Complex study on hand-arm system exposed to vibrations

The research performed in the domain of human body vibrations revealed their important influence on human health, being the origin of several professional diseases. Consequently, the vibrations influence can be clearly systematized in two distinct categories: whole body vibrations – with significant effects in the entire human body; vibrations on different sections of the body – that transmit significant accelerations and displacements only in some sections, such as the hand-arm system. While the first category – registered mainly in the professional driving sector – has been constantly studied and different solutions for vibration attenuation have been proposed, the hand-arm vibration domain is still open for discussions. This paper presents a complex study – both from the medical and engineering point of view – regarding the modelling and testing methods used for hand-arm system vibrations in the view of professional diseases prevention. It aims to evaluating preventive strategies to reduce worker exposures to hand-arm transmitted vibration and to decrease the occurrence of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) in workers. Key-Words: hand-arm vibrations, occupational health, daily exposure assessment, modelling and simulation.