Many people do not know that certain noise level at a work site can eventually lead to hearing problems or deafness to people working in that environment. There have been regulations designed by different states to help reduce the number of cases of workplace deafness. Apart from the regulations, certain tools have been devised to assess the level of discordance at a work place and advocate for reduction measures. One such example is the noise assessment tool.
Persons at the workplace can be chosen to conduct this assessment such as a health and safety representative, a supervisor, an employee or even a manager. The first step will be to identify the source of the problem. The reason why persons from the organization are used is because at this level not much technical expertise is required.
A person conducting the assessment should therefore have a worksheet that should contain certain questions which ought to be answered through observation, interviewing workers working at the particular place or using any other methodology. The first questions concerns the source of the sound; it can be from a conveyor, compressor, photocopier, power tools, machines, radio among other sources.
Next question to be asked concerns who is exposed to the discordance. Therefore an assessor should indicate the location of workers on the worksheet in relation to the source. How loud the noise is should be the next thing to assess. This will require the assessor to have a discordance meter to measure the level of sound. Normal sound levels should be below 75decibels. Any sound above this is a hazard to the people working around that place.
There has to be away the workers are dealing with any level above 75 decibels. Therefore the assessor should inquire how the sound level is controlled. In most places, employees are usually given hearing protection unit controls. But in many cases this is just an interim measure because in the long term, the workers are always affected because the discordance has not been minimized fully.
Since the sound effects cannot be minimized, assessment continues. Correct measurements ought to be taken to correctly establish exposure levels to particular employees. At this level, the equipment used to collect the data is advanced than the latter example the noise dosimeter. Before the person collects data, he or she ought to be properly trained on the use of the instrument and its features to collect and interpret data properly.
If after the above step sound cannot be minimized, then this calls for professional help. Complex measurements will need to be carried out by an external consultant. The measurements taken here require use of more sophisticated instruments which the consultant has been trained to use. There should be a team formed by people working at the particular workplace to work closely with the consultant.
Once the professional has finished carrying out the noise assessment, he comes up with a report. This report contains all information people at the work area ought to know concerning the hazard; its effects are proposed measures to rectify the problem. It will be up to the organization to implement the report in order to protect its workers.
Persons at the workplace can be chosen to conduct this assessment such as a health and safety representative, a supervisor, an employee or even a manager. The first step will be to identify the source of the problem. The reason why persons from the organization are used is because at this level not much technical expertise is required.
A person conducting the assessment should therefore have a worksheet that should contain certain questions which ought to be answered through observation, interviewing workers working at the particular place or using any other methodology. The first questions concerns the source of the sound; it can be from a conveyor, compressor, photocopier, power tools, machines, radio among other sources.
Next question to be asked concerns who is exposed to the discordance. Therefore an assessor should indicate the location of workers on the worksheet in relation to the source. How loud the noise is should be the next thing to assess. This will require the assessor to have a discordance meter to measure the level of sound. Normal sound levels should be below 75decibels. Any sound above this is a hazard to the people working around that place.
There has to be away the workers are dealing with any level above 75 decibels. Therefore the assessor should inquire how the sound level is controlled. In most places, employees are usually given hearing protection unit controls. But in many cases this is just an interim measure because in the long term, the workers are always affected because the discordance has not been minimized fully.
Since the sound effects cannot be minimized, assessment continues. Correct measurements ought to be taken to correctly establish exposure levels to particular employees. At this level, the equipment used to collect the data is advanced than the latter example the noise dosimeter. Before the person collects data, he or she ought to be properly trained on the use of the instrument and its features to collect and interpret data properly.
If after the above step sound cannot be minimized, then this calls for professional help. Complex measurements will need to be carried out by an external consultant. The measurements taken here require use of more sophisticated instruments which the consultant has been trained to use. There should be a team formed by people working at the particular workplace to work closely with the consultant.
Once the professional has finished carrying out the noise assessment, he comes up with a report. This report contains all information people at the work area ought to know concerning the hazard; its effects are proposed measures to rectify the problem. It will be up to the organization to implement the report in order to protect its workers.
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