Taking measures required under the European Union’s 2002 Vibration Directive, Boomeranger Boats, a builder of specialized high-speed RIBs in Finland, tests two models of shock-mitigating seats to determine which will best reduce whole-body impacts on boat operators.
View full article: Practical Impact Exposure Testing
Boomeranger Boats Oy has built professional high-speed rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) since 1991. In the last two years, we’ve seen an increasing number of potential buyers inquiring whether the boats comply with the European Union Directive on Whole Body Impact and Vibration, a standard implemented to assure the health and safety of workers in E.U. member nations.
Designed to limit exposure to vibration in all workplaces, the directive specifies the responsibilities of employers to assess the risk and exposure to vibrations, plan and implement control measures, provide and maintain suitable work equip- ment, train workers about the risks, and monitor the effectiveness of risk controls. It specifi maximum daily exposure levels expressed as an e i g h t – hour energy-equivalent frequency-weighted acceleration, or A(8), value. Most relevant to marine professionals is the whole-body vibration limit expressed as 21 m/ s1.75. Every employer is responsible for assuring that employees are not exposed to impacts exceeding the limits. If exposure cannot be guaranteed to remain below the limits, exemptions from the directive can be granted, but only if the best available technologies to reduce shock exposure are employed. Summaries of the legislation identify sea and air transport as examples of workplaces where, despite protective measures, it may not be possible to always comply with the exposure limits.