Turn Down the Volume, Pump up Productivity!

You wouldn’t stand front row at a loud rock concert for eight hours, five days a week; but for all too long, employees have worked equally noisy environments. On July 1, 2007, the Ontario Government put an end to excessively noisy workplaces.

Regulations regarding noise limits in the workplace are changing, which means businesses should also be changing to adjust to the new requirements. Hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises is a serious workplace hazard. According to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, hearing conditions resulted in an estimated $100 million in compensation costs being paid between 1995 and 2004.

Hearing loss is hazardous because it can often go unnoticed. Hearing loss is very gradual, and often people do not notice until significant damage has been done, and most of the time it is too late to fix. Since there is usually no pain associated with hearing loss, it is no wonder why it can go unnoticed. One can only keep turning up the volume on the television for so long before hearing loss is discovered.

The Ontario Government is lowering the accepted noise exposure from 90 decibels for an eight-hour work period to 85 decibels.

If you have to shout at someone who is an arm’s length away the noise level is probably greater than 85 decibels. If you have to shout at someone who is directly beside you, the noise level in your workplace is definitely greater than 85 decibels.

Your workplace is too loud if you answer yes to any of these questions:

1) Do people have to raise their voices?
2) Do people who work in noisy environments have ringing in their ears at the end of a shift?
3) Do they find when returning home from work that they have to increase the volume on their car radio higher than they did when going to work?
4) Does a person who has worked in a noisy workplace for years have problems understanding conversations at parties or restaurants, or in crowds where there are many voices and "competing" noises?

Would you like to work in a factory that is too loud to hear warning signals? Chances are the answer is no, because noise can sometimes be more dangerous than the loud equipment itself. Noise can reduce productivity and ultimately contribute to accidents.

It is not practical for companies to invest in brand new, quieter equipment simply because the laws have changed. And employees should not have to constantly protect themselves with earplugs, which only reduce noise by a few decibels.

QABA Composite Sound Panels from Shaver Industries are designed to reduce noise levels in the workplace which creates a safer environment for workers and customers. Shaver has over 25 years experience in noise abatement and hundreds of satisfied customers all over Canada.

The QABA panels are very durable and are designed to work in a variety of different environments. They can be fashioned into separator walls, divider partitions, wall linings and can withstand temperatures between -29°C and 82°C. The panels have a combination of sound absorber and barrier technology, which is designed to provide maximum noise reduction.

Often times, the excessive, unwanted noise in the workplace comes from one extremely loud source. In this case, the QABA panels can be fashioned into noise enclosures, which creates a cost-effective solution to reduce overall noise levels while still allowing easy access for frequent equipment use.

In more drastic cases, QABA panels can be mounted along the walls and ceilings of the workplace. This will absorb the sound waves and prevent unwanted echo throughout the facility resulting in a quieter work environment.

Equipment World is a proud distributor of Shaver Industries Inc. products. Contact us for a customized quote on how to lower the noise level in your workplace. Call 1-800-465-6955 or visit us at

http://equipworld.com.



References:

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/news/2007/07-01b.html

http://www.iapa.ca/apmag/2007_enews_jun.asp#a