How to... Handle noise at work

28-Apr-2013 - Last updated on 29-Apr-2013 at 08:46 GMT

Noise regulations place a duty on all employers whose staff are or may be exposed to noise

Noise at work comes in many different forms, but in the case of pubs, it is usually from live or recorded music in your venue. Excessive noise can damage hearing and in some cases lead to deafness, it can also be a safety hazard by interfering with communication and warning sirens. Pat Perry provides guidance.

As an employer, you have a duty under health and safety law to reduce the risk of hearing damage to your employees by controlling exposure to noise.

How do you know if you have a noise problem at work?
The effects of noise surround two main factors: How loud the noise is and for how long people are exposed to it. Consider the following points and if you can answer ‘yes’ to any of them, it may be time to carry out a noise assessment:

Does the noise interfere with the day-to-day work activities for most of the day?
Do employees have to raise their voices to carry out a normal conversation?
Are noisy tools or machinery used for more than half an hour throughout the working day – this could be cooling or kitchen equipment?
Are employees exposed to noise, which makes it necessary to shout rather than talk to someone two metres away, for more than about two hours per day in total? If so, the noise level here is probably 85 dB or more.

So what steps should you take to protect yourself and your team?
It’s not a legal requirement to carry out a noise risk assessment, but in order for you to ensure you are controlling your employees’ exposure to loud noise, you need to know which employees are at risk, and what that level of risk is.

The aim of the risk assessment is to provide you with the information so that a decision can be made on what needs to be done to ensure the health and safety of employees who are exposed to noise. In some cases measurements of noise may not be necessary, it is about collecting as much information as possible.

Noise regulations place a duty on all employers whose employees are or may be exposed to noise whilst at work. The legislation sets out the following action levels and states what action should be taken at each level by the employer to control noise levels.

Lower Exposure Action Level - 80db(A) (daily or weekly average noise)

Carry out a risk assessment
Make suitable ear protection available
Implement a maintenance programme for the ear protection
Must implement a training programme

Upper Exposure Action Level - 85dB(A) (daily or weekly average noise)

Reduce the noise at source
Implement ear protection zones
Ear protection must be provided and must be used by employees (the use of hearing protection is mandatory if the noise cannot be controlled by any other measure)
Health surveillance provided for employees

The noise risk assessment should contain the following information:

Who is at risk from noise
Who may be affected
An estimate of the employees exposure to noise, compared to the lower and upper exposure action levels
What needs to be done to comply with the law? This is often referred to as ‘noise control measures’ and may include the provision of hearing protection, such as ear defenders or earplugs. If noise control measures are required then the type should be included in the risk assessment.
Details of any employees who need to be provided with health surveillance and whether any particular employees are at risk, because of the nature of their work

There is no right or wrong way to complete a risk assessment. The law requires that it is “suitable and sufficient”. The assessment must contain suitable information to be useful to an employee to understand what hazards they may be exposed to when carrying out the task.

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