Sign in Career plug About us Offer Industries Tip Print Share Every day, hundreds of thousands of people are exposed to potentially harmful vibrations in their work at Swedish workplaces. But with a simple method, you can find those who have or risk injuries. Previa has helped JM in Malmö to call in people who are in the risk zone. Solution Previa has helped JM in Malmö to call in people who are at risk of suffering harmful vibrations in their work. In a basement by one of JM's new buildings in Lund, Jesper Smidt's concrete floors. His work environment consists of a massive noise, but the real problem is the machine vibrations that propagate up in the hands and arms. - I myself have felt a little problem with the joints in my hands, but I know several who have had worse problems, he says. Jesper participated in the vibration screening that JM Region Malmö / Syd carried out together with Previa in two rounds, 2010 and 2011. The goal was to find employees who have vibration-related problems or are at risk. The carpenter Patrik Johansson was the one who came up with the idea. He works part-time in a union and participates in a group that plans health promotion measures within JM Region Malmö / Syd. - A friend of mine worked as a concrete worker and had to quit after getting white fingers. He was only 30 years old. It made me think: "How are we at JM?", He says. The other two group participants, HR manager Lars Olsson from JM and Previa's company nurse Annika Berndtsson, thought that screening was a good idea. Previa produced a form with questions about various ailments and it was distributed with the usual health examination. Of the 130 employees who were screened, 16 were judged to have so much trouble that they were called for a medical examination. - Those who are at risk receive individual recommendations, for example to limit exposure to vibrating tools. One person has been advised not to continue his work, says Annika. The purpose of vibration screening is to reduce human suffering, but Lars points out that the employer also reduces the costs of rehabilitation. - The sooner we can detect any problems, the better for all parties. The model we used is simple, cost-effective and involves little effort at an early stage, he says. Awareness of JM's work environment has increased – Vi pratar mer om riskerna och är bättre på att hålla koll på hur länge vi jobbar med maskinerna. Jag använder alltid vibrationsdämpande handskar, säger Jesper. – Bland de positiva effekterna är att arbetstagarna reflekterar mer över exponeringsbesvär. Kunskapen har ökat och de ställer större krav på maskintillverkarna för att förebygga egen ohälsa. Inom Previa planerar vi att använda det här verktyget även inom andra branscher där personal utsätts för vibrationer, säger Annika. Fakta om Hand- och armvibrationer Arbetsmiljöverket uppskattar att ungefär 400 000 personer i Sverige i dagsläget utsätts för vibrationer under minst en fjärdedel av arbetstiden. Dessa potentiellt skadliga vibrationer överförs från handhållna verktyg och maskiner som mejselhammare, skruvdragare, slipmaskiner olika borrar och häcksaxar. Vibrationerna kan exempelvis leda till känselstörningar, så kallade vita fingrar och förslitningsskador. Området regleras bland annat genom EU:s vibrationsdirektiv 2002/44/EC samt Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrifter om medicinska kontroller i arbetslivet (AFS 2005:6) och om vibrationer (AFS 2005:15). Text: Ulf Wiman Bild: Adam Haglund Skapa en positiv arbetsmiljö Utveckla en arbetsmiljö som hjälper medarbetare att göra ett bättre jobb. Läs mer om Skapa en positiv arbetsmiljö Tillbaka Print 2017-10-24 Act quickly in case of suspicion of sexual harassment 2017-10-20 Vaccination against influenza 2017-10-10 World Mental Health Day Previa arranges several different activities and educations throughout Sweden. Read more about our activities Copyright © 2017 Previa Press Personal data management Subscribe Web overview of Previa.se