Free app can identify harmful levels of vibration

A graduate student in Sudbury says a free iPhoneapplication can measure harmful levels of vibration on the job.

Wesley Killen, who works at the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health, says too much whole body vibration forheavy equipment operators is linked to problems like lower back pain.

Killen said the app is "a very practical method to measure vibration." He noted it's a great tool "that we could give right to the workers. That part really attracted me to it."

The app, which was developed in Australia,was used by large equipment operators on a mine site in Sudbury last summer. Theresults showed some machinery exceeded the acceptable limit of vibration.

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Users place the iPod on the seat and sit on it while driving the heavy equipment. When they are done, they hit stop and the app will tell them about the severity of the vibration, using the colours green, yellow or red.

"If, for some reason, someone finds they are in the red, so to speak, then I would encourage them to contact any health and safety services in the area to further discuss what they could do to address the issue," he said.

Sudbury bus drivers also tested the app. Their results showed passengers experienced more vibration than the drivers.

The appcan be downloaded for free from iTunes. Search using the keywords "whole body vibration."

The app can be used on an iPod, an iPad and an iPhone.

"We first wanted to start to validate the iPod app," Killen continued.

"We wanted to see if it could be used as a measurement tool, [and] if it was accurate enough."

Killen noted he and fellow researchers are particularly interested in mobile equipment operators in the industrial sectors, where there is consistently high exposure to vibration.