Get Noise Assessment Form.qxd - Dorsetforyou.com

A competent person is one who has accurately calibrated noise measuring instruments and, through training and experience: Understands what is required by The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Knows how to check the performance of the instruments. Knows how to take the measurements properly.

The World Health Organization recommends a total of 40 hours of weekly exposure to volume levels no higher than 80 dB for adults and 75 dB for children on personal listening devices.

It is received wisdom within the sonic branding business, that there are three different types, or elements, of sound. These are voice, ambience (or effects) and music. This is an incredibly broad way of classifying the millions of different sounds that we hear during our lives.

The aim of the risk assessment is to help you decide what you need to do to ensure the health and safety of your employees who are exposed to noise. It is more than just taking measurements of noise - sometimes measurements may not even be necessary.

Identify what you need to do to comply with the law, e.g. whether noise-control measures or hearing protection are needed, and, if so, where and what type. Identify any employees who need to be provided with health surveillance and whether any are at particular risk. Record the findings of your risk / noise assessment.

To understand how to control noise levels, the reader needs to know some basic fundamentals. For a noise problem to exist, there has to be a noise source, a path that propagates the noise, and a receiver of noise. If any one of those three elements is missing, there cannot be noise or even sound.

Identify what you need to do to comply with the law, e.g. whether noise-control measures or hearing protection are needed, and, if so, where and what type. Identify any employees who need to be provided with health surveillance and whether any are at particular risk. Record the findings of your risk / noise assessment.

With noise, OSHA's permissible exposure limit (PEL) is 90 dBA for all workers for an 8 hour day. The OSHA standard uses a 5 dBA exchange rate. This means that when the noise level is increased by 5 dBA, the amount of time a person can be exposed to a certain noise level to receive the same dose is cut in half.

A noise assessment should be conducted by a competent person as outlined with the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulations. A suitable person generally will have a science or engineering background with a fundamental understanding of the physic of sound and how sound waves act in building and on people.

In answer to the question, there is no set frequency for noise assessments, however a regular noise survey helps determine if there is any deterioration in machinery that may be causing increases in noise level. Therefore we recommend that noise levels are carried out and reviewed at least every two years.