WORKPLACE SAFETY FEATURE Some noise assessments provide lots of
information and whilst there is nothing wrong with providing extra detail, you should make sure that the assessment actually gives you at least the minimum legal information you need to carry out your duties. Extra information is worth having only if it further helps you to control and reduce the risks. Checking the report to ensure it meets the
minimum legal requirements is all well and good but we’d all agree that prevention is better than cure, so why not ensure you address this issue at the quotation stage? Any reputable consultant should be able to supply you with either a comprehensive schedule that clearly states what their report will provide or specimen reports, sanitised to remove the identity of the company to which it relates. If they cannot or will not, move on to someone who will! All of the above will help you to ensure you
have an adequate noise risk assessment but don’t forget that it should be reviewed if there is reason to believe that it is no longer valid (e.g. new machinery installed, change in working practices, layout of the workplace changed). Good practice would be to carry out an informal review every two years, to decide whether a full review is necessary. Even better, the review should be on-going with changes to machinery and working practices being evaluated for noise implications at the planning stage. Many businesses could make significant long-
term savings in this respect if they carried out the process in-house, but this requires a level of expertise that is not necessarily widespread. However, the Institute of Acoustics, the UK's professional body for those working in acoustics, noise and vibration, offers an accredited training course specifically designed to bring candidates up to a competent standard, which will enable them to carry out basic noise risk assessments and keep existing ones up to date. The Certificate of Competence in Workplace
Noise Risk Assessment aims to provide a recognised course of education and training to enable persons to carry out workplace noise assessments in a competent manner, as required by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Since the course was first run in 1989, more than 2000 people have gained the Certificate. Since the introduction of the new Regulations in 2005, demand for competent noise exposure assessments has increased and this course provides those attending with the latest information and training to meet the demands of the legislation. It is designed to provide a background of basic acoustics combined with `hands on' practical experience of industrial noise measurements and associated assessment of workplace noise exposure. Students take the Certificate at an Accredited
Centre. Attendance at the Centre is usually for four days, plus the examination day, which includes a practical test. Examinations are
currently held at the Centres twice per year, in Spring and Autumn. Most Centres run the course for the four days preceding the examination date. Further information regarding the course content and details of the training centres is available from the IoA website
www.ioa.org.uk or by phone 0300 999 9675. Finally, it is important to recognise that the
Noise Assessment is just the start of the process, not the end. Don’t just file your assessment away. Use it to carry out your duties to reduce the risk of hearing loss and control noise exposure.
Institute of Acoustics
www.ioa.org.uk
INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE | SUMMER 2020
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