Keep calm and carry on LEV testing is the advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE have updated the latest information for engineering, metalworking and motor vehicle repair businesses concerning the examination and testing of work equipment, as businesses across the UK reopen their doors after the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
LEV Testing: A Legal Requirement
The updated guidance to duty holders explains how the HSE expects reasonable efforts to be made to arrange for Thorough Examination and Testing (TExT) within the statutory time limit, so keep calm and carry on LEV testing. In the ‘Thorough examination and testing of equipment during the coronavirus outbreak: Your legal obligations’ guidance, it states: “It is a legal obligation to ensure that work plant and equipment is maintained and is safe to use” and applies to the following types of equipment:
- LEV Testing (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) for Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) equipment
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations
- Pressure Systems Safety Regulations
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment (including power presses)
- Electricity at Work Regulations
LEV Equipment Test Failure
LEV equipment can be prone to damage from regular use and deterioration can create dangerous situations, physical harm to employees and disrupt a business’s operations; so, LEV systems must continue to be properly maintained and inspected. It is understood that in the case of an LEV system, it is unlikely that the LEV system itself will present a safety risk if used beyond the LEV test date, however; the control of airborne contaminants may be reduced.
A Flexible Approach
At Auto Extract Systems Ltd, our LEV and Service Department have adopted a flexible approach to businesses and duty holders who have requested their LEV equipment LEV testing to be completed before or after working hours, thus ensuring that all social distancing measures are adhered to. We will work alongside you to agree on appropriate safe working arrangements to allow mandatory LEV testing to take place. Find out what’s involved in an LEV test here.
There is limited availability remaining to get your LEV test booked in for July 2020 and; we have already received a higher volume of bookings than usual for August 2020. These are primarily accommodating the backlog of LEV tests that expired during the lockdown period. We are currently advising those businesses whose LEV equipment LEV tests have now expired (and are not legally compliant) to get in touch with us today. Please call us on +44 (0)1942 267444 or email info@autoxtract.co.uk.
