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Right of appeal and compensation

20.  Regulations 11 and 12 (right of appeal and compensation) of the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 1995(15) (which by virtue of regulation 19 of those Regulations apply in relation to the exercise of powers of detention contained in safety regulations) apply in relation to a detention notice served on a Government ship under these Regulations as if these Regulations were for all purposes made under section 85 of the Act.

Prohibition on Levy

21.  No charge in respect of anything done or provided in pursuance of any specific requirement of these Regulations shall be levied or permitted to be levied on any worker.

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE

Definitions

1.  In this schedule—

“acceleration” means the quantity used to represent vibration magnitude in units of metres per second per second (m/s²);

“frequency weighted acceleration” means vibration magnitude corrected for varying human sensitivity to vibration at different frequencies;

“BS EN ISO standard 5349-1” means the British Standard publication “Mechanical vibration - Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration Part I: General Requirements” first edition dated 10^th May 2001;

“BS EN ISO standard 5349-2” means the British Standard publication “Mechanical vibration - Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration - Part 2: Practical guidance for measurement at the workplace” first edition dated 23 August 2001;

“ISO 2631-1” means the International Organisation for Standardisation publication “Mechanical vibration and shock - Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body vibration - Part 1: General requirements” second edition dated 15 July 1997; and

“orthogonal axes” means the three directions of vibration which are at right angles to one another.

Assessment of Exposure

2.  Assessment of the level of exposure to hand-arm vibration is to be based on the calculation of the daily exposure value normalised to an eight hour reference period A(8), expressed as the square root of the sum of the squares (rms) (total value) of the frequency weighted acceleration values, determined on the orthogonal axes a_hwx, a_hwy, and a_hwz, as defined in Chapters 4 and 5 and Annex A to BS EN ISO standard 5349-1.

3.  Assessment of the level of exposure to whole body vibration is to be based on the calculation of daily exposure expressed as equivalent continuous acceleration over an eight hour period, calculated as the highest (rms) value, determined on three orthogonal axes (1,4a_wx, 1,4a_wy, a_wz, for a seated or standing worker) in accordance with Chapters 5, 6 and 7, Annex A and Annex B to ISO standard 2631-1.

4.  Assessment of whole body vibration need only include vibrations of a frequency exceeding 1 hz.

5.  If the assessment is based on measurement in accordance with regulation 6(3)(c)—

(1) the methods used—

(a) may include sampling, which must be representative of the personal exposure of a worker to the mechanical vibration in question; and

(b) must be adopted to—

(i) the particular characteristics of the mechanical vibration to be measured;

(ii) to ambient factors; and

(iii) to the characteristics of the measuring apparatus;

(c) in the case of whole body vibration, must be carried out in accordance with BS EN ISO standard 5349-2;

(2) in the case of hand-arm vibration for devices which need to be held with both hands—

(i) measurements must be made for each hand;

(ii) the exposure is determined by reference to the higher of the two values; and

(iii) information for the other hand must also be provided.

Interference and indirect risks

6.  Regulation 6(4)(d) shall apply in particular where mechanical vibration interferes with—

(1) the proper handling of controls or reading indicators; and

(2) the stability of structures or the security of joints.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement Council Directive 2002/44/EC (OJ No L 177, 6.7.2002, p.13) on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (vibration) (sixteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC). They apply to United Kingdom ships wherever they may be and non-United Kingdom ships in United Kingdom waters. The Regulations impose duties on employers to protect workers who may be exposed to risk from exposure to vibration at work.

The Regulations apply to both hand-arm and whole-body vibration. They make provision for—

(a) action values and limit values for daily exposure to vibration (regulation 5);

(b) risk assessment (regulation 6);

(c) elimination or, where elimination is not reasonably practicable, reduction of exposure to vibration;

(d) measures to reduce exposure to vibration to as low a level as is reasonably practicable;

(e) actions to be taken at action values and limit values;

(f) prohibition on exceeding limit values (regulation 7);

(g) information, instruction and training (regulation 8);

(h) health surveillance (regulation 9);

(i) consultation (regulation 10);

(j) the grant of exemptions by the Secretary of State (regulation 12); and

(k) offences, detention, inspection and penalties (regulations 11 and 13 to 20).

These Regulations are made under the powers in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 except in relation to their application to Government ships where the powers are provided by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972.

Copies of British Standard BS EN ISO 5349-1:2001 and BS EN ISO 5349-2:2001, relating to measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted mechanical vibration are obtainable from British Standards Institution, BSI House, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL. International Standard ISO 2631-1:1997, relating to measurement and evaluation of human exposure to whole-body mechanical vibration and shock, referred to in the Schedule is obtainable from the International Standards Organisation, 1, rue de Varembé, Case postale 56CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment and a Transposition Note have been prepared and a copy has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1EG (telephone number 02380 329100).

Merchant Shipping Notices can be obtained from Mail Marketing (Scotland), Unit 6, Bloomsgrove Industrial Estate, Norton Street, Nottingham, NG7 3JG (telephone 0115 901 3336; fax 0115 901 3334; e-mail orders: mca@promo-solution.com). They may also be accessed via the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s website http://www.mcga.gov.uk.