Every hand-arm vibration calculation starts from one number: the tool's vibration magnitude, in metres per second squared (m/s²). Multiply it out over trigger time and you get exposure points; compare those to the 100-point action value and 400-point limit value and you get a compliance position. This page collects the tool ranges and recommended values from the HSE's own exposure calculator, converts them into points per hour, and shows how quickly each tool reaches the thresholds, so you can see at a glance where your fleet's risk actually lives.
These figures are indicative, not yours. The ranges below are the HSE's published look-up values for tool categories, and the spread within each category is enormous: the same tool type can vary several-fold between a modern, well-maintained machine and a worn one. The HSE recommended value is the figure its calculator suggests where no measured data exists, and it deliberately sits towards the cautious end of each range. Use this table to understand relative risk and plan priorities, not as input data for your own exposure calculations. Those should use measured values from your actual machines; on-site vibration testing is how you get them.
The Table
Ranges and recommended values are the tool look-up list from the HSE's hand-arm vibration exposure calculator (version 6.3, September 2023). Points per hour follow the HSE points formula (points per hour = 2 × magnitude²) at the recommended value, and the final column shows roughly how much trigger time reaches the 100-point exposure action value at that figure. Time to the 400-point limit value is four times longer. Rows run from highest risk to lowest, and each tool carries a relative band based on how quickly it reaches the action value.
| Tool type | HSE range | HSE recommended value | Points per hour at that value | Trigger time to EAV (100 points) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipping hammers (chipping weld)Severe | 20-32 m/s² | 31 m/s² | 1,922 | ~3 minutes |
| Rock drillsSevere | 10-28 m/s² | 26 m/s² | 1,352 | ~4 minutes |
| Pneumatic hammersSevere | 10-29 m/s² | 25 m/s² | 1,250 | ~5 minutes |
| Chipping hammers (chipping stone)Severe | 11-22 m/s² | 20 m/s² | 800 | ~8 minutes |
| Needle scalers (standard)Severe | 12-26 m/s² | 19 m/s² | 722 | ~8 minutes |
| Demolition / rotary hammersSevere | 10-21 m/s² | 18 m/s² | 648 | ~9 minutes |
| Plate compactors (standard)Severe | 9-22 m/s² | 18 m/s² | 648 | ~9 minutes |
| Stone hammersSevere | 7-22 m/s² | 18 m/s² | 648 | ~9 minutes |
| Reciprocating sawsSevere | 7-27 m/s² | 18 m/s² | 648 | ~9 minutes |
| Breakers (vibration-reduced)High | 7-18 m/s² | 14 m/s² | 392 | ~15 minutes |
| Cut-off sawsHigh | 5-14 m/s² | 13 m/s² | 338 | ~18 minutes |
| Trench rammersHigh | ~13 m/s² | 13 m/s² | 338 | ~18 minutes |
| ScabblersHigh | 4-14 m/s² | 12 m/s² | 288 | ~21 minutes |
| NibblersHigh | 7-12 m/s² | 12 m/s² | 288 | ~21 minutes |
| Random-orbital sanders (DA)High | 6-14 m/s² | 12 m/s² | 288 | ~21 minutes |
| Drills (impact)High | 7-13 m/s² | 11 m/s² | 242 | ~25 minutes |
| JigsawsHigh | 9-17 m/s² | 11 m/s² | 242 | ~25 minutes |
| Drills (hole saw)High | 4-12 m/s² | 10 m/s² | 200 | ~30 minutes |
| Impact wrenches (1-inch drive)High | 7-11 m/s² | 10 m/s² | 200 | ~30 minutes |
| Angle grinders (220-300mm)Moderate | 4-11 m/s² | 9 m/s² | 162 | ~37 minutes |
| Orbital sandersModerate | 4-12 m/s² | 9 m/s² | 162 | ~37 minutes |
| Nail gunsModerate | 3-13 m/s² | 9 m/s² | 162 | ~37 minutes |
| Drills (core, 78-107mm)Moderate | 6-8 m/s² | 8 m/s² | 128 | ~47 minutes |
| Die grindersModerate | 5-10 m/s² | 8 m/s² | 128 | ~47 minutes |
| Straight grindersModerate | 4-9 m/s² | 8 m/s² | 128 | ~47 minutes |
| Pedestal grindersModerate | 2-11 m/s² | 8 m/s² | 128 | ~47 minutes |
| Angle grinders (100-180mm)Moderate | 3-10 m/s² | 7 m/s² | 98 | ~1 hour |
| Needle scalers (vibration-reduced)Moderate | 3-8 m/s² | 7 m/s² | 98 | ~1 hour |
| ChainsawsModerate | 5-7 m/s² | 7 m/s² | 98 | ~1 hour |
| Mowers (hand-guided)Moderate | 4-8 m/s² | 7 m/s² | 98 | ~1 hour |
| StrimmersModerate | 2-7 m/s² | 7 m/s² | 98 | ~1 hour |
| Hedge trimmersModerate | 3-7 m/s² | 6 m/s² | 72 | ~1 hour 23 minutes |
| Mowers (ride-on)Moderate | 3-7 m/s² | 6 m/s² | 72 | ~1 hour 23 minutes |
| Drills (standard bit)Moderate | 2-5 m/s² | 5 m/s² | 50 | ~2 hours |
| Brushcutters (saw blade)Moderate | 3-5 m/s² | 5 m/s² | 50 | ~2 hours |
| Impact wrenches (3/8 to 3/4-inch drive)Moderate | 3-6 m/s² | 5 m/s² | 50 | ~2 hours |
| Angle grinders (flap discs)Lower | 2-5 m/s² | 4 m/s² | 32 | ~3 hours 8 minutes |
| Water-jetting gunsLower | 1-5 m/s² | 4 m/s² | 32 | ~3 hours 8 minutes |
| Plate compactors (vibration-reduced)Lower | 2-7 m/s² | 4 m/s² | 32 | ~3 hours 8 minutes |
| StaplersLower | 2-6 m/s² | 4 m/s² | 32 | ~3 hours 8 minutes |
| Polishers (hand-held angle)Lower | 1-3 m/s² | 3 m/s² | 18 | ~5 hours 33 minutes |
| RoutersLower | 2-3 m/s² | 3 m/s² | 18 | ~5 hours 33 minutes |
Tool ranges and recommended values contain public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Three things jump out of that table. First, the percussive metalwork tools at the top are in a different league: on a chipping hammer at the HSE's recommended value, the action value arrives in around three minutes of trigger time, and on a demolition hammer in about nine. Second, the ranges within each row are wider than the gaps between rows, which is why the condition of your machines matters more than the category label. Third, even the gentle-looking rows accumulate: a polisher at 3 m/s² needs over five hours of trigger time to reach the action value, but the calculator's gentlest rows are exactly where long production shifts live, especially combined with anything else used that day.
The 15-Minute Rule of Thumb
The HSE's own quick screen puts the same message in one sentence: if workers regularly use hammer-action tools for more than about 15 minutes a day, or some rotary tools for more than about an hour a day, exposure is high enough that the employer needs to be actively managing it. If either applies to your teams, the Regulations' full machinery of assessment, control, and health surveillance is in play, and daily exposure needs to be measured, not assumed.
Why Declared Figures Mislead
New power tools are supplied with a declared vibration emission value from a standardised test, and the HSE advise that these are typically measured under controlled conditions and are often not representative of real-world use, sometimes by a wide margin. Four things move the real number away from the brochure:
- Wear and maintenance. Magnitudes rise as tools age: worn anti-vibration mounts, failing bearings, and loose fixings all transmit more vibration for the same work. Unlike age itself, every one of those is fixable, which makes maintenance one of the few exposure controls an employer fully owns
- Consumables. A blunt steel, a dull chain, or a glazed disc raises vibration and stretches trigger time at the same moment, raising exposure twice over
- Material and task. Breaking reinforced concrete is not breaking tarmac; ripping seasoned hardwood is not limbing softwood. The declared test cycle is one task among the many a tool actually does
- The operator. Grip force, pressure, and technique change what reaches the hands, which is one reason two operators on identical tools can accrue different exposure
The practical conclusion the HSE points to: base exposure calculations on data that represents your machines as actually used, with a margin for variability. On-site vibration testing of the real fleet, repeated as tools age, is what keeps every number downstream of it honest. Toolminder then holds each asset's measured magnitude on its record, so every scan-timed session converts to points using that machine's real figure rather than a category average.
A Worked Day
To see why the arithmetic matters, follow one fitter through a morning, using the calculator's recommended values. Forty-five minutes of trigger time on an impact drill at 11 m/s² is around 182 points. Half an hour on a standard angle grinder at 7 m/s² adds 49. It is not yet lunch, nothing felt excessive, and the fitter is at roughly 231 points: well over double the action value, without touching the site's breaker. Whether that morning was fine, marginal, or a breach depends entirely on numbers nobody can estimate after the fact, which is the case for monitoring exposure live rather than reconstructing it. And the day is not over: 45 minutes on a vibration-reduced breaker at the recommended 14 m/s² after lunch would add another 294 points and end the day around 525, far past the limit value the Regulations say must never be crossed.
Try your own combinations in the free HAV points calculator: enter any magnitude and time and it returns the points, using the same HSE formula as this page.
HSE Resources
- The HSE hand-arm vibration exposure calculator: the source of the ranges and recommended values above
- Hand-arm vibration at work: the HSE's HAV hub and guidance on assessing risk
- L140, Hand-arm vibration: The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, the full Approved Code of Practice and guidance
For the points system itself, see HAV Exposure Points: The System Explained, and for what the exposure does to hands over time, HAVS: Symptoms, Stages and Employer Responsibilities.
Important Notice
This page is intended as general guidance only and does not constitute legal, safety, or compliance advice. The vibration magnitudes shown are indicative look-up values reproduced for information from the HSE's hand-arm vibration exposure calculator (version 6.3, September 2023); points per hour and trigger times are derived arithmetically from those values using the HSE points formula. The HSE revises its published figures from time to time, and the current version of the calculator on hse.gov.uk should be treated as authoritative. These figures must not be used as a substitute for measured vibration data, a risk assessment, or the requirements of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 and related HSE guidance, for which organisations remain responsible. Earlsmere Limited accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this page.