Whole-body and hand-arm vibration

EU directive 2002/44/EC on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (vibration) has been in force since July 2002. In order to support transposition of the directive at national level, a guide intended for the Member States has been produced (manuals in German on the subject of hand-arm vibration (PDF, 1.5 MB, non-accessible) and whole-body vibration (PDF, 2.6 MB, non-accessible) are available for download in PDF format).

The German Ordinance on noise and vibration (LärmVibrationsArbSchV) of 6 March 2007 transposes the EC directive governing the protection of workers against vibration, together with the directive governing their protection against noise, into German law. The TRLV technical rules on vibration of March 2015 pursuant to the LärmVibrationsArbSchV provide information on the latter's implementation.

At workplaces involving vibration exposure, risk assessments are mandatory. In this context, the A(8) daily vibration exposure value describes the daily vibration exposure over a standardized duration of eight hours. The A(8) value is formed from the duration of exposure (duration of contact with a vibrating surface) and a vibration parameter. For hand-arm vibration, the vibration parameter is the total vibration value; for whole-body vibration, the frequency-weighted accelerations in the three axes of measurement are relevant. It is important to note that these vibration parameters are strongly dependent upon the local workplace conditions. They can be determined from measurements or by estimates with the aid of further sources of information (such as manufacturers' data). Online parameter converters (hand-arm vibration, whole-body vibration (XLSX, 35 kB) ) can then be used to calculate the A(8) value and to compare it with the action limits and the limit values defined in the LärmVibrationsArbSchV. The action value for hand-arm vibration is 2.5 m/s², that for whole-body vibration 0.5 m/s². The limit value for hand-arm vibration is 5 m/s²; for whole-body vibration it is 0.8 m/s² for the vertical (z) axis and 1.15 m/s² for the horizontal (x and y) axes of vibration.

If the action values of the A(8) are exceeded, technical and organizational preventive measures must be taken. If present, personal protective equipment must be made available and used. Occupational medical prophylaxis must be conducted. The daily vibration exposure must not exceed the limit values.

The body of state regulations is supplemented by information sheets published by the DGUV Woodworking and Metalworking Expert Committee (FB HM), guidance documents issued by OSH institutions, and standards and legislation:

• Information sheet No 052 (PDF, 494 KB) on hand-arm vibration/checklist for risk assessment, issued by the FB HM
• Information sheet No 053 (PDF, 267 KB) on whole-body vibration/risk assessment for mobile work equipment, issued by the FB HM
• Information sheet No 062 (PDF, 193 KB) on vibration measurements/practical assistance in application of DIN EN ISO 8041, issued by the FB HM

• Further prevention-related guidance documents: Project for the prevention of work-related complaints and diseases of the hand-arm system (inqa production).
• An essential rule concerning whole-body vibration (VDI 2057 Part 1) was revised in 2017. The changes are summarized in an overview(in German).

On behalf of the accident insurance institutions, the IFA conducts measurements and consultancy concerning workplace exposure to vibration. The institute is a notified body authorized to measure the vibration emissions of machines and for personal protective equipment. It is also an accredited body for the vibration testing of vehicle seats (PDF, 107 KB) in the commercial sector. This includes, for example, the measurement of emissions on numerous hand-held and manually guided machines, and on industrial trucks. In addition, the seats of earthmoving machinery, industrial trucks, articulated vehicles, antivibration gloves (PDF, 128 kB, non-accessible) and damping surfacings are tested for their required capacity to reduce vibrations. All tests are based upon test procedures which are standardized at international, European or national level.

Risk assessments required under the German Ordinance on noise and vibration protection are also conducted by the following specialist test bodies:

List of test bodies (KB, 79 KB)

Should the intensity reach certain levels, exposure over a period of years to whole-body vibration in a seated position may cause damage to the intervertebral disks of the spine (formally recognized occupational disease No. 2110). Hand-arm vibration can cause damage to joints (formally recognized occupational disease No. 2103) or circulatory disorders (formally recognized occupational disease No. 2104), and together with other effects may also cause carpal tunnel syndrome (formally recognized occupational disease No. 2113). Prevention in this area is therefore important.

The IFA stores the results of workplace vibration exposure measurements in a database. These data are available to the Accident Insurance Institutions upon request, for example for clarification of the conditions regarding the work arrangements for the recognition of suspected cases of occupational disease (refer also to BIA Report 3/2002, BGIA Report 10/2006, IFA Manual: code 220 220; all in German only).

The Accident Insurance Institutions have at their disposal an occupational anamnesis software application for vibration. This application, developed by the IFA, satisfies the quality requirements commonly agreed as a basis for the processing of suspected cases of occupational disease.

IFA Report 5/2917e (PDF, 17.4 MB, non-accessible) : Hand-arm vibration: Exposures to isolated and repeated shock vibrations - Review of the International Expert Workshop 2015 in Beijing

Kaulbars, U.: Measurement of isolated shocks in accordance with ISO/TS 15694 (PDF, 744 kB, non-accessible) . Proceedings of the 25th Japan Conference on Human Response to Vibration (JCHRV2017)

Gefährdungsbeurteilung der Hand-Arm-Vibration bei der Waldarbeit mit Motorkettensägen. IFA Report 5/2015

Kaulbars, U.: Schutz vor Hand-Arm-Vibration durch Substituieren und Isolieren. Praxisbeispiele zur Technischen Regel. Technische Sicherheit 1 (2011) Nr. 6, S. 47-53 (PDF, 5.8 MB, non-accessible)

Kaulbars, U.: Vibrations-Schutzhandschuhe haben begrenzte Wirkung. MM Maschinenmarkt (2010) Nr. 19, S. 30-32 (PDF, 747 kB, non-accessible)

Kaulbars, U.: Erstmals Grenzwerte für die Vibrationsbelastung. TÜ 48 (2007) Nr. 9, S. 17-23 (PDF, 816 kB, non-accessible)

Kaulbars, U.: Gefährdungsbeurteilung der Hand-Arm-Vibrationen im Flugzeugbau: Auswahl und Anwendung von Schutzmaßnahmen. In: VDI-Berichte (2010) Nr. 2097, S. 39-47 (PDF, 320 kB, non-accessible)

Topic area Vibrations in the wood and metal division of the DGUV