Noise and Vibration Risk Assessments

What do the regulations require you to do?
The two sets of regulations: Control of Noise at Work and Control of Vibration at Work require employers to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to noise and/or vibration at work.

You are required to:

• Assess the risks to your employees from noise/vibration at work
• Reduce the noise/vibration source that produces those risks;
• Provide your employees with hearing protection if you cannot reduce the noise exposure using other methods;
• Make sure the legal limits are not exceeded;
• Provide your employees with information, instruction and training , and carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health.

Do you need a noise risk assessment?
This will depend on how loud the noise is and how long people are exposed to it. As a simple guide it will probably be necessary if any of the following apply:

• Is the noise intrusive - as noisy as a busy street, a vacuum cleaner or a crowded restaurant - for most of the working day?
• Do your employees have to raise their voices to carry out a normal conversation when about 2 m apart for at least part of the day?
• Do your employees use noisy powered tools or machinery for more than half an hour each day?
• Do you work in a noisy industry, eg construction, demolition; woodworking; plastics processing; engineering; general fabrication; forging, pressing or stamping; paper or board making?
• Are there noises due to impacts such as hammering, drop forging, pneumatic impact tools etc?

How can RSP Safety help?
We can carry out a noise risk assessment by taking readings around your workplace and give you a report of our findings, detailing recommendations both for improvement, and giving advice about the hearing protection that your employees should be using - including whether you are over protecting them.

Do you need a vibration risk assessment?
Yes, if your employees have tasks that involve regular and frequent use of:

• hand-held power tools;
• hand-guided powered equipment;
• powered machines which process hand-held materials.

Give HSE's pocket card Protect your hearing or lose it! to your employees to remind them to wear their hearing protection. You can also order copies from HSE Books.

NEW!! The HSE have released an audio demonstration revealing the potential effects of noise induced hearing loss.
Noise induced hearing loss is irreversible damage to the ears caused by exposure to high levels of noise. The recording demonstrates how hearing is gradually lost over a working life.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/demonstration.htm

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Dust and Fume Surveys

If your employees are exposed to dust and fume, see our Dust and Fume page for information