Great Britain: HSE’s noise and vibration campaign, a practical review for small building firms

What the campaign changes—and what it does not

HSE points employers towards assessment, control at source, suitable tools and maintenance, information for workers and appropriate health surveillance. The underlying noise and vibration regulations are existing duties, not newly created by the campaign.

The practical implication for a small contractor is to revisit actual operations. A written assessment that describes an old tool, an occasional job or a different material may not describe the work now being tendered.

HSE — noise and vibration campaign, 13 October 2026

Start with the task, rather than a generic tool list

Walk through an ordinary job with the people doing it. Record the activity, material, equipment, repeated operations and other noisy work nearby. Distinguish the time a worker holds a tool from the time the tool is actually operating; a site visit alone may not establish reliable exposure.

For a refurbishment team, cutting, chasing, drilling and breaking may occur on different days but involve the same worker. A purchasing list does not show that pattern. Keep the task record available to the competent person assessing the risks.

Compare a complete working method

Ask whether preparation, off-site work or another suitable method can reduce the hazardous operation. When comparing equipment, consider suitability for the material, maintenance and the conditions in which information was measured. Do not choose a universal number of safe minutes from an unrelated example.

A lower purchase price may conceal additional maintenance, slower work or more difficult control. Price the method you intend to use, including preparation, suitable equipment and any measures identified by the assessment. Protective equipment is not a substitute for considering controls at source.

HSE — noise and vibration campaign, 13 October 2026

Give responsibilities a visible place in the job plan

Assign who checks the equipment, who verifies that the planned method matches the job, and who workers contact when conditions change. Brief temporary staff as well as the regular team. Keep health information confidential and use appropriate professional routes for surveillance and concerns.

If a tool changes during the project, record the change and revisit the relevant assessment. A replacement described simply as equivalent may behave differently in use. The point of the record is to trigger a review, not to make a technical judgement without evidence.

An example of a useful enquiry note

An electrical contractor is asked to add cable routes in a building whose wall construction is uncertain. Rather than assuming one chasing method and duration, the estimate identifies the survey information still needed, the planned review of tools and the cost items affected by the final method.

Keep safety decisions separate from an unqualified productivity promise. A quote can state that the working method and programme depend on confirmed site conditions. Vocalys can help capture these observations and organise the commercial document; competent risk assessment remains essential.

Reusable job sheet

• Actual tasks recorded
• Current equipment identified
• Exposure assessment appropriate to the work
• Control at source considered
• Maintenance and briefing assigned
• Changes trigger a review

Task and material: […]
Equipment and operating conditions: […]
Assessment reference: […]
Controls and responsible person: […]
Change requiring review: […]

Use Vocalys to organise site observations and quote assumptions, then have the relevant risk controls confirmed for the actual job.