What this is
What is a tool vibration register?
What is a tool vibration register?
It is the maintained list of every vibrating tool in use, each entry carrying the vibration magnitude in metres per second squared, where that magnitude came from, the maximum trigger time the magnitude permits, and the tool's condition. It is a reference table, not an assessment: it tells a supervisor how long a given tool may be run before an exposure value is reached, and it supplies the magnitudes that the hand-arm vibration assessment combines with real usage times.
What is trigger time and why is it on the register?
Trigger time is the time the tool is in contact with the workpiece and vibrating, not the duration of the job: a two-hour cutting task might contain twenty-five minutes of trigger time. It appears on the register because it is the only variable a supervisor controls on the day, and stating the limit against the magnitude turns an exposure value into an instruction someone can follow.
Why are measured values preferred over manufacturers' figures?
Declared emission values come from standardised test codes with a defined operator, workpiece and consumable, published with an uncertainty allowance. Real use involves worn bearings, blunt discs and harder material. The gap is not marginal: in-use magnitudes at twice the declared figure are common, and because exposure scales with the square of magnitude, doubling the figure cuts the permitted trigger time to a quarter.
Scope
When is a tool vibration register required?
This is a reference register, not an exposure assessment and not a health record. Its most common misuse is being treated as the compliance deliverable for vibration, when it is only the lookup table that the actual assessment depends on.
Use this template when
- Setting up vibration control on a site where nobody can say what magnitude any tool produces
- A new tool type is introduced, or a tool is replaced with a different model or consumable
- A tool returns from repair and its magnitude must be confirmed before it goes back into issue
- A hand-arm vibration assessment is being prepared and needs a defensible magnitude per tool
- The annual review is due, or a site measurement campaign has produced figures that supersede declared data
Do not use it for
- Calculating a person's daily exposure, which is the Hand Arm Vibration Assessment and needs real trigger times per worker across every tool used in the shift
- Driving and mobile plant exposure, which is the Whole Body Vibration Assessment with different metrics, different action and limit values and seat condition as a variable
- Health surveillance for vibration-exposed workers, which is the Vibration Health Surveillance Record and runs on a tiered clinical pathway
- Asset ownership, inspection and statutory examination, which belong in the equipment register the entries link back to
- Recording the measurement itself, which needs an ISO 5349-2 record of instrument, mounting and operator rather than a single number
Compliance mapping
Which ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 requirements does this satisfy?
Vibration is one of the few occupational exposures with hard numeric limits in Europe and none at all in the United States. Where the values are statutory, the register is the evidence that the numbers used in the assessment were defensible; where they are not, the same figures arrive through consensus limits and recognised-hazard duties.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.4 | Daily exposure action value of 2.5 m/s² A(8) and limit value of 5 m/s² A(8) for hand-arm vibration | Outcome |
| Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.5 | Risk assessment based on the magnitude of vibration from the equipment as actually used, using observation and appropriate data | Register quality |
| Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.6 | Exposure eliminated or reduced to as low as reasonably practicable through equipment selection, maintenance and work schedules | Maintenance link |
| PUWER 1998 reg.5 | Work equipment maintained in efficient working order and in good repair, with a maintenance log kept up to date | Maintenance link |
| Directive 2002/44/EC art.4 | Determination and assessment of exposure, permitting use of emission data where it represents the actual conditions of use | Tools |
| ISO 5349-1 | Vibration total value from frequency-weighted acceleration on three axes, expressed as the eight-hour energy-equivalent A(8) | Tools |
| ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 | Hazard identification and risk assessment inputs maintained, reviewed and kept current as the equipment population changes | Header |
| ISO 45001 cl.7.5.3 | Documented information available where and when needed, and traceable to the asset it describes | Related records |
What it does not cover
- The hand-arm vibration exposure assessment, which combines these magnitudes with each worker's real trigger times across every tool in the shift and is the record judged against the exposure values.
- Health surveillance, which under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.7 is required where exposure is likely to exceed the action value or the worker is at particular risk, and runs on a tiered clinical pathway.
- Whole-body vibration, which uses different weightings and different values entirely and belongs with mobile plant, seat condition and surface quality rather than with hand tools.
- The measurement itself, which needs a competent measurement to ISO 5349-2 recording instrument, transducer mounting, operator, workpiece and consumable, not just a resulting figure.
- Disease reporting, which in Great Britain arises under RIDDOR 2013 reg.9 on diagnosis of hand-arm vibration syndrome or carpal tunnel syndrome in a worker whose work involves regular use of vibrating tools.
Global
Tool Vibration Register requirements by country
Europe sets numeric action and limit values with a mandatory assessment; North America has no equivalent standard for hand-arm vibration and relies on consensus limits and general duties. The register's content is the same either way, but what happens when a tool is above the value differs sharply.
OSH Act section 5(a)(1); ACGIH TLV for hand-arm vibration; NIOSH criteria document 89-106
No OSHA standard for hand-arm vibration. Consensus limits and a recognised-hazard duty.
Enforcement runs through the General Duty Clause, where a register showing tools above the ACGIH limit and no action taken is itself the evidence of recognition.
Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005; HSE guidance L140
Action value 2.5 and limit value 5 m/s² A(8), with assessment, control, health surveillance and training duties.
The limit value may not be exceeded, so a tool whose magnitude makes the limit reachable within a shift needs a scheduled control, not a warning.
Directive 2002/44/EC; Machinery Regulation and its predecessor Directive 2006/42/EC
Same action and limit values, with manufacturers required to declare vibration emission for hand-held and hand-guided machinery.
The declaration duty is why declared figures exist, and why they compare tools well but do not transfer to a workplace assessment.
Provincial OHS regulations, with ACGIH threshold limit values adopted by reference in several provinces
Vibration addressed through general exposure-control provisions rather than a dedicated regulation in most jurisdictions.
Where ACGIH limits are adopted by reference they become enforceable, so the register's magnitudes carry European weight.
Model WHS Regulations r.34 to r.38; AS 2763 hand-transmitted vibration
No prescribed exposure value; risk managed through identification, the hierarchy of control and review of controls.
With no numeric threshold, defensibility rests on showing the magnitudes were known and the hierarchy applied, which makes the register the primary evidence.
ISO 5349-1 and ISO 5349-2; EN ISO 28927 series test codes
Measurement and evaluation method, dose-response guidance, and the emission test codes manufacturers declare against.
A magnitude quoted without saying whether it came from a workplace measurement or an emission test code is unusable by anyone reviewing it later.
How to complete it
How to complete a tool vibration register, step by step
A register can be complete, tidy and entirely misleading. The judgement calls below decide whether the numbers in it will survive a review by anyone who understands how they were produced.
The template scores the source field deliberately: site measurement highest, trade association data next, manufacturer declared low, estimated at zero. That ordering is the point of the field. A register where every entry says manufacturer declared is not a register of magnitudes, it is a transcription of catalogues, and the first competent question anybody asks is which tools were measured.
The trigger time figure is meaningless without two qualifications: that it means tool-on-workpiece time rather than task duration, and whether it is the time to the action value or to the limit value. Sites routinely publish the limit-value time and then wonder why exposures cluster above the action value. Publish the action-value figure as the operating limit and hold the limit-value figure as the ceiling.
The condition and last-serviced fields sit next to the magnitude for a reason. A tool in fair or poor condition is not the tool that was measured, and a blunt disc or a worn chisel can lift the real figure well beyond the entry. Decide in advance what happens when condition drops: either the tool comes out of service or the entry carries a derated trigger time, but not a good magnitude against a poor tool.
Two fields ask whether supervisors use the register and whether it is displayed at the tool store, and they decide whether any of the preceding work matters. The exposure decision is made by the person picking up the tool and the supervisor allocating the job; a register that lives in the safety management system reaches neither, and the honest answer to both fields is usually no.
What auditors find
Most common tool vibration register findings
The register itself is usually present and usually plausible. Findings concentrate on where the numbers came from, whether they still describe the tools in the store, and whether anybody at the workface has ever seen them.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Every magnitude is manufacturer declared and no source is stated per entry. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.5 | Record the source against each tool and measure the ones that dominate exposure in use. |
| Trigger times derived from declared figures, so the published limits are substantially longer than the work permits. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.4 | Recalculate every trigger time from measured or trade association magnitudes and reissue the register. |
| Trigger time recorded as job duration rather than contact time, overstating permitted use. | ISO 5349-1 | Define trigger time as tool-on-workpiece minutes, on the register and in the briefing. |
| Tools with no vibration data are simply absent from the register rather than flagged. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.5 | List them with the gap declared and a target date for measurement or withdrawal. |
| Register not reconciled with the equipment register; retired tools listed and current tools missing. | ISO 45001 cl.7.5.3 | Reconcile against the tool register at each review using the identification number as the key. |
| Magnitude not rechecked after bearing, spindle or balancer repair. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.6 | Make a magnitude recheck part of the return-to-service test for rotating and percussive tools. |
| Consumable specification not defined, so a blunt disc or worn chisel raises the real magnitude without any record changing. | PUWER 1998 reg.5 | State the consumable and its replacement point in the entry, and enforce it through the tool store. |
| Register held by the safety function and not visible where tools are issued. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.8 | Display magnitudes and action-value trigger times at the tool store and in the job brief. |
| Anti-vibration gloves credited as a reduction in the calculated exposure. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.6 | Remove the credit; treat gloves as warmth and grip, and control exposure through tool and time. |
| Tools above the action value counted in the outcome section but no action record raised. | Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 reg.6 | Raise a corrective action for each tool above the value, with an owner, control and date. |
Case in point
Case in point: the grinder that was cleared for three hours
A steel fabrication shop maintained a tool vibration register with forty-one entries, all sourced from manufacturers' handbooks. The 125 mm angle grinder used for weld dressing was entered at 4.2 m/s², from which the register calculated a maximum trigger time of 170 minutes to the action value and noted that the limit value could not be reached in a single shift. Supervisors allocated weld dressing accordingly and nobody questioned it.
A fitter with eleven years on the job reported tingling and blanching in three fingers of his right hand. Health surveillance staged it, and the case prompted a measurement campaign. The grinder, measured in use with the discs actually stocked, came out at 9.6 m/s². At that magnitude the action value arrives in thirty-three minutes and the limit value in a little over two hours. The register had been authorising five times the trigger time the tool could support, and two other fitters on the task were near the limit value on a normal day.
The declared figure was not fabricated. It came from a test code using a smooth grinding operation with a new wheel, which is not weld dressing with a part-worn disc on a fillet. What made the register indefensible was a trigger time presented with the authority of a measurement when no entry had ever been measured. The corrective action was to measure the eight tools accounting for most of the shop's exposure, derate the rest pending measurement, and print the action-value trigger times on the tool store board.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
6 sections
- Reference
- HLT-044
- Archetype
- Register
- Record ID
- TVR-2026-000
- Scoring
- Records complete
- Direction
- High is good
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2
- Links
- Links Tool register, HAV assessment
- Tags
- Vibration, Registry
- Sections
- 6
- Fields
- 44
- Follow up fields
- 3
- Repeating sections
- 1
- Links out
- 3
Header
8 fieldsRegister ID*
Auto sequence. Format TVR-2026-000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Site*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Last Reviewed*
Maintained By*
Next Review Due*
Laboratory Figures Understate Real Exposure
Manufacturer magnitudes are measured under ideal conditions with new consumables. On a worn tool with a blunt disc the real figure is often double.
Register quality
6 fieldsEvery Vibrating Tool Listed*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Magnitude Recorded For Each*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Source Of Magnitude Stated*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Site Measured Values Preferred*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Maximum Trigger Time Stated*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Tools Without Data Identified*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Maintenance link
6 fieldsTools On A Maintenance Schedule*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Consumables Replacement Defined*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Worn Tools Removed From Service*
- Yes2 pts
- No0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Magnitude Rechecked After Repair*
- Yes2 pts
- No0 pts
- N/Aexcluded from denominator
Purchasing Specifies Low Vibration*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Obsolete High Vibration Tools Replaced*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Tools
Repeats9 fieldsTool Description*
Identification Number*
Category*
Magnitude*
Magnitude Source*
- Site measurement4 pts
- Trade association data3 pts
- Manufacturer declared1 pt
- Estimated0 pts
Maximum Trigger Time Minutes*
Condition*
- Good3 pts
- Fair1 pt
- Poor0 pts
Last Serviced
In Service*
Related records
1 fieldTool Register ID
The tool this magnitude belongs to.
Links to FDN-025 Register ID
Outcome
14 fieldsTools On Register*
Tools Without Magnitude Data*
Tools Above Action Value*
Register Used By Supervisors*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Displayed At Tool Store*
- Yes3 pts
- Partly1 pt
- No0 pts
Next Review Due*
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Engineering*
Signature*
Safety Lead*
Second Signature*
HLT-044 · record IDs look like TVR-2026-000 · Links Tool register, HAV assessment
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The register is a table of numbers whose accuracy depends entirely on processes that sit outside it: the repair that changed the tool, the purchase that changed the disc, and the surveillance result that should have questioned the figure.
Carries the magnitudes into the hand-arm vibration assessment and links exposure above the action value to the surveillance the worker is then owed.
Ties each entry to the tool's service history so a repair, a condition downgrade or a missed service raises the magnitude recheck rather than passing unnoticed.
Holds the tools above the action value as open control decisions with owners and dates, instead of a count in the outcome section that nobody acts on.
Reconciles the register against the equipment register and the purchasing record, and flags declared-only entries and consumable changes that should have forced a review.
This template lives in KnowHealth — employee wellbeing. Exposure monitoring, health surveillance, case management and return to work.
Meet KnowHealth→Glossary
Tool Vibration Register definitions and key terms
- A(8)
- Daily exposure expressed as the magnitude that, held continuously for eight hours, is equivalent; it turns a mix of tools and times into one figure.
- Vibration total value
- Combined frequency-weighted acceleration across three axes at the hand, in metres per second squared, and the quantity a magnitude entry records.
- Exposure action value
- The daily exposure at which control and health surveillance are required: 2.5 m/s² A(8) for hand-arm vibration in Europe.
- Exposure limit value
- The daily exposure that must not be exceeded: 5 m/s² A(8), reached far faster than most sites expect on high-magnitude tools.
- Trigger time
- The time a tool is in contact with the work and vibrating: typically a small fraction of task duration, and the only variable a supervisor controls.
- Exposure points
- A scheme in which partial exposures simply add rather than needing energy summation, with 100 points equal to the action value and 400 to the limit value.
- Declared emission value
- The manufacturer's figure from a standardised test code, published with an uncertainty allowance, for comparing tools rather than assessing exposure.
- Hand-arm vibration syndrome
- Vascular, sensorineural and musculoskeletal damage from hand-transmitted vibration, staged on the Stockholm Workshop scale and largely irreversible.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about tool vibration register
Can we build the register from manufacturers' figures?+
As a starting position, yes; as the finished register, no. Declared values are legitimate data and are explicitly permitted as an input where they represent the actual conditions of use, which for hand tools is rarely true. Use them to populate the register on day one, mark every entry as declared, and then measure the tools that carry most of the site's trigger time. A register that still shows only declared figures a year later has not been maintained.
Do anti-vibration gloves reduce exposure?+
No, and crediting them against a calculated exposure is a finding rather than a control. Gloves tested to the relevant standard attenuate at higher frequencies where the health risk is lower, transmit or amplify at the lower frequencies that matter most, and can increase the grip force a worker applies, which worsens transmission. They have a genuine role in keeping hands warm and dry, which does help, but that is not exposure reduction.
What do we do about tools with no data at all?+
Put them on the register with the gap declared, assign a measurement date, and in the meantime treat them as high magnitude rather than unknown. The temptation is to leave them off so the register reads as complete. That converts a known gap into an invisible one, and it removes the only mechanism, the tools-without-data count in the outcome section, that would ever get them addressed.
Who is competent to measure vibration magnitude?+
Someone who can mount a transducer correctly, capture three axes with the right weighting, and select a representative operation and operator. Single-axis readings by an untrained person are worse than a declared figure because they carry false authority. If in-house competence does not exist, buy the measurement for the tools that matter and take trade association data for the rest.
How often should the register be reviewed?+
Annually as a backstop, and on event otherwise. A new tool model, a change of consumable supplier, a repair to a rotating or percussive mechanism, and a condition downgrade should each reach the register without waiting for the review date. In practice the consumable change is the trigger most often missed, because purchasing has no reason to know that the disc specification is an exposure control.
Does the register satisfy our vibration duties?+
No. It is the input, not the assessment. The duty is to assess each worker's daily exposure, combining these magnitudes with real trigger times across every tool used in a shift, then controlling and, above the action value, providing surveillance. Sites regularly present a well-kept register as their vibration compliance and cannot then name one person's A(8).
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Occupational Health Surveillance
Similar Exposure Group Register
Groups workers who share the same tasks, agents and exposure patterns
Qualitative Exposure Assessment
Rates likely exposure using professional judgement, task knowledge and existing data, before any sampling
Personal Air Sampling Record
Records a sample taken from a worker's breathing zone over a shift
Area Monitoring Record
Records fixed point sampling in a work area rather than on a person
Noise Dosimetry Record
Records a worker's noise exposure over a full shift using a personal dosimeter
Chemical Exposure Assessment
Assesses exposure to a specific chemical across the tasks where it is used
More in Vibration
Hand Arm Vibration Assessment
Assesses exposure to vibrating tools against daily exposure action and limit values
Whole Body Vibration Assessment
Assesses vibration exposure from driving forklifts, trucks and mobile plant, including seat condition and surface quality
Vibration Health Surveillance Record
Records tiered health surveillance for vibration exposed workers, from questionnaire through to clinical assessment
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, regulations 4 to 8 (GB)
- HSE L140, hand-arm vibration: guidance on the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005
- Directive 2002/44/EC on minimum health and safety requirements regarding exposure to vibration
- ISO 5349-1:2001 and ISO 5349-2:2001, human exposure to hand-transmitted vibration
- EN ISO 28927 series, test codes for vibration emission from hand-held power tools
- ACGIH threshold limit value for hand-arm vibration; NIOSH criteria document 89-106 (US)
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 5 (GB)
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.