Why measure or evaluate vibration exposure?
We can feel vibrations and know that people might be exposed to it. But we cannot determine if what we feel is going to be harmful. For that, we must measure vibration exposure. Vibration is the mechanical oscillations of an object about an equilibrium point. The oscillations may be regular such as the motion of a pendulum or random such as the movement of a tire on a gravel road. The study of health effects of vibration require measures of the overall “pressure waves” that are generated by vibrating equipment or structure. Vibration enters the body from the organ in contact with vibrating equipment. When a worker operates hand-held equipment such as a chain saw or jackhammer, vibration affects hands and arms. Such an exposure is called hand-arm vibration exposure. When a worker sits or stands on a vibrating floor or seat, the vibration exposure affects almost the entire body and is called whole-body vibration exposure. The risk of vibration induced injury depends on the average daily
