturing plants and will help you to save money through correct use, reduced downtime and passing regulatory inspections.

Tip 1: Design for the function
Often we see that the LEV isn’t designed for the purpose it’s being used for. Companies can save thousands by bringing in an independent tester at the design stage. We also recommend including the people carrying out the task in the design process. That way you can spot potential usability issues as early as possible.

Tip 2: Practical examples to show compliant behaviour
Whether it’s spray booth clearance times being ignored or welding fume extraction trunks positioned too far away, sometimes users need to see the impact of hazards to change their behaviour. We recommend using Toolbox Talks and dry ice to show the users how the systems work. These examples resonate and the experience is rarely forgotten.

Tip 3: Holding teams accountable to regular checking of LEVs
Committing teams to keeping a logbook up to date with LEV checks is a simple and easy way to ensure that they are functioning properly and allows managers and senior staff to hold everyone accountable. An added bonus of this is that, if issues are found they are solved earlier. Meaning less downtime and cost savings.

Tip 4: Using visual aids
Making things as easy as possible for your operators results in fewer errors. We’ve found that adding visual aids such as flow indicators or gauges on LEV’s can make a substantial difference. This is particularly true for new members of staff who might not be familiar with your specific make and model of LEV.

Tip 5: Regularly checking how well users are protected
The purpose of LEV’s is to protect users so it’s surprising how many organisations don’t monitor what is in the air that staff are exposed to. By doing regular air monitoring checks you’re able to test how effective the LEVs are being. This isn’t about buying new equipment but about the positioning, configuration and instalment of the LEV. A little bit of expert advice along with regular checks will ensure that your team are being protected rather than having your LEV investment wasted.

These tips are the start of good working practices with LEV’s with IOM’s experts being on hand to guide you through the whole process. From design to management, from compliance to testing.