Noise on Building Sites

Noise on Building Sites

Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (UK)

You can protect your own and your workers hearing by ensuring you adhere to the following points:

  • Wearing ear defenders where noise levels of 85dB (A) is exceeded.  These areas should normally have safety signs warning of load noise and that ear defenders MUST be worn.  If you have trouble being understood or understanding a conversation at a distance of one metre then it is likely that the noise level is above 85dB (A).
  • Ear defenders should not be worn if they are cracked or damaged in any way.  Check your ear defenders for damage prior to use from the manufacturer’s guide which should be followed for any maintenance required.
  • Ensure that headband of the ear defenders are not slack and that the ear muffs fit properly.
  • Report damaged and noisy plant equipment for repair.
  • Be aware of the risk attached to working in a noisy environment.  Excessive noise can cause stress, lead to accidents and also damage hearing.
  • Immediately consult your doctor if you suffer any problem with your hearing and inform your supervisor.

 The UK Health and Safety Exec have some excellent information on this subject, the link below is for construction site noise.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthtopics/noise.htm

With excessive noise on site care should be taken when choosing tools and equipment that create a high level of noise, see if quieter equipment is available and always use an exposure calculator

along with a noise meter (to measure the noise), the image below is the HSE daily exposure calculator:-

noise calculator for