This is a photo of my hand. Sometimes, just one finger turns white, while other times all fingers are affected. This is what HAVS (Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome), also known as Vibration White Finger or Dead Hand, looks like.

My story 2021

Below is my story as written by WorkSafe NZ. This story was published during the time I was using a watch system. That watch has since replaced by our glove system, which is far superior and better suited for its purpose. All were created by the trial companies and their employees.

A former smelter worker has spent $100,000 of his own money developing a monitoring device to prevent others from getting the little known disabling syndrome he has been diagnosed with. Jason Johnstone had worked with power tools for most of his adult life when his fingers started going numb and pale. He ignored the problem despite dropping dishes and other items as he struggled to hold onto them.

Meeting his future wife, a general surgical registrar from the UK, about a year later, in 2014, he received an unexpected informal diagnosis of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), a condition caused by repeated exposure to vibration, causing the nerve endings in the fingertips to go into vascular spasms restricting blood flow. It can also affect joints and be exacerbated by working in the cold or damp and using power tools for extended periods of time. “She knew what it was straight away. It had been all over the UK in the 1990s with coal miners, it had cost companies billions. We’re way behind,” Johnstone said. To stop other workers in industries such as agriculture, forestry and construction falling victim to the syndrome Johnstone has developed a vibration monitoring device using cloud based technology.

He set up the company, Vibration Action, in 2017, and with software and hardware developer ​4Design in Queenstown designed a watch band and dashboard vibration monitoring device. It records hand and arm vibrations while using power tools and machinery, which can then be acted on. Vibration Action founder and director Jason Johnstone's pale fingers show the symptoms of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome from damaged nerve endings restricting the blood flow.

Formally diagnosed by New Zealand’s leading workplace expert occupational health specialist Professor David McBride he was transferred from his manual Tiwai Aluminium Smelter job in 2014 to an office role. He has since been researching the problem and devising a way of protecting other workers from it as well as raising awareness. Johnstone, who now lives in Dunedin, is one of the very few people in New Zealand diagnosed with HAVS. Symptoms include tingling fingers, numbness, pain, weakness, loss of dexterity and impeded blood flow. If caught early enough HAVS can be reversible, according to WorkSafe, but not in Johnstone’s case, the damage is permanent and “life changing”.

“Business owners must protect their workers. My device makes it very simple and easy to protect employees from over exposure to workplace vibration,” Johnstone said. They can see their employee exposure rates to vibration in real time 24/7, he said. As an operator/trainer at the smelter he had been subject to ongoing vibrations for more than 15 years from driving ATVs on uneven ground and from heavy power tools used to clean carbon from anodes. Like many businesses there was no time limit on working with such machinery.

Previously he had worked as a car painter, panel beater and fitter and welder which also included using some vibrating equipment.

Little information was available on the condition prompting Johnstone to do his own research. Through an Official Information Act request Johnstone found ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) data on HAVS showed there were only 40-50 cases from 2000-2018 yet 6230 cases were reported in the United Kingdom in half that time. “Even if we consider that the two workforces are similar, based on population statistics the incidence in New Zealand should have been 785 cases in 18 years or 44 cases per year,” he told Worksafe. From 2008 to 2018 ACC data showed there were 5342 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. Whereas in the United Kingdom there were 2,930.

Johnstone did not think New Zealand doctors appeared to be trained to diagnose HAVS and may be misdiagnosing carpal tunnel instead, hence the numbers. Though according to overseas research vibrations contributes to or causes 40 - 50 per cent of occupation related cases of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. “HAVS may be misdiagnosed because it can start in one finger but progresses to include all fingers, whereas carpal tunnel syndrome does not involve all of the fingers.”

Since leaving the smelter Johnstone has been writing health and safety policies for different companies and building his business. So far he has produced 12 prototypes of his vibration monitors. Delta Utility Services health and safety manager Matt Sadgrove, left, and Vibration Action founder Jason Johnstone sport the vibration monitor prototype on their wrists.

The monitor costs $1 a day to run. No one should work on a low vibration machine for more than eight hours each day and no more than 10 to 30 minutes on high vibration equipment such as a jack hammer, he said. Delta Utility Services in Dunedin is one of the company’s trialling the vibration monitor.

Delta’s health and safety manager Matt Sadgrove said they had been helping Johnstone refine the device and trialled it for the last 18 months. “It’s great.There’s an awful lot of people using vibrating tools.” One of the contracting company’s roles is maintaining green areas for local authorities using rotary hoes and lawn mowers. To ensure workers are not over exposed to vibrations Delta has restructured some jobs and replaced some tools with ones that vibrate less. “It has helped us identify if there are issues and look for different products.” Vibration Action's prototype wrist vibration monitors. He said they had also invested in remote controlled mowers and robots.

“(The monitor) can help us make better choices and prolong a worker’s work life, which is our best asset if we look after them.”

WorkSafe NZ head of innovation Daniel Hummerdal ​said in a statement the trial was a great example of the ingenuity and motivation in New Zealand to create better outcomes for workers. On the WorkSafe NZ website it provides advice and information on the risks of exposure to vibrations. Otago University occupational and environmental medicine associate Professor David McBride said New Zealand needed the device and needed to invest in more research in the area of the workplace hazards of vibration exposure, Worksafe NZ reported.

Johnstone was now looking for investment to further develop the glove system to detect vibration at the point of contact with wrist management to reduce carpal tunnel injury rates.

2024 DECEMBER

I have decided to collaborate with the world's leading system, HAVSPRO. Developing my own solution with the vibration glove proved to an endeavor too ambitious. After years of seeking funding in New Zealand, I could no longer afford to wait. People are being harmed, and it is imperative to move beyond my personal vision

2025 March

The initial units have been delivered to New Zealand and acquired, facilitating the organisation's ability to monitor vibrations in both HAVS and WBV forms in real time, 24/7. The HAVSPRO system has already been employed in legal proceedings in the U.K. on five occasions by the HSE to prosecute cases of employee overexposure. It is undeniable that vibration-related harm occurs in New Zealand, and now the system is available to identify it.

2020

The History and Reality of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS)

Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), also known as vibration white finger or dead hand, has a long history of recognition. The symptoms were first documented in 1911 by Professor Loriga in Italy, but the connection between the symptoms and their cause remained unclear until a study by Dr. Alice Hamilton in 1918. Through her research on quarry cutters and carvers in Bedford, Indiana, she identified the link between vibration exposure and HAVS. She also observed an increase in symptoms during cold weather, particularly in the harsh winter of 1918. Source.

The Medical Oversight in New Zealand

Despite its well-documented history, many medical professionals in New Zealand consider HAVS to be uncommon. I strongly disagree. General Practitioners in New Zealand do not receive formal education on HAVS unless they specialize in occupational health. Additionally, the New Zealand College of General Practitioners only covers carpal tunnel syndrome, with no mention of HAVS. This lack of awareness contributes to New Zealand having the highest rate of carpal tunnel injuries in the developed world. So how bad is the situation, really?

The Concerning Statistics on HAVS and Carpal Tunnel Injuries

Curious about the prevalence of HAVS in New Zealand, I looked into the available data. According to ACC records, only 40-50 cases of HAVS were reported between 2000 and 2018. This figure is alarmingly low compared to the United Kingdom, where 6,230 cases were recorded in half that time. Based on population statistics, New Zealand should have reported approximately 692 cases over the same period—or about 50 cases per year. Given the high-risk industries present in New Zealand, such as forestry, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, one would expect the numbers to be even higher. So why is the reported incidence so low?

Further ACC data shows that 5,342 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome were recorded in New Zealand from 2008 to 2018. If the UK had a similar proportion of cases, there would have been approximately 41,857 cases in that timeframe—yet the UK only reported 2,930. This discrepancy raises questions about whether HAVS is being misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Knowledge Gap and the Need for Change

Looking at the available data, it seems clear that HAVS is frequently misclassified as carpal tunnel syndrome by General Practitioners in New Zealand. This misclassification is likely due to both a lack of awareness and insufficient employee exposure data. Additionally, there is a concerning gap in vibration monitoring within the country's health and safety regulations. I became aware of this while studying occupational health and safety, observing the prevailing Kiwi attitude toward the issue—essentially, "If I can’t see my hands or fingers missing, then there’s no problem." However, HAVS progresses silently over time, much like an undetected illness—by the time symptoms appear, the damage is already done.

The Purpose of Vibration Action

Vibration Action was founded with a clear and vital mission: to protect hardworking people. No one should have to suffer just because they depend on their hands to make a living. After all, what kind of retirement is it if you can't fully feel or move your fingers, hands, or wrists?