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Armstrong Environmental provides independent Local Exhaust Ventilation testing throughout North West England from our office in Barrow-in-Furness.
Our North West team supports organisations across Barrow, West Cumbria, Carlisle, Lancaster, Blackpool, Preston, Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington, Cheshire and surrounding areas.
We work across individual workshops and laboratories as well as secure, technically demanding sites containing substantial numbers of LEV systems.
LEV must continue to control dusts, fumes, vapours and other airborne contaminants effectively during normal operation.
An LEV thorough examination and test—commonly referred to as an LEV TExT—assesses whether the complete system is still operating as intended and providing effective control.
Regulation 9 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations requires employers to maintain control measures in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition.
The COSHH Approved Code of Practice and guidance, commonly known as COSHH L5, supports these legal duties. HSE guidance HSG258 provides practical guidance on the design, commissioning, testing and management of effective LEV systems.
Most LEV systems require thorough examination and testing at least once every 14 months, although certain processes require shorter intervals and critical controls may justify more frequent assessment.
A competent examination considers the process and the complete control system, including its hoods or enclosures, ductwork, air cleaner, fan and discharge, together with the way the system is used.
Testing can include visual examination, smoke visualisation, airflow and pressure measurements and comparison with commissioning data or other suitable benchmarks. The report should explain defects, their significance and the action required.
An LEV TExT should provide more than readings and a certificate. It should give the duty holder a clear, prioritised assessment of whether the system remains effective and where control needs to be improved.
The North West combines nationally important submarine construction and nuclear activity with advanced materials, pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace and process industry.
These environments can involve welding fume, dust, mist, vapour, powders, biological agents and other substances hazardous to health.
Armstrong Environmental has experience supporting organisations across:
We understand the operational, security and access constraints found on complex sites and the need for consistent testing, defensible reporting and long-term COSHH compliance support across substantial LEV estates.
Large defence, nuclear and manufacturing sites can operate varied LEV systems across multiple buildings, departments and production areas. Effective management requires planning, reliable asset information and a consistent technical approach.
Armstrong Environmental can coordinate LEV testing programmes around operational, security and access constraints while maintaining the quality of each examination.
Our programmes can include asset verification, planned testing schedules, consistent reporting, prioritisation of significant defects and identification of recurring or site-wide issues.
LEV Tracker® can provide duty holders with clearer oversight of their assets, reports, test dates and outstanding actions, supporting long-term management rather than a disconnected series of visits.
Our LEV testing capability covers controls ranging from workshop extraction and production systems to fume cupboards, enclosed processes and biological safety cabinets.
For pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare environments, Armstrong Environmental can undertake the additional testing required to validate biological safety cabinet performance against BS EN 12469.
Where engineering measurements alone do not provide sufficient evidence of adequate control, workplace exposure assessment and air sampling can help determine what employees may be exposed to during representative work.
This can include personal exposure monitoring, static air sampling and comparison with relevant Workplace Exposure Limits or substance-specific exposure criteria. A WEL is only one part of the COSHH assessment; exposure must still be prevented or adequately controlled.
Combining engineering-control and workplace-exposure expertise allows Armstrong Environmental to consider how the control performs and whether people are being protected as intended.
Clients choose Armstrong Environmental because we provide:
Our LEV testing is led by BOHS-registered LEV Specialists listed on the BOHS Register of Occupational Hygiene Professionals, which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
