Hand-arm vibration exposure points calculator
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Type a vibration magnitude and the hours of use to see exposure points and the daily A(8) value by the method in the calculator of the Health and Safety Executive, the office named here.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Published tables are revised: the source has the last word.
Work it out
How the answer is worked out
These are the formulas in the HSE spreadsheet. For each row, partial exposure A(8) = the magnitude times the square root of (hours divided by 8), and partial points = (magnitude divided by 2.5) squared, times (hours divided by 8), times 100. That works out as 2 times the magnitude squared times the hours.
Daily A(8) = the square root of the sum of the squares of the partial A(8) values. Daily points = the sum of the partial points.
The exposure action value is 2.5 m/s² A(8), which is 100 points. The exposure limit value is 5 m/s² A(8), which is 400 points.
What the sources say
The HSE calculator guide says its spreadsheet takes a vibration magnitude and an exposure duration for up to six machines or processes and works out partial and daily exposure in both m/s² A(8) and exposure points. It gives the action value as 2.5 m/s² A(8) or 100 points and the limit value as 5 m/s² A(8) or 400 points. This page takes four rows.
The HSE leaflet Hand-arm vibration at work: a brief guide sets a daily exposure action value of 2.5 m/s² A(8) and a daily exposure limit value of 5 m/s² A(8). HSE's page for arboriculture and forestry says exposure above the daily limit value is prohibited and that controls must be introduced for workers at or above the action value, and that makers' vibration emission values are a good starting point for estimating exposure from combustion-engine tools.
The calculator holds no tool values. The magnitude is whatever is typed.
Arithmetic only. The answer is only as good as the numbers entered. It is not a plan or a safe working load for any job.
Sources
- HSE, The hand-arm vibration exposure calculator (guide page), read October 8, 2026
- HSE, hand-arm vibration exposure calculator spreadsheet, version 6.3 September 2023, read October 8, 2026
- HSE, Hand-arm vibration at work: a brief guide (INDG175, PDF), read October 8, 2026
- HSE, Hand-arm vibration in arboriculture and forestry, read October 8, 2026