Manufacturing Noise Control
Avoiding the costs of NIHL for workers and employers
Manufacturing involves many noisy machines, frequently operating at the same time. Depending on your manufacturing industry, you could have saws, routers, presses, sanders, compressed air and nail guns all working simultaneously.
Workers exposed to high levels of noise at work may experience severe hearing loss. This loss is gradual, and workers often do not realise that their hearing is damaged.
Yet the cost of NIHL to employees and business owners is tremendous: for workers it can result in job loss, reduced earnings, reduced leisure and career opportunities, loss of self-esteem, and impaired family and social life. For employers, NIHL can mean higher workers’ compensation premiums, and higher replacement and training costs.
Persons with NIHL may suffer from:
- Fatigue, stress and headaches
- Communication difficulties, e.g. being unable to hear warning alarms, instructions and normal conversation
- Social isolation and loneliness
How much manufacturing noise is too much?
Determining how much noise is too much depends on how loud the noise is, and an employee’s exposure to the noise.
Maximum worker noise exposure must be limited to:
- Noise levels of no more than 85 dB(A) over eight hours, or
- Peak (sudden loud) noises of no more than 140 dB(A).
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How much manufacturing noise is too much?
Determining how much noise is too much depends on how loud the noise is, and an employee’s exposure to the noise.
Maximum worker noise exposure must be limited to:
- Noise levels of no more than 85 dB(A) over eight hours, or
- Peak (sudden loud) noises of no more than 140 dB(A), e.g. sledgehammer, which can cause instant hearing damage.
The Work Health and Safe Act 2011 and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 state that businesses must manage the risks of hearing loss associated with noise at the workplace.
To do this, you need to:
- Make sure the noise exposure at the workplace does not exceed standard noise levels
- Provide audiometric testing to workers who use personal hearing protectors and have frequent noise exposure to noise that exceeds the recommended standard
Flexshield have a range of noise control solutions that can help eliminate noise as well as control:
- Welding flash
- Dust
- Fume & smoke
- Chemical splash
- Cross-contamination
Our noise control solutions for the manufacturing industry include:
- Welding and grinding bays for fabrication and maintenance areas
- Dust control/splash control solutions for bulk materials handling, cutting processes, saws, grinders, parts storage, dust-free zones, wash down areas
- Custom made acoustic enclosures or partial enclosure solutions for noisy machines in factors and processing facilities.
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