BS 6841:1987

Transport (air, land and water), machinery (e.g. in industry and agriculture) and industrial activities (such as piling and blasting) expose the human body to mechanical vibration and repeated shock.

This British Standard guide gives methods for quantifying vibration and repeated shocks in relation to human health, interference with activities, discomfort, the probability of vibration perception and the incidence of motion sickness.

The guide is applicable to motions transmitted to the body as a whole through the supporting surfaces: the feet of a standing person, the buttocks, back and feet of a seated person or the supporting area of a recumbent person. Vibration is often complex, containing many frequencies, occurring in several directions and changing over time.

Vibration limits are not presented. However, the methods have been given so that they may be used as the basis of limits which may be prepared separately. Various appendices provide current information on the possible effects of vibration.

The guidance is intended to be a fair compromise based on the available data and should satisfy the need for recommendations which are simple and suitable for general applications. The guidance is presented in numerical terms to avoid ambiguity and to encourage precise measurements. When using the recommendations it is important to bear in mind the restrictions placed on their application. More precise information may sometimes be obtained from the scientific literature.

NOTE The titles of the publications referred to in this standard are given on the inside back cover.

Methods of quantifying vibration and shock in relation to human health, interference with activities, discomfort, the probability of vibration perception and the incidence of motion sickness. Tentative guidance is given on the possible effects of vibration.