Worksites are noisy things.
While noise often means things are getting done, there is a downside to this. Work-related hearing loss is a real threat for many who spend the majority of their working lives on-site.
So to help you protect your hearing, here are a few helpful tips to keep your ears in tip-top-shape.
Understanding what makes noise on-site and how it impacts people and different areas on site is critical. Ask yourself:
Once you understand the answers to the above, you can start putting plans and checks in place to monitor noise on-site.
Be sure to review the plan throughout the project, as different stages will create varying levels of noise.
The easiest way to decrease the effect of excessive noise on your site is to eliminate the source of noise completely. But, chances are this isn’t possible on a busy site.
Next, best thing is to reduce noise.
Couple of easy ways to do this include:
Isolation involves creating a dedicated space for ‘noisy work’. This could be an enclosed room or area of site where all noisy work and machinery is used. This helps to block the path of noise and reduce the levels that reach your team.
Perfect for when you are running a large generator or a dedicated workspace, acoustic enclosures help to trap the noise within its barriers.
Setting up an acoustic enclosure that has 2 or 3 barriers/ walls can reduce noise by about 30 dB.
What makes a quality acoustic enclosure:
With noise comes vibrations. These vibrations can be just as harmful as the noise itself.
Here are a few strategies to help decrease vibrations when using machines or power tools:
For more on the effects of vibrations, check out our vibrations blog.
We’re never going to escape noise on site, that just not possible. But we can put steps in place to help reduce the effect that noise has on people while they are on site.
Meeting your health and safety requirements shouldn’t be a chore. Instead, it should be an easy, functional and productive part of your day. With HazardCo, that is exactly what it becomes.
For a 7 day no obligation trial of HazardCo, just fill in your information and take control of your on-site Health & Safety.