A (Hi) Educational Monumental Industrial Engineered Approach To Workplace Noise!.

1. Workplace Noise: Dangers, Standards and Remedies:

If you have ever visited a commercial warehouse, factory floor, airport or construction site, to name only a few common workplace environments, you probably experienced some serious noise levels first-hand. 

While momentary exposure may not have done you any harm, employees who must spend hours at a time around noise risk permanent hearing damage. 

That's why OSHA (Occupational SAFETY AND HEALTH Administration) and other standards for hearing protection exist -- and why businesses must do everything possible to adhere to those standards.

Anatomy of a Noise Problem:

The human ear is lined with an array of tiny, delicate hairs known as cilia. 

The cilia vibrate in response to sound waves, and this vibration enables the brain to interpret the information as the everyday noises, music or other sounds that surround us every day, but when the cilia are exposed to excessive levels of sound over a period of time, they can lose their ability to vibrate normally, a condition that may be temporary at first and then become permanent with prolonged or multiple exposures. 

The results may include tinnitus, an annoying condition that conveys a constant ringing or stuffiness in the ears, and temporary or permanent HEARING LOSS. 

Unfortunately, many people who can simply avoid exposure to loud noise in their personal lives have no such option at their jobs, where they may be forced to endure loud noise eight or mores hours each day for years.

What You Can (and Should) Do:

Governments have long understood the need to protect employees from various forms of danger in the workplace, including the danger of hearing damage. 

The Occupational SAFETY AND HEALTH Administration (OSHA), a division of the United States Department of Labour, nas noted that noisy environments not only cause hearing damage, but they can also make communication between workers impossible "an invitation to accidents" and create an unduly stressful environment. 

OSHA regulations therefore call for workplaces to protect workers against noise exposure exceeding 85 decibels in a eight-hour period. 

(For reference, a heavy truck at 15 meters produces about 90 decibels, while a jack hammer can produce 100 decibels.) 

You can determine your workplace's noise level by measuring it with a device that displays an A-weighted decibel reading, the type of reading that corresponds most closely to human hearing perception. 

Even reducing the noise level by just three decibels effectively halves the impact on the ears.

If you find that your business produces too much noise for comfort, safety or health, don't panic; you can implement a variety of measures to maintain a healthier noise level in your workplace.

Sometimes the environment itself can be modified; for instance, an old, noisy piece of equipment can be replaced with a more efficient, quieter one, or an acoustical barrier can be placed between the noise source and the employees. 

In cases where this is impossible, employers can issue noise-reducing earplugs, HEADPHONES or earmuffs and require workers to use them properly and consistently as a condition of employment.

Hi Hearing Protection & Workplace Noise!.

Hi Hearing Protection & Workplace Noise!. 

Hi Overview of the employers responsibilities regarding hearing protection and workplace noise.

The dangers of excessive noise levels at work are well documented. Not only does loud noise pose a threat to workers’ hearing; it can also impair their ability to hear alarms and warnings in emergency situations. Then there are the legal and financial implications for your company if taken to court over hearing loss claims. 

These risks may be well known and understood, but what exactly are the employers responsibilities regarding hearing protection and noise at work as opposed to those of health and safety officers and noise consultants?

In broad terms, the Noise Regulations 2005 (click link here to view further information on noise regulations by the HSE Website) require that you assess the risks that workplace noise poses to your employees. 

You must ‘take action’ to reduce the noise exposure that leads to these risks, and provide employees with hearing protection in cases where noise cannot be adequately reduced through other means.

However, such guidance on employers responsibilities regarding hearing protection is rather vague. 

How, specifically, does one assess the risks, and what exactly is this action that one must take in order to reduce workers’ noise exposure (if required) so that it is within safe limits?

Employers Responsibilities Regarding Noise at Work;

You should first of all identify any particular areas that might present a noise risk. 

For example, certain vehicles, tools and machines may be preventing workers from communicating as easily as they might. 

Work out who is likely to be affected, and with the help of a someone who has the competence to carry out noise assessments such as a health and safety officer or noise consultant, make reliable estimates of these employees’ exposures.

These estimates should then be compared with the noise exposure action levels and limit values. 

The action levels are those at which specific action needs to be taken, while the limit values are those which absolutely must not be exceeded. 

These values include both the average level of noise exposure over a working day or week, and the maximum noise level (peak sound pressure) to which employees can exposed in a working day.

Soundproofing Your Smart Idea's!.

Hi Download Resource Select; By Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Website; Noise; Don't Loose Your Hearing; Click Here To Download.