EAR & EYE PROTECTION
their own wellbeing. Clearly, we need a more effective way to tackle NIHL in the workplace.
OPTIMUM SOLUTION Any effective new solution must avoid information
overload and provide safety managers with meaningful and actionable insights so their limited time and resource can be properly targeted. Also, any physical equipment needs to be comfortable and intuitive to ensure that it is worn correctly by end-users to provide the highest levels of hearing protection.
Ideally, the new solution should also reinforce good practice and involve employees proactively and personally in taking action to prevent damage to their hearing while at work. For the employer, an accurate record of each individual’s noise exposure record would be a major improvement – particularly in demonstrating compliance.
It's a tall order, but the good news is that the technologies now exist to answer all these requirements. Using a combination of technology transfer and the enormous potential of digitalisation, we can effect a major step-change in how we tackle NIHL in the workplace.
For example, the physical discomfort or inconvenience experienced by wearers of traditional earmuffs and earplugs can be remedied by adopting design advances from the professional music sector. Lossless earplugs are now commonly available that use foam and silicon materials to achieve a universal fit. These earplugs are extremely small and lightweight, offering excellent noise attenuation properties without compromising the wearer’s situational awareness.
Meanwhile, the evolution of intelligent digital technologies is enabling more effective data collection, analysis and interpretation in almost every aspect of our lives. Ubiquitous connectivity makes it possible to collate and transmit massive amounts of data reliably from many locations at once – often in real time. In a health and safety setting, it is easy to see how wireless connectivity could be deployed to support noise monitoring regimes and alert safety managers and workers at the point action is required.
LESS NOISE, MORE INSIGHT New protective equipment that combines the latest
aural comfort with the data collection, storage and analysis capabilities that modern working environments demand is now available.
For the first time, employees can take responsibility in real time. Active noise monitoring means that when an immediate risk is detected, an individual alarm will alert the employee to take action. This may mean moving further from the noise source, using the ergonomically designed earplugs, or adding more hearing protection. Data from each shift can be uploaded in the cloud and used to generate further guidance. For example, employees can receive automated notifications about their daily noise exposure levels in the form of emails or text messages. These messages can also provide straightforward
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suggestions that they can adopt to lower their risk of noise-induced hearing loss.
Cloud-based storage and analysis can also provide the insight and targeted approach that safety managers need to be more effective. These intelligent personal monitoring systems can be configured to present critical data in a simple dashboard format. This access to contextual data cuts through the noise and helps to prevent information overload. It allows the safety manager to pinpoint the individuals that are most at risk of noise-related hearing loss, enabling them to work with them collaboratively – not coercively - to drive improved behaviours.
Nor are these new hearing loss prevention solutions limited to recording noise exposure levels. The intelligent technology can also provide other valuable usage data, such as when and how well the earplugs have been fitted. Cloud storage also allows historical noise exposure data to be stored over time. This data pool provides a vital audit trail of compliance should it be required.
CONCLUSION Current occupational hearing loss processes are a
failure. They rely on passive and outdated equipment that does little to support safety managers, employers and employees in tacking the problem.
In the 21st century, it is simply unacceptable that anyone should suffer the consequences of workplace- induced hearing loss. The condition is entirely preventable – and we now have the technological tools to achieve real and permanent behavioural change.
This article is based on the whitepaper Cutting
https://www.minuendo.com/cutting-through-the-nois
Through The Noise, which is free to download here.
www.minuendo.com
www.tomorrowshs.com
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