LEV Coshh Testing

HOW WE CAN HELP WITH LEV TESTING

How Often Should You Test an LEV System?

Under HSE’s Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations, Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) testing is a legal requirement in the UK. Your LEV equipment must be thoroughly examined and tested by a competent person at least every 14 months to ensure your employees are safe.

If it’s been over a year since your last LEV test, we strongly suggest you book us in to test your LEV systems, and ensure your premises remain safe for your employees.

Why is LEV Testing Important?

According to HSE’s Occupational Lung Disease in Great Britain (2018), 12,000 workers in the UK die each year from past exposure to airborne contaminants at work. LEV systems are designed to prevent the inhalation of these harmful substances, reducing risks in the workplace.

Not only is it the law, and you could receive a hefty fine for not keeping on top of your LEV obligations, but there are also many safety and efficiency-based reasons.

Keep Your LEV System Efficient

If your LEV system doesn’t benefit from regular testing then ducts can get blocked, or other parts of the system can be compromised. This means the LEV system that you put time, effort, and money into getting installed, won’t be working efficiently.

Keep Your Warranty & Insurance Validated

Neglecting your commitment to annual LEV testing can lead to invalidating your system’s warranty and can lead to difficulties if you require an insurance payout. To fully keep on top of this, it is also recommended to undertake quarterly LEV servicing outside of your legal obligations.

how does it work

What’s included in an LEV test?

All our work is undertaken in accordance with our methodology documents and adheres to the HSE guidance that governs LEV testing and includes:

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A thorough visual and structural examination of the extraction system to ensure that it is in efficient working order, in good repair and in clean condition.

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During the test we will carry out an inspection of all key components including internal ducts, filter cleaning devices, fan belts and alarms.

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A review of the LEV's technical performance to check conformity with the benchmark performance in the commissioning report, this will include careful observation as well as performance checks and tests.

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Finally, an overall assessment of the LEV's control effectiveness will be carried out to ensure the LEV continues to provide adequate control of exposure to airborne contaminants.

Following inspection, the LEV system will be marked as a pass or fail. Our expert LEV commissioning engineers all hold the P604 qualification, an advanced proficiency module on the performance and management of LEV systems.

This means that we don’t just pass or fail your system we take it one step further. In the event of failing a LEV COSHH Test, we will provide you with the reasons for the failure and the actions required to fix it.

Why Choose Vent-Tech for LEV Testing?

HSE Compliance

We will conduct our testing in full accordance with HSE guidelines using the appropriate LEV testing equipment.

Experienced LEV Testing Engineers

You’ll have our vast experience at your disposal as we have been testing LEV systems for more than twenty years.

We Are A Trusted Provider of LEV Testing

You can rest assured that we are trusted by national organisations such as The Royal Mint and Cranfield University.

Commitment to Driving up Industry Standards

We are active members of ILEVE who seek to drive up standards within the LEV industry.

If equipment failings are uncovered, our P601, P602, P603 and P604 qualified LEV engineers can provide pragmatic, cost-effective advice for remedial work to ensure HSE compliance. We can also carry out the work for you.

Easy access to all your LEV documents

It is also a legal requirement for a record of the examination and test to be kept for at least five years.

Many of our customers have several LEV systems which require testing, resulting in a lot of paperwork.

We store all your LEV documents in our password-protected LEV Vault so you have instant access to all your documents and the peace of mind of knowing that everything is in one secure place and easily accessible 24/7.

If we carry out the work for you, you can be sure that your equipment will perform to the correct standard, and we will issue you with an LEV report showing your compliance. Therefore, you will fulfill your obligation to ensure your equipment is properly maintained, keeping your staff safe and not risk incurring HSE fines, or worse, a jail term. We recommend regular LEV servicing to help ensure your system is consistently working to its maximum efficiency throughout the year, and helps prevent any unwanted surprises at test time

What are the Legal Requirements for LEV Testing?

It’s mandatory that employers assess the level of exposure and the risks to their employees of airborne hazards. They must put sufficient control measures in place, monitor and maintain them. These control measures must be followed properly by employees and in accordance with instructions given to them. As Regulation 9 of the COSHH Regulations states:

Every employer who provides any LEV to meet the regulations shall ensure:

it is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition. Regulation 9 -1 COSHH.

UK regulations are also clear that employers must make sure that thorough examination and testing of their protective LEV is carried out at least every 14 months (unless otherwise stipulated).

Remedial LEV Services

If your system fails its annual LEV test it is important to rectify the outlined issues as promptly as possible to safely resume running your business operations.
Remedial works must be carried out by a competent LEV engineer. At Vent-Tech we pride ourselves on the high level of training and experience that our engineers have. Our team offers a nationwide service that will ensure your LEV system meets HSE compliance and performs to the required benchmark standards. If your system fails it’s 14 monthly test, we have the expertise to recommend and carry out any work required to make your system compliant again.

qualifications

Why BOHS Qualifications Matter for LEV Testing

LEV systems are designed to protect workers from hazardous dust and fumes. They need regular testing by a qualified person to ensure that the systems are functioning correctly.

A good way to find out an engineer’s competencies for LEV Testing is to ask about their BOHS qualifications. The qualification needed to test LEV systems is the P601 Thorough Examination & Testing of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Systems.

However, this qualification does not cover the detail of the design of LEV systems. Therefore, Vent-Tech engineers go the extra mile and are all P601 and P602 qualified, as well as being members of ILEVE. Our LEV commissioning engineers also hold the advanced P604 qualification (Performance Evaluation and Management of Local Exhaust Ventilation Systems).

With loyal customers including MB Aerospace and Exxon Mobil, we are recognised for our expertise and reliability.