The harmful effects of vibrations imposed on man have been well known for years. People exposed to too high vibration levels may experience vision and balance disturbances and in the most severe cases your body may be injured. The white finger syndrome is a typical example.
There are several national and international standards describing human exposure to vibrations. ISO has a range of standards. It is recommended to visit the ISO site for further information and latest updates. The most important standards are:
General standards
- ISO 8041 – Human response to vibration – Measuring instrumentation. This standard sets requirements to the measuring system and also defines the vibration weighting networks
- ISO 5348 - Mechanical vibration and shock – mechanical mounting of accelerometers
Standards for Whole Body vibration
- ISO 2631 Evaluation of human exposure to whole-body vibration- general requirements
- Part 1 General requirements
- Part 2 Vibration in buildings
- Part 4 Guidelines for the evaluation of vibration and rotational motion on passenger and crew comfor in fixed guide way transport system.
Standards for Hand Arm vibration
- ISO 5349-1 Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration – general requirements
- ISO 5349-2 Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration – practical guidance for measurement at the workspace
Whole Body
The human body's sensitivity to vibrations is at its most sensitive within 4-8Hz in the longitudinal direction and 1-2Hz in the transverse direction. Longitudinal direction will be the vertical direction for a standing person.
ISO 2631 requires the whole body to be measured in the frequency range 0,5 - 160 Hz. Maximum allowed limit is 1.15m/s2. Single action level is set to 0.5m/s2
The measurements should be measured simultaneously in all three axes using a triaxial accelerometer mounted into a seat cushion for a sitting person or on a plate or the basement for a standing person
Hand Arm
Besides the whole body vibration there is also hand-arm vibration standards. The ISO 5349 defines measurements to be taken in the frequency range from 1 to 1000 Hz. Maximum allowed limit is 5m/s2. Single action level is set to 2.5m/s2.
The measurements should be measured simultaneously in all three axes using a triaxial accelerometer mounted onto the vibrating device while the person is operating the device under test.
CVK Healtvib and CVK Vibindicator
