Press quotes
The ZeroVib project has become well-known in Sweden, as reflected by the following selection of articles that have appeared in trade union magazines, medical seminars, portals and other public forum. The links are to articles in Swedish, but at each link there is information about the type of publication and some key quotes from the respective articles.
Stockholm Region – Health Care Provider for 1,4 million inhabitants in Stockholm region, a seminar about medical news in 2015, where Hans Lindell made a presentation of the ZeroVib project. The graph depicting the Vibration performance is quite illustrative and we present it in full here:
AFA Insurance, insuring more than 4,8 million Swedish workers for work-related injuries and supporting research to increase work safety in several aspects. AFA is a sponsor of the ZeroVib projects and organised a seminar where the problems around vibration-related injuries were discussed and the where the green line D represents the performance of the ATVA™ equipped chiselling machine. Some key point from this presentation were about the comparison between the old and the new, ATVA™ equipped, machine:
- Machine weight 6,5 kg compared to previous 17 kg.
- Vibrations < 2,5 m/s2 compared to 18 m/s2 previously
- Lower feeding power
- Lower chisel wear
- Increased efficiency of dust extractiong
- Better ergonomy
Arbetarskydd – magazine about Work Safety
“Some of the weight in conventional machines is designed to try to reduce vibration – that weight is not needed with the technique we use”, Hans Lindell.
Interview with Hans Lindell in Work Safety Magazine
“Vibration-free machine? Piece of cake! That’s what Hans Lindell thought when he began working at the research institute. Now he has managed -24 years later.”
“I met a worker who told me that his daughter refused to be hugged by him because his hands were so hard and cold. As I have a little daughter myself…that stuck”
Article about the technical solutions for reducing both impacting and rotating vibrations, including a very good photo of the ATVA™ unit.
Metal Workers Magazine – Hazardous vibrations can be avoided
” if we can reduce the vibrations, we can also often increase both efficiency and reduce weight”, Hans Lindell
“the prototype is much better, we have contacted our machine suppliers to make them aware of this possibility”, Thomas Myrman, workers ombudsman for safety issues at the Volvo Construction Equipment factory in Arvika, a testbed for the rotating tools improvements.
Swedish Engineers Magazine – Ny Teknik
“Hans Lindell …has designed a vibration-absorbed chisel hammer that can be used all day instead of eight minutes”
The Electrician – trade magazine for Swedish Electricians
“There is no external monitoring of the real vibration values, you cannot rely on the manufacturers specifications” Jakob Riddar, from the Dpt for Work and Environmental Related Medicine at the Lund University Hospital .
The Electrician quoting a report from Construction workers Union
“When the companies do not risk any sanctions, they are less motivated to follow the Work Safety Regulations. Those who are negligent can calculate a substantial profit” Johan Lindholm, chairman of Swedish Construction Workers Union, urging tougher sanctions.
FTF-2018-Vibrationer_Stefan.pdf (samssverige.se)
Region Östergötland – Health Care Provider for 460 000 inhabitants, dpt for Work and Environment Related Medicine, a PDF about Vibration Injuries with illustrative photos and with an urge to put pressure on machine manufacturers
“Purchasing Specifications must include vibration levels…we need to create a demand for machines with low vibrations”
Work Safety Magazine – with two quotes:
“There is a macho culture – but nerve injuries are not OK”
“This is an unnecessary illness that no one should get if you do it correctly from start”, Catarina Nordander, team leader for research group Work Related disorders in Motion Organs at dpt of Work and Environment related medicine at Lund University. (Catarina has participated in a study about vibration related injuries among carpenters and painters, link here.)
Swedish Institute for Standards, interview with Hans Lindell, with one key quote
”The awareness must increase. Users of all categories must require better machines and inform the manufacturers that something can be done. The basic problem is that machines do vibrate, which is a kind of pollution. Market pressure and regulations have force car manufacturers to reduce pollution from combustion engines – we must put the same pressure on the manufacturers of machines that so to say pollute vibrations. The responsibility must be put on the manufacturers, not on the users – this must change.”
Swedish Tyre – trade magazine for the Tyre in Sweden
The article relates to well know effects of vibration related injuries. We chose to mention this article because it demonstrates that vibrations are a problem in many industrial categories.
Todays Work – magazine about work environment, interviewing the research team at Lund University about their vibration study
“The best solution would be a complete ban on machines with very high vibrations. That would be a strong push for technical development.”
“Dentists can experience reduced dexterity, tingling in fingers and difficulty in sensing temperature differences”
Youtube film from Construction Company SKANSKA about vibrations
Skanska is an international construction company with 57 000 workers – this film is about vibration problems and necessary precautions in general. Skanska is a participant in the ZeroVIb project.. “ In Skanska’s health surveys… approximately 40 percent of skilled workers have reported that they suffer from symptoms caused by vibrations.”