Case Study:
Wilton Engineering HAVS Monitoring – Heavy Fabrication
From Estimates to Evidence, Transforming HAV Monitoring in Heavy Fabrication
Wilton Engineering specialises in heavy bespoke fabrication with extremely tight tolerances. Around 140 operatives work with HAV-generating tools across the workshop, primarily angle grinders and air-driven burr tools, though the full range of hand-held power tools is in regular rotation depending on the task. Exposure levels are far from consistent. The type of steel being worked, the extent of weld preparation required and the condition of components arriving from previous operations can all push vibration exposure significantly higher on some jobs than others. For the health and safety team, that variability made accurate monitoring both more important and more difficult to achieve.
The Problem with the Previous Approach
Before introducing HAVSense, Wilton Engineering used manufacturer vibration data, the HSE HAV calculator and an ad hoc vibration check carried out on an older system to estimate exposure levels. The records themselves depended on operatives accurately logging trigger times throughout the working day, which in a busy fabrication environment was rarely straightforward.
Steve Oakden, HSE Manager at Wilton Engineering, was frank about the result. Confidence in the accuracy of recorded exposure was, in his words, “not at all” there. The shop floor felt the same. Feedback came not from one department but from across the business, including operatives, supervisors, management and the health and safety team. The existing system was not working for anyone who needed to rely on it.
The HAVSense system came to the attention of the business at the HSE conference and exhibition in Birmingham. After that, the case for change was clear.
Rolling Out HAVSense Across the Workshop
The system was up and running within days of delivery. Rather than issuing dosimeters to individuals on a fixed basis, Wilton Engineering introduced a request-based approach. Operatives and supervisors can submit a request through the computer system to allocate a dosimeter to a specific task, individual or project. Devices are also issued automatically to anyone with existing exposure restrictions, and the health and safety team handles walk-in requests from the workshop floor.
The business works to a default threshold of 100 HSE points, with closer monitoring applied to operatives carrying restrictions to ensure they remain well within safe limits. On most days, average exposure across the workforce sits at around 50 HSE points. That ongoing visibility has given the team a reliable picture of exposure levels that estimates alone could never have provided.
The system settled into routine use quickly. In Steve’s words: “If in doubt, use the system.” That became a practical shorthand across the workshop, and the dosimeters have become a familiar reference point when questions arise about a particular tool, task or operator.
What Real-World Data Revealed
The most significant findings from HAVSense data have not come from faulty tools. They have come from how tools are being used. In several cases, higher-than-expected readings have pointed to operatives over-gripping tools or pressing down onto the material rather than letting the tool do the work. The belief was that this produced faster results, but the data shows the trade-off: elevated HAV exposure and increased wear on the tools themselves. HAVSense has made these patterns visible in a way that manual estimates never could, and the data has become a practical starting point for coaching conversations with operatives on the shop floor.
The monitoring has also highlighted differences linked to working position. The same tool used at bench height and at full arm stretch above head height can produce noticeably different readings, as can variations in consumable condition. A worn disc or flap wheel on the same grinder can produce higher vibration than a fresh one, and HAVSense captures that distinction where a trigger-time estimate would not.
Worn tools have been identified and removed from service as a result of the data. Among them were a number of grinders, a tool central to the workflow of welders and platers across the shop floor. Without monitoring data to flag the issue, those tools would likely have remained in service.
Demonstrating Exposure to Clients
One of the less obvious benefits of measured exposure data has been its value in client conversations. On one project, Wilton Engineering was tasked with removing a heavy weld cap running approximately 30 metres. Due to the thickness of the cap and the awkward working angles involved, the HAV exposure generated was significantly higher than previous work with the same tool and accessories had produced. Having HAVSense data to hand meant the team could go back to the client with a clear, evidence-based explanation for why the work was taking longer than originally planned. That is a conversation that would have been difficult to have on the basis of estimates alone.
Administration, Compliance and Oversight
The business has built a supplementary tracking system on top of HAVSense, combining dosimeter readings with task records, tool combinations, work area, job type and any notable observations from the shift. Coaching conversations with operatives are logged alongside the exposure data, giving supervisors a reference point they can return to over time. This additional layer has improved traceability for individual operators considerably. HAVSco is currently completing a full overhaul of the HAVSense software platform, which will give users significantly greater control over data management and exports as standard. That update will be issued soon, and for teams like Wilton Engineering who have invested time in building their own supporting processes, it represents a substantial step forward in what the system can deliver out of the box.
From a compliance standpoint, the improvement has been straightforward. Having recorded exposure data to present during audits, both internal and external, is a significant step up from process-based assurance. Supervisors now have factual information to refer back to rather than reconstructed estimates, and the organisation holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 accreditations that this approach supports.
“HAVSense has given us factual data where before we were relying on estimates and judgement. It has helped us identify worn tools, understand how exposure varies across different tasks and given our operatives confidence that their health is being properly looked after.”
Steve Oakden, HSE Manager – Wilton Engineering
Before HAVSense |
After HAVSense |
| Manufacturer data and HSE calculator estimates | Real-world exposure captured during production activity |
| Manual trigger-time logs, inconsistently completed | Dosimeter-based measurement allocated by task and individual |
| Low confidence in recorded exposure across all levels | Factual data supervisors and operatives can rely on |
| Operator technique issues invisible in the data | Over-gripping and poor technique identified and addressed through coaching |
| Worn tools difficult to identify between inspections | Underperforming tools including grinders flagged and removed from service |
| No evidence base for client conversations about exposure | Measured data used to explain and justify task timelines to clients |
| Compliance evidence based on process and judgement | Recorded exposure data available for internal and external audits |
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