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.
An evaluator should therefore prepare a worksheet containing questions that will need to be asked during the process. The methods of collecting the information may involve interviews, observation among other ways. To begin the process, the evaluator will need to determine the source of sound at the work place. Sources may include; machines, power tools, photocopier, compressor, conveyor and many other sources.
The next thing that will need to be determined is the persons most affected by the hazard. This should be indicated in the worksheet and also a map of the work area that will be provided for the process. After this is established next will be measuring the level of loudness of the sound. A discordance meter is used in this process. If it shows that the level is below 75 db, this is an acceptable level. However, any level above this causes harm to workers.
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.
When the measures implemented during the second stage still do not work, an organization will need to get specialized help. This would mean that they contact an external discordance consultant who can assess the risk better and propose measures to be implemented to curb the problem. Such a consultant will need to work with a small team of persons the organization. His measures of data collection are complex to yield better results.
When the noise assessment is complete, the consultant prepares a report about his evaluations. The report does contain the different sources of loud sound and measures that should be taken to minimize this. The management is then required to implement the recommendations proposed by the report and still monitor to see if the recommendations worked or not.
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.
An evaluator should therefore prepare a worksheet containing questions that will need to be asked during the process. The methods of collecting the information may involve interviews, observation among other ways. To begin the process, the evaluator will need to determine the source of sound at the work place. Sources may include; machines, power tools, photocopier, compressor, conveyor and many other sources.
The next thing that will need to be determined is the persons most affected by the hazard. This should be indicated in the worksheet and also a map of the work area that will be provided for the process. After this is established next will be measuring the level of loudness of the sound. A discordance meter is used in this process. If it shows that the level is below 75 db, this is an acceptable level. However, any level above this causes harm to workers.
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.
When the measures implemented during the second stage still do not work, an organization will need to get specialized help. This would mean that they contact an external discordance consultant who can assess the risk better and propose measures to be implemented to curb the problem. Such a consultant will need to work with a small team of persons the organization. His measures of data collection are complex to yield better results.
When the noise assessment is complete, the consultant prepares a report about his evaluations. The report does contain the different sources of loud sound and measures that should be taken to minimize this. The management is then required to implement the recommendations proposed by the report and still monitor to see if the recommendations worked or not.
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