CSCS Noise & Vibration (HAVS) Questions
Hearing protection and hand-arm vibration syndrome.
These questions cover noise & vibration (havs) for the CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test, the exam UK construction workers pass to get a CSCS card.
Noise & Vibration (HAVS): practice quiz
- 20 questions · 30 minutes · pass mark 90%
- Answers and explanations are shown at the end, with every question to review.
- A fresh 20 questions every time, drawn from all 115 in this topic's bank. Includes 2 select-two questions, as in the real test.
- About 90 seconds a question, against about 54 in the real test, so there is time to think.
10 sample Noise & Vibration (HAVS) questions and answers
These 10 come from the 115 questions the practice quiz above draws from, written out with the correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read them through when you want to revise rather than test yourself.
1. Under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, what is the daily exposure action value for hand-arm vibration?
Answer: 2.5 m/s2 A(8), the point at which the employer has to act on the exposure
- A) 2.5 m/s2 A(8), the point at which the employer has to act on the exposure (correct answer)
- B) 5 m/s2 A(8), which is the level that exposure must not be allowed to go above
- C) 1 m/s2 A(8), averaged across all the tools used over the whole working week
- D) 7.5 m/s2 A(8), which applies only to tools held for more than four hours a day
Why: Regulation 4(1)(b) sets the daily exposure action value at 2.5 m/s2 A(8) and regulation 4(1)(a) sets the daily exposure limit value at 5 m/s2 A(8). Option B states the limit value, which is a real figure but answers a different question. A(8) means the exposure averaged over an eight hour day, which is why hand-arm vibration is managed as a daily figure rather than a weekly or annual one.
2. Above the upper action value, what must the control programme exclude?
Answer: The provision of personal hearing protectors as a measure
- A) Job rotation between noisy and quieter tasks during the shift
- B) Any change to the working hours of the employees involved
- C) Any measure that would require capital expenditure by the employer
- D) The provision of personal hearing protectors as a measure (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 6(2) requires a programme of organisational and technical measures excluding the provision of personal hearing protectors. Protection is not a substitute for control.
3. Anti-vibration gloves are issued. Do they solve the problem?
Answer: No. Elimination and reduction at source come first in the hierarchy
- A) Yes, gloves are the recognised control measure for vibration
- B) Yes, provided they carry a marking showing the standard met
- C) No. Elimination and reduction at source come first in the hierarchy (correct answer)
- D) No, unless they are worn together with hearing protection too
Why: Regulation 6 requires elimination or reduction at source, then a programme of organisational and technical measures. Gloves do not reliably reduce the vibration reaching the hand.
4. Why does the law set action values below the limit value?
Answer: So that control action starts before the limit is reached
- A) Because the limit value applies only to peak sound pressure
- B) So that control action starts before the limit is reached (correct answer)
- C) Because measurement equipment cannot read above the limit
- D) Because the limit value applies only to whole body vibration
Why: The staged structure means duties begin at 80 dB(A), strengthen at 85 dB(A), and the 87 dB(A) limit must not be exceeded at all. Control is preventive rather than reactive.
5. INDG362 describes two ways that noise at work can damage hearing. What are they?
Answer: Gradual loss from exposure over time, and sudden damage from very loud noise
- A) Ear infections caused by dirty earplugs, and wax build-up under earmuff seals
- B) Temporary dullness that always clears overnight, and nothing more lasting
- C) Loss only in people over fifty, and only from noise they hear at home
- D) Gradual loss from exposure over time, and sudden damage from very loud noise (correct answer)
Why: INDG362 says noise can cause gradual hearing loss from exposure over time and also damage from sudden, extremely loud noises. Both are permanent and disabling.
6. Why can noisy work inside an enclosed space give a higher exposure than the same work outside?
Answer: Enclosed spaces reflect noise back
- A) Enclosed spaces reflect noise back (correct answer)
- B) Tools run faster when used indoors
- C) Ears are more sensitive when indoors
- D) Indoor air carries sound less well
Why: HSE's construction guidance says to consider where work happens, because enclosed spaces can reflect noise back and increase exposure levels.
7. Workers take their breaks in a cabin next to a noisy compressor. What does regulation 6(5) require?
Answer: Noise in rest facilities is reduced to suit their purpose
- A) Hearing protection is kept on in the cabin throughout each break
- B) Breaks are taken inside the hearing protection zone
- C) Nothing, as rest areas are outside the Regulations
- D) Noise in rest facilities is reduced to suit their purpose (correct answer)
Why: Regulation 6(5) requires noise exposure in rest facilities provided to employees to be reduced to a level suitable for their purpose and conditions of use.
8. Who does L108 say should go into a hearing protection zone?
Answer: Only people who need to for their work, wearing protection at all times
- A) Anyone who is wearing a hard hat and high-visibility clothing
- B) Only people who have had a hearing test at work in that year
- C) Only people who need to for their work, wearing protection at all times (correct answer)
- D) Anyone at all, as long as they pass through the zone quickly
Why: L108 says nobody should enter a hearing protection zone unless it is necessary for their work, and they must put on suitable protection before entering and wear it all the time inside.
9. Besides HAVS, which other condition does HSE say hand-arm vibration can cause?
Answer: Carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve disorder of the hand
- A) Asthma, caused by breathing in the dust thrown up by the tool
- B) Carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve disorder of the hand (correct answer)
- C) Tinnitus, a ringing in the ears after a shift
- D) Dermatitis, an inflamed skin condition of the hands
Why: HSE's pocket card says hand-arm vibration can cause HAVS and carpal tunnel syndrome, a nerve disorder that may involve pain, tingling, numbness and weakness in the hand.
10. HSE says regular use of some rotary and other action tools for more than about how long a day is likely to put a worker above the exposure limit value?
Answer: About four hours
- A) About four hours (correct answer)
- B) About ten minutes
- C) About forty minutes
- D) About twelve hours
Why: HSE's high-risk group includes people regularly operating rotary and other action tools for more than about four hours a day, who are likely to be above the exposure limit value.
What this topic covers in the CSCS test
Noise and vibration both cause damage that builds slowly and cannot be undone. You will not feel your hearing going, and the first signs of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) are easy to dismiss as cold hands. Two sets of regulations from 2005 set the numbers, and the test expects you to know them and to know what to do when a symptom appears.
- The two noise action values and the exposure limit value
- When hearing protection must be offered, when it must be worn, and how hearing protection zones are signed
- How noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus develop
- The exposure action value and limit value for hand-arm vibration
- Early symptoms of HAVS and your duty to report them
- Cutting exposure: quieter tools, less trigger time, breaks, warm hands, a relaxed grip
- Health surveillance, and why a confirmed case of HAVS is reportable
Key facts worth memorising
- Lower action value: 80 dB(A)
- At 80 dB(A) daily or weekly, or a peak of 135 dB(C), your employer must assess the risk, train you, and provide hearing protection to anyone who asks.
- Upper action value: 85 dB(A)
- At 85 dB(A), or a peak of 137 dB(C), hearing protection must be provided and worn, and hearing protection zones must be marked with signs.
- Exposure limit value: 87 dB(A)
- 87 dB(A), or a peak of 140 dB(C), must not be exceeded, and it is the only one of the three measured taking account of the protection your protectors give.
- The two metre rule of thumb
- HSE says you probably have a noise problem if people must raise their voices to talk about 2 metres apart, or use noisy powered tools for more than half an hour a day.
- HAVS values: 2.5 and 5.0 m/s2 A(8)
- The exposure action value is 2.5 m/s2 A(8), at which controls must be brought in, and the exposure limit value of 5.0 m/s2 A(8) must not be exceeded.
- Early HAVS symptoms
- Tingling and numbness in the fingers, losing the feel of things, weaker grip, and fingers going white then turning red and painful as they recover.
What people get wrong
Ear defenders deal with the noise problem.
Hearing protection is a last resort. Noise must be reduced by other means first, and HSE warns that taking protectors off for even a few minutes in a noisy area considerably lowers the protection you get.
Anti-vibration gloves protect you from HAVS.
HSE says gloves can be used to keep hands warm, which helps circulation, but should not be relied on for protection from vibration. Less trigger time and a lower-vibration tool are what cut exposure.
Tingling fingers after using a breaker are normal and wear off.
That is an early sign of HAVS. Report it. Symptoms usually worsen with continued exposure and may become permanent, and a confirmed case must be reported to the enforcing authority.
85 dB is the legal limit for noise.
85 dB(A) is the upper action value, where protection must be worn. The ceiling is the exposure limit value of 87 dB(A), and there is a lower action value at 80 dB(A).
Answering these questions in the test
Learn 80, 85 and 87 as a sequence: assess and offer protection at 80, enforce it at 85, never exceed 87. Behaviour questions describe a symptom or a task, and the right answer is the one that cuts the exposure or reports the problem, never the one that carries on. Do not let the two halves of the topic blur together. Noise damages hearing and is measured in decibels; vibration damages hands and is controlled by trigger time.
Sources
Written from the following. Where a figure could not be verified against one of these, it has been left out rather than approximated. Our sources and methodology explains how we date and re-check them. Spotted something wrong? Report an error and we will fix it.
- hse.gov.uk/noise/regulations.htm
- hse.gov.uk/noise/employers.htm
- hse.gov.uk/noise/advice-overview.htm
- hse.gov.uk/noise/hearingprotection.htm
- legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1643/regulation/4/made
- hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav/regulations.htm
- hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav/advice-to-employers.htm
- hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav/protect.htm
- legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1093/contents/made
Topics that come up alongside noise & vibration (havs)
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