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Health and Safety

At Frank Key Plant and Tool Hire, each piece of equipment hired has been thoroughly examined for maintenance and safety by our experienced fitters, your safety is our priority.

Frank Plant and Tool Hire – SafeHire certified

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The SafeHire standard has been developed by the Hire Association Europe (HAE) with assistance from the British Standards Institute (BSI). The certification proves that Frank Key Plant and Tool Hire are competent in safety, health, environment and quality, continuing to meet high standards of customer service through a well trained workforce.

General Advice

Make sure you are confident and trained to correctly use the tools you hire.

We pride ourselves on providing exceptional service and advice. If you are unsure of how to use a tool properly please ask a member of the Frank Key Plant and Tool Hire team, who will be happy to advice you.

Personal Protective Equipment

It’s important to choose the right Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) when working with any tools in order to reduce your risk of injury. Please use the following symbols, which you will see throughout this guide, to help determine what PPE items we recommend you use.


Hand Arm Vibration

Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) are vibrations that are produced and transferred through the equipment into the operators’ hands and arms when carrying out certain working processes.

If anyone suffers enough exposure to these vibrations for lengthy time periods during the day or over extended periods (weeks, months or years) irreversible injuries could be caused. These are called ‘Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome’ or ‘HAVS’. 

To protect yourself and your employees, ensure everyone is aware of the symptoms which could indicate Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome. Symptoms are:

  • Tingling (pins & needles) in your arms and hands.
  • Numbness in your arms and hands, especially on your finger tips and around your knuckles
  • Difficulty in using your hands to pick up or hold items such as pens, coins etc.

Equipment Selection

Ensure that you use the right tool for the job. If the tool is too small or not powerful enough it is likely that it will take longer for the job to be completed and can expose you to vibration for longer. Also, using our HAV Colour Code guide below, select the lowest vibration tool that can do the job well and efficiently.

Workstation Design

Think about how you can arrange your workstation to minimise the impact on your hands, wrists and arms caused by poor posture and gripping heavy tools tightly.

Work Schedules

Plan your work schedule so you are not exposed to vibration for long periods of time by taking frequent breaks and limiting the overall time you are exposed to vibration.

Clothing

Ensure you wear protective clothing to stay warm and dry, to maintain good blood circulation which should help defend against developing vibration white finger. However, please not solely rely on gloves to protect you against vibration and take other precautions as well.

For more information on Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome, please visit the Health & Safety Executive website.

Guide to our HAV Colour Code & Hire Equipment

The Exposure Limit Value (ELV) of 5.0m/s2 is the maximum amount of vibration exposure that a worker can be subjected to in a working day and must never be exceeded.

Look out for the triangle HAV risk symbol throughout the site to assess your hand-arm vibration.