If you weld, your people are breathing metal fume - and depending on the process and the base metal, that can include manganese, hexavalent chromium and nickel. If you spray two-pack polyurethane coatings, you are working with isocyanates, which are among the most frequently identified causes of occupational asthma anywhere in the industrialised world.
Isocyanate sensitisation is the one that changes a worker's life. Once someone is sensitised, subsequent exposure at levels far below the exposure limit can trigger a reaction. There is no un-sensitising them, and they usually cannot go back on the line.
BC does not require spirometry for any of this - we would rather tell you that plainly than sell you a rule that does not exist. What testing gives you is a baseline before someone starts on the coating line, and a series that catches a developing problem while the worker can still be moved.
We already work in BC manufacturing, including Allmar Inc. in Kelowna and 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters in Burnaby.
We schedule around your production runs and work in whatever space you can give us.
Runs comfortably alongside hearing testing and respirator fit testing for manufacturing on the same visit.
Baseline and periodic testing for welders, coating applicators, foundry staff and anyone working around solvent vapour or metalworking fluid mist.
Each test reviewed by a licensed physician, with interpretation rather than a raw number.
We sequence the day so your coating line and welding bays are tested before general plant staff.
We are in plants across the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley and the Okanagan most weeks. Spirometry runs on the same visit as the hearing tests and fit tests you already book.
Manufacturing is the sector where bundling actually pays. If your welders need annual fit testing and annual hearing tests already, adding spirometry to the same day means one production interruption instead of three.
OHSR 8.42 calls for a physician examination where there is doubt about a worker's ability to wear a respirator. That is a conditional requirement and it is not spirometry - but objective lung function data is what makes that conversation useful rather than a guess. We will explain the difference rather than blurring it to sell a test.
Clear Health Group delivers mobile occupational health and RN-led home services across British Columbia - including the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, and the BC Interior. Our team travels directly to worksites and homes, eliminating the need for clinic visits.
Currently serving major BC municipalities including:
Clear Health Group supports employers with reliable, structured mobile health services designed to simplify compliance and reduce operational disruption. Families trust our RN-led team for professional in-home care delivered with consistency and clinical oversight.
We recently used Clear Health Group for our company-wide annual hearing testing and respirator fit testing across two locations and two days. … Seamless and professional.
They showed up to our jobsite in Duncan, on time and were well prepared for our team to have their fit tests done on site.
Wonderful experience! Noah was lovely to coordinate with and the testing experience was seamless for our team! Would happily book again for our next test. Cheers!
We got our mask fitting tests done by Amy. Both the service and attitude were excellent! Will definitely call them again for other services!
Great experience with Noah and Catherine. Showing up on time, very professional and on track for the schedule.
Definitely good at their job. Noah and Amy were at our construction job site and did a good job for testing. Helped all our crew on site.
Happy to have booked with Clear Work. Noah & Nina were fast, easy to work with, and readily available. 5/5!
ClearHealth is fantastic. Very accommodating and Noah is an absolute pleasure. Very friendly, quick services, very efficient! Highly recommend.
Friendly, professional and accommodating team! Pleasure to work with.
A great on-site hearing test experience. Katherine was kind, professional, and made the process quick and comfortable.
Overall it was a wonderful experience for the test. Very professional and good consultation regarding hearing loss prevention.
Ammy took my hearing test and it was an awesome experience. She was very professional, kind, and explained everything clearly. The test was done smoothly and I felt comfortable the entire time. I truly appreciate her patience and excellent service. Highly recommended!
Common questions about spirometry in BC manufacturing and fabrication.
No. There is no BC OHS Regulation section requiring spirometry for welding fume or any other exposure. Where you have an exposure control plan, OHSR 5.54(2)(f) lists health monitoring as an element when required. Beyond that it is a voluntary program employers run for early detection and to hold a baseline.
No. Fit testing under OHSR 8.40 does not require it. OHSR 8.42 requires a physician examination only where there is specific doubt about a worker's medical ability to wear a respirator. Spirometry can inform that assessment but it is not a prerequisite for a fit test, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling.
Coating applicators working with two-pack polyurethane, then welders - particularly on stainless or galvanised material - then foundry and grinding staff. We will help you build the priority list from your own processes and exposure data.
There is no interval set in BC regulation. The common pattern is a baseline before someone starts in an exposed role, then annually while exposure continues, moving to every two years in lower-risk areas. We set it against your actual exposures rather than a default.
Yes. We work around shift changes and production runs, and sequence the day so your highest-exposure groups are covered first. Most plants combine spirometry with hearing testing and fit testing in a single visit.
On-site spirometry for welders, coating applicators and plant staff, physician-reviewed and sequenced by exposure. Easiest to run alongside your fit testing and hearing tests.
