NOISE MONITORING / NOISE AT WORK | CIRRUS RESEARCH


The noisier it gets, the less time you can legally be exposed to that noise level. If these daily limits are exceeded, then the chances of developing NIHL are dramatically increased. These limits relate to the levels of noise exposure employees face over an average working day or week; and the maximum noise (peak sound pressure) employees are exposed to in a working day.


Over the years, Cirrus has come across many Noise at Work mistakes but you can generally boil most of them down to just six.


Common Mistake 1 is actually doing nothing. This obviously sounds risky but it is surprising how many employers still prefer to bury their head in the sand when it comes to NIHL, possible HSE prosecution and personal injury claims.


WE KNOW NOISE


Considering that legislation to limit noise at work has been around for


at least a couple of decades, it is still worrying that around 170,000 people in the UK suffer deafness, tinnitus or other hearing conditions caused by excessive noise at work.


A lot of cases could well be historical dating back to when noise at work legislation was in its infancy or not so rigorously enforced, but no matter how responsible UK employers are now, there is still an obvious gap in terms of knowledge, understanding and application when it comes to Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) in the workplace.


So, what is Noise at Work? Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 introduced safety limits for daily noise exposure. It’s one of the most overlooked risks in the workplace but both employees and personal injury lawyers are becoming increasingly aware.


To stay within the legal limits, the current decibel levels within the Noise at Work legislation are:


Noise Level 80 db(A) 83 db(A) 86 db(A) 89 db(A) 92 db(A)


40


Safe Duration - 8 Hours - 4 Hours - 2 Hours - 1 Hour


– 30 Minutes


Common Mistake 2 is not using the right equipment to get accurate measurements. It is also important to invest in the right level of hearing protection rather than choosing the cheapest option.


Cutting corners on your instruments or hearing protection could leave you wide open and be putting yourself at risk when taking the measurements.


Common Mistake 3, despite your efforts, you are still breaching the best practice guidelines and could end up either under or over-protecting your employees against excessive noise. If you aren’t getting an accurate representation of the noise levels then how can you provide proper hearing protection?


Common Mistake 4, this is if you are not calibrating your meter properly or regularly, which means your readings could be inaccurate. If you don’t then you are not complying with the Regulations on calibration and you won’t know if your instrument has been damaged or malfunctioned before using it.


The microphones of the instruments are very sensitive (for obvious reasons), so you want to make sure it’s measuring accurately. An acoustic calibrator should be used to check the meter each day before and after making measurements. Your calibrator should meet at least Class 2 of BS EN 60942:2003.


Common Mistake 5 - The mistake here is not trying to control noise risks in the first place. As before, you could be over-protecting your staff from excessive noise but still be open to action from the HSE. Hearing protection is always the last resort but you should be trying to reduce the noise risks first.


The final mistake is not keeping your data. Why? Without the data, you will not have an historical record of the noise levels around your business. This would show any improvements that have been made over time. Employees could also claim they suffered from NIHL due to excessive noise exposure and demand compensation but you would be unable to prove that the noise levels were not excessive at the time.


www.cirrusresearch.co.uk TOMORROW’S HEALTH & SAFETY YEARBOOK 2017/18


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