Technical Notes - Occupational Noise

Massive (£400 million pa), unsustainable hearing damage claims demonstrate that current PPE-dominated noise risk reduction programmes have not worked. Period. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is a preventable plague that has not been prevented. It's time to learn why. It's time to stop people from suffering unnecessary hearing damage by changing the way risk is managed.

This is how you can move towards Nil NIHL in virtually any organisation, from industrial to entertainment, by reducing risk by 75%-90% whilst simultaneously cutting costs. Does that sound like a plan? 10min BOHS 2022 video>

The Plan - making noise risk management effective

1. Noise assessments and reports: don't repeat placebo assessments indicating, yet again, that you still have a noise problem. You already knew that, and, according to HSE, most noise assessments are not fit for purpose. Invest resources in risk reduction, such as a Noise Control Audit (cost/benefit analysis) instead. Invest in a high quality template report for use in the future, either in-house or by consultants.
2. PPE performance: if you know the real-world limitations you can implement simple measures to double or treble protector performance. The manufacturers’ assumed protection data is irrelevant in most circumstances. If you need 10dB attenuation or more, then this is very difficult to achieve in practice. Most people, including consultant report writers, don't seem to know this. The latest intelligent PPE can also help.
3. Noise control: most companies can reduce hearing damage risk by 50%-90% at negligible (or even a negative - i.e. at a profit) cost by sourcing best practice engineering noise control measures from online resources. There are very simple but effective noise control measures for the most common sources.
4. Health surveillance: conventional audiometry is a checkbox exercise providing too little information too late to be of use in risk management. It doesn’t have to be…

You can get up-to-date with best practice via our online Noise Competency Update Workshop.

HSE - standard PPE is an unreliable risk reduction option

HSE research (report RR720) proved that hearing protection is very often ineffective. The assumption that PPE is a reliable “solution” to hearing damage risk problems is simply untrue. This assumption has left many personnel at risk and companies open to claims if their hearing conservation policy was based on issuing PPE to affected personnel. There is a solution. Hearing risk management programmes can be updated to reduce risk dramatically at negligible or no cost - or even at a profit as the revised best practice will often cost less than current expenditure.

Use our free real-world calculator to assess actual PPE attenuation and to determine how best to improve protection.

Download the free real-world PPE attenuation calculator >>

How to update your noise risk management programme to Nil NIHL >

The Digital Noise Assessment (DNA) provides benchmark report templates covering all the requirements of the noise regulations – including the plan of action. Used either in-house or by consultants as standard format for all updates, it makes noise data easily accessible so that you can find and use the information fast. It features:-

• DNA report “best practice” template: either as cut-and-paste from the customisable template Word document or as a bespoke organisation-specific report format
• Action Plan summary: editable managers’ action plan summary to track implementation of risk management
• Technical Notes: up-to-date technical notes on regulations, PPE, dose calculations, health surveillance, Buy Quiet, noise control, training
• Example Report: completed pdf report example including factory plan noise levels
• Noise Control Audit: if you don’t have the technical background for this mandatory regulatory requirement to make a cost / benefit analysis of the noise control options, we can provide this as an add-on service. Contact us to discuss.

The template report documentation is also available to delegates on our certificate of competence in workplace noise risk assessment and management public courses.

Noise risk reduction has failed. It’s time to change…

How to reduce risk by 75% - 90% at no cost

Legal framework and claims for NIHL

£700k noise claim settlement

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/2023/459.html

Old CLB legal case guidelines

https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/400787/2/r1_COA_12569_review_print.pdf

New, revise legal case MLC guidelines

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/coa.14268

PPE performance

https://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr720.htm

https://invc.com/noise-assessment/how-reduce-hearing-damage-risk-at-negligible-cost/

https://projectscot.com/2020/06/contractor-adopts-active-hearing-protection-mandate/

Noise control

https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/casestudies/index.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/79-117/

https://noisenewsinternational.net/the-search-for-the-top-10-industrial-engineering-noise-controls/

https://invc.com/noise-control/noise-control-audit/

https://invc.com/noise-control/top-10-noise-control-techniques/

https://invc.com/resources/noise-control-case-studies/

https://invc.com/noise-control/remote-noise-control-by-email/

Health surveillance

http://www.hearingservices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Preventative-Audiologist-bshaa-april16.pdf

https://invc-media.s3.amazonaws.com/invc_website/media/documents/OAE_Listen_Up_Conf_2016_M_Willemsen_Schulpen.pdf

https://www.hsl.gov.uk/media/363516/nhca%20workshop%20presentation%20ac.pdf

https://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/assets/docs/oae-expert-symposium-paper-jan-2012.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341281211_Hearing_Conservation_Guidelines_for_the_Performing_Arts

Training and updating knowledge

Noise competency update workshop - covers all the latest best practices

https://invc.com/training/noise-and-vibration-competency-courses/iosh-noise-competency-risk-assessment-management/

Packet says 29dB attenuation. Why is 5dB more likely? You really need to know this...

Most organisations have no idea of the actual attenuation being achieved by hearing protection as used in the workplace. Our free real-world PPE attenuation calculator provides you with realistic estimates of the likely protection being achieved in your working environment for all forms of passive PPE. It also allows you to trial "what if" changes to improve performance dramatically.

Supplier data v real-world PPE attenuation

There is virtually no relationship between these 2 values. The HSE Control of Noise at Work guidance recommends derating the supplier assumed protection by 4dB. This is totally inadequate. In fact, the HSE has published a PPE performance video illustrating this fact

passive PPE performance calculator based on the latest research into the factors that affect attenuation in the workplace, not just in the lab. This allows you to make a realistic estimate of the actual attenuation that is being achieved in your working environment rather than the assumed figure from the (almost irrelevant) supplier data.

It also allows you to assess the effects of changes to improve protection. The result is an evaluation of your Return on Investment (RoI) for your PPE regime.

How does it work?

Simply enter a few key items of information about your PPE (both plugs and muffs) use covering the following:

• Assumed attenuation (supplier data)
• Measured wear rate
• Are safety glass worn?
• Are safety goggles worn?
• Is a mask worn?
• Is the headband stretched?
• Is a seal damaged?
• PPE fit-test/training?
• Costs?

The calculator then provides you with a realistic estimate of the actual attenuation being achieved. In most cases, this is likely to be in the range 5dB - 10dB, not the assumed 20dB - 30dB.