Manufacturers of tools and equipment have an obligation to make data available on the expected noise level for their product. The HSE latch on to this and list this as a source of information which employers could use in deciding if there is a noise risk in the workplace, but is it actually any good?

How a noise assessment works on the day - what a client can expect. Covering everything from arrival on the site to measuring the noise levels and what a client needs to do.

There are two basic types of noise meter, hand-held and wearable, (also called dosimeters or dosimeters). Wearables have a use but care is needed with them, especially if they are going to be used as the primary means of gathering data in a noise assessment.

Employers must manage noise risks in their workplace, but what they need to do depends on how loud it is. This describes what is needed depending on the findings of a noise assessment.

A common question is how long a noise assessment will take on a site. It is influenced by a few things such as variation in work on the site, production cycles and number of people present. These are the factors influencing how long a noise assessment takes place on the day.

Now that is a good question, the Noise Regs require an employer to do a noise assessment if they think there is a noise risk, but how do you know you have a noise risk without doing a noise assessment…?

A noise assessment does need to be reviewed or repeated from scratch sometimes, but you don’t always have to get someone in to do it. This is guidance on when to review a noise assessment or get a new noise assessment done.

Noise survey vs noise assessment vs noise risk assessment - what do they all mean, what is the difference between them and what do employers need to have in place?

In a noise assessment you will see a few different types of noise data presented and it can seem a little baffling. Noise is measured in decibels, but not all decibels are the same, that would be far too easy.

I feel for employers here as they know they need to get a noise assessment done so start looking into it, and quickly end up in a dark and murky world of Lep,d and TWA and dB(A) and dB(C). It is a wonder they don’t end up sitting in a corner and weeping gently.

The Noise Regs focus on daily average noise risk levels for staff, but for some workplaces such as joinery workshops or small metal fabrication businesses, the daily variation in the work is such that an average noise exposure level on one day has no relevant to any others.