PPE


SOUND ADVICE


Around 21,000 people in the UK suffer from deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to loud noise at work, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).


Symptoms can range from partial to full hearing loss and tinnitus can cause sufferers to hear ‘phantom’ noises, described as anything from ringing to banging or screeching.


As part of The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, employers are required to protect employees from exposure to hazardous noise in the workplace. The level at which employers must provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones is 85 decibels (dB) -daily or weekly average exposure.


To help employers, 3M has designed a four-step approach to keeping workers safe from hearing damage, involving detection, protection, training and validation.


1. DETECTION The first step is to carry out a workplace assessment to


determine whether there is a problem with hazardous noise to begin with. As a rule of thumb, if employees need to raise their voices when speaking to one another, or if the noise is otherwise intrusive, it is likely that sound levels are too high.


In any areas in which this is the case, accurate noise measurements should be taken, either in-house by a competent person, or by a hired consultant. These results can help determine which noise control methods to use, re-evaluate risk assessments and select appropriate hearing protection equipment (HPE).


2. PROTECTION Like any workplace hazard, employers should look


to the hierarchy of control and implement ‘control at source’ measures wherever possible in order to reduce noise levels in the area. However, in some environment’s employees may need to wear HPE even after such measures have been taken.


In these cases, it is vital that HPE provides adequate protection for the task at hand and is also suitable for the wearer, the task and their workplace environment. Here, ‘adequate’ means the equipment


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Simon Field, Technical Specialist at 3M, explains the four steps involved in protecting workers against hazardous noises.


must protect against harmful noise levels present in the given environment.


However, employers should also bear in mind the need for essential communication and awareness of audible alarms and warnings. Choosing hearing protection with the most noise attenuation is not necessarily the best solution. Employers should also consider whether or not HPE is compatible with any other personal protective equipment (PPE) being worn.


PQ


Overall suitability is about the optimum level of protection combined with user preference, compatibility, hygiene considerations and product maintenance.


Workers should be offered a range of HPE and be involved in the selection process, whether through feedback sessions, questionnaires or similar means. When HPE is suitable, workers are far more likely to use it properly, reducing the risk of harm.


3. TRAINING Training is as important as picking the right equipment


in the first place. For training to be effective, it should cover several areas.


First, the importance of HPE should be explained, together with when it should be worn.


Employees must also understand the specific noise hazards present in their workplace; the control measures to be used; how to wear and adjust their equipment; and any maintenance and storage procedures required.


4. VALIDATION The level of protection provided by any given piece of


HPE will differ between users, largely depending on their physical characteristics and how they wear the equipment.


For example, people with wider ear canals may receive less protection than those with narrower ones. Those who have not been suitably trained on how to insert their ear plugs may also face greater exposure to hazardous noise levels. Fit testing can account for all these factors, providing quantitative data to show the level of protection achieved by each worker.


www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/company-uk/ www.tomorrowshs.com


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