Vibration emissions from hand tools

Working with vibrating tools (e.g., pneumatic tools, random orbital sanders, hammer drills, etc.) generates vibration emissions (vibrations). Over time, poor damping or prolonged use can lead to musculoskeletal disorders and even circulatory disorders in the hands ("white finger disease").

The maximum vibration emissions are specified by standards and must be complied with by manufacturers. For this purpose, the usage time is distributed over a day/shift. A distinction is made between:

• Duration of use: is calculated from the sum of machine usage,
  interruptions necessary for machine operation
  and break times.
• 
  Duration of exposure: the length of time during which the hand is in contact with the surface excited by vibrations.

Jene Begriffe sind in der DIN V 45694 definiert. Diese Emissionswerte müssen ab einer Beschleunigung oberhalb von 2.5 m/s² angegeben werden, unterhalb reicht es aus wenn folgendes angegeben wird „<2.5m/s²“. Wenn sie die reele Belastung eroieren wollen gehen Sie wie folgt vor:

• Determining the vibrations
• Compare the calculated value with that provided by the manufacturer.
• If not, apply a correction factor between 1.5 and 2 (applies to many electric and pneumatic tools).
• Check the attached table to see whether the trigger value (100 points corresponding to daily exposure value A(8) = 2.5 m/s² and/or exposure limit value (400 points corresponding to A(8) = 5 m/s²)
• documentation
• Define measures

Ingersoll Rand has always paid attention to emissions, and our tools operate within an acceleration range of 2–2.8 m/s².