Posted on: Nov. 11, 2025
23 years on, noise report quality remains abysmal. It can be changed...
I find the results of the recent HSE noise assessment report quality seriously depressing. Not surprising (we see a host of poor placebo reports via running the IOSH noise competency courses), but depressing. In 2002, a similar HSE survey found that 63% of noise reports were unsatisfactory, so nothing has changed...
Noise reports: 40% unsatisfactory, 14% poor, 6% very poor (2025 HSE data). Not only that, but 77% of reports do not include a prioritised list of noise control measures, despite HSE advice.
Noise control: even when it is included (only 23%), the advice is almost always useless, generalised copy-and-paste along the lines of "it would be a good idea if you could work out ways to reduce noise - here's a few links to stuff I've seen". It doesn't have to be that way...
This poor report quality damages health and increases noise risk reduction costs
It has recently become clear that Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) has a much greater effect on health than previously suspected (it's the number one modifiable dementia risk). There is also a large pool of people who have as yet undiagnosed NIHL (unlike OtoAcoustic Emission (OAE) testing, traditional Pure Tone audiometry (PTA) is not good at detecting all forms of damage). Coupled with the changing legal landscape, unless improvements are made, claim and insurance costs are set to soar.
There is a simple solution...
- Create and use a high quality template report for all future noise risk assessments, whether in-house or via consultants. This makes it easy to track progress over time, something that is a) very important and b) virtually impossible if report formats keep changing. Because we feel it is the right thing to do, as part of our NIL NIHL campaign, we will shortly be providing access to our benchmark noise report template - see below...
- Carry out a Noise Control Audit to generate a cost/benefit analysis and ranking of the options, using current best practice. If you haven't done this, you cannot say that you have best practice in place. Sadly, noise consultant knowledge of modern noise control engineering is generally abysmal...
Benchmark noise risk assessment report template
This is a Word document incorporating decades of report writing (and reading!) experience to create the ultimate top-end noise report based on the latest research and best practice advice. The report ethos:
- the only reason for a risk assessment is to generate a best practice Action Plan to reduce NIHL risk over the next 2 years. This is in contrast to reports that just tell you that you still have a noise problem - and it's exactly this big...
- the Action Plan (extracted from the main report) should be short and practical with timescales and named personnel who will be responsible for implementation
- it is written in simple clear language that anyone can understand while providing more detailed technical justifications for the advice provided in appendices for specialist H&S personnel
- it includes an example of a Noise Control Audit to provide a cost/benefit analysis of the noise control options
- it includes advice on how to calculate the Return on Investment (RoI) the organisation is getting from expenditure on hearing conservation programmes so efficacy can be tracked and improved over time
The report format can be used "as is" or the relevant components can be extracted to create a company specific version.
Alternatively, we can also carry out an initial single site noise assessment to generate that company specific version for future use. Note that this would usually include the comprehensive Noise Control Audit required by the regulations that is missing from every noise report we have ever seen...
Take a look at this short webinar video (from 3:50 secs) for the Energy Institute by our Technical Director, Peter Wilson. It provides an overview of an approach that overcomes the problems created by the false assumptions based on 19th century technologies that are so prevalent.
Contact us if you'd like to discuss your noise control options with expert engineers who have access to the largest database of engineering noise control techniques on the planet.
“… exactly the way assessments should be presented… loved the way the technical details are separated from the practical recommendations… the action plan section is ideal… particularly impressed by the low costs associated with the noise control options to actually solve some of the problems…”
Use the button below if you'd like to be informed when the template noise report is available.
Noise risk management competency has changed
You can also update yourself with the latest best practices via our 1 day online noise competency update workshop.
