I've just been asked to go on the radio in the morning (BBC Radio York, don't you know) at the crazy time of 7.25, to talk about the noise from that icon of South African football supporters; the Vuvuzela. I've just done a little research and WOW - they make some noise!
The Vuvuzela, for those of you who, like me, aren't really into football, is a 3 foot long plastic horn blown by mouth and originates from a traditional horn used by villagers to call meetings. It has become tradition at football matches in South Africa, for spectators to blow these at various points in the game, in unison to 'emphaise the ebb and flow of the game'. The problem seems partly to be that, as more and more people purchase these things, the more they are sounded throughout the game.
The noise level from these horns varies a little depending on what reference you use, but anything from 113dB at 2m away to 131dB at the opening of the horn, and 127dB seems to be used quite often as a measure of what fans can be subjected to - and that's only from one horn!
To put this in context, the UK Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 sets a legal level of 85dB over 8 hours continuous. To reach this level of exposure at 127dB will only take one second! So anytime after one second of being subjected to this noise, you are likely to be sustaining damage to your hearing! Oh, and hearing damage is permanent, so not such a fun thing after all then!
As to whether they should ban them - the noise regulations only concern people at work, so there's no legal reason but from a purely public health point of you - absolutely, they shouldn't be allowed. How you tackle the cultural argument is another matter altogether.
Castle Group is involved in noise monitoring and other disciplines, for health and safety and environmental issues and can be found at http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
Do your staff wear headsets?
If any of your staff wear telephone or communications headsets (call-centres, radio-comms, in-ear monitors), then this post will be of interest. If they don’t, then you probaly needn’t read any further!
The control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 apply to anyone in the workplace, no matter how practical or not it is to assess the risk to that employee. For organisations who employ people wearing communications headsets or in-ear monitors, this has been a problem for some time. General noise levels and exposure in the workplace is relatively simple to measure and therefore assess for risk, but where the noise is introduced directly to the ear, it is a different matter and normal sound measuring devices simply don’t measure up! The traditional method involves cumbersome and expensive equipment, which requires a consultant to operate it. The process does not measure on the actual operator, but on a ‘dummy-head’ sat next to the operator, which monitors the same sounds as the worker, but in parallel and using a ‘standard’ ear!
There is now a really clever new product for assessing the noise exposure or 'acoustic shock' of people wearing headsets, be it in a call-centre or out and about. This is a real-time system that is completely non-invasive and can be used on an on-going basis to monitor levels for the Noise at Work Regulations 2005. The simplicity of the system comes from its ability to use the actual headset being worn by the operator, whilst in-use on real calls! All you need is the H2 monitor unit (about the size of a paper-back book), some software and a cable or two!
There is a small drawback and that is that the system needs to know some information about the headsets in use; this data is found by measuring the model of headset in use in a test-laboratory and loading this information into the software. It is possible that the data already exists from previous tests, but if not, it is simple enough to do. In essence, It has never been this easy or cost-effective to monitor levels for staff in call-centres or those using headsets in any area of the business. Complying with the regulations from this point forward is simply a case of carrying out the normal risk assessment using the numbers straight from the software. This puts you back in charge of the process and provides all the information to get on with the task of stopping people going deaf!
If you would like to read more about the H2 headset monitor, then here is a link to our web-site. If you would like us to come and talk to you about it, then please feel free to call us on 01723 584250, or email me on simon@castlegroup.co.uk.
You can see a detailed overview of the H2 headset monitor by following this link. www.castlegroup.co.uk/sound-level-meters/h2-headset-monitor/detailed-product-flyer.html
The control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 apply to anyone in the workplace, no matter how practical or not it is to assess the risk to that employee. For organisations who employ people wearing communications headsets or in-ear monitors, this has been a problem for some time. General noise levels and exposure in the workplace is relatively simple to measure and therefore assess for risk, but where the noise is introduced directly to the ear, it is a different matter and normal sound measuring devices simply don’t measure up! The traditional method involves cumbersome and expensive equipment, which requires a consultant to operate it. The process does not measure on the actual operator, but on a ‘dummy-head’ sat next to the operator, which monitors the same sounds as the worker, but in parallel and using a ‘standard’ ear!
There is now a really clever new product for assessing the noise exposure or 'acoustic shock' of people wearing headsets, be it in a call-centre or out and about. This is a real-time system that is completely non-invasive and can be used on an on-going basis to monitor levels for the Noise at Work Regulations 2005. The simplicity of the system comes from its ability to use the actual headset being worn by the operator, whilst in-use on real calls! All you need is the H2 monitor unit (about the size of a paper-back book), some software and a cable or two!
There is a small drawback and that is that the system needs to know some information about the headsets in use; this data is found by measuring the model of headset in use in a test-laboratory and loading this information into the software. It is possible that the data already exists from previous tests, but if not, it is simple enough to do. In essence, It has never been this easy or cost-effective to monitor levels for staff in call-centres or those using headsets in any area of the business. Complying with the regulations from this point forward is simply a case of carrying out the normal risk assessment using the numbers straight from the software. This puts you back in charge of the process and provides all the information to get on with the task of stopping people going deaf!
If you would like to read more about the H2 headset monitor, then here is a link to our web-site. If you would like us to come and talk to you about it, then please feel free to call us on 01723 584250, or email me on simon@castlegroup.co.uk.
You can see a detailed overview of the H2 headset monitor by following this link. www.castlegroup.co.uk/sound-level-meters/h2-headset-monitor/detailed-product-flyer.html
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) Q&A
I've been delving into Portable appliance testing lately. Partly because we, like everyone, has to do it, but partly because I thought it could be a useful topic to find out a bit more and share with you the results of my digging. As we have recently taken on a range of PAT products and training course provision, I figured the best bet may be to ask some questions of the manufacturer, so I did that and all the questions and answers are below. The interviewee’s name is Karen Chelin, who is a product manager for PAT testing products and she certainly knows her stuff!
In the meantime, if you want to check out our selection of PAT products, just go here:
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/portable-appliance-tester/view-all-products.html
For training courses, or if you would like us to come and do some testing for you, then give us a call on 01723584250.
Q. What’s the biggest issue for business wanting to get their PAT testing up to date?
A. Trying to get an electrician to come & carry out the PAT Testing at all can be a challenge in itself. Electricians are busy people & PAT Testing probably comes low down on their list of priorities.
Q. Do employers need to be formally qualified to carry out their own PAT testing?
A. No formal qualification is required. The Health & Safety Executive state " A competent person who has been given instruction" A practical based training course like the one run through Castle is a good idea. The delegates are assessed on the course & a Certificate of Achievement is awarded if successful.
Q. What size of business should consider conducting PAT testing in-house – is there a practical cut-off point?
A. Not really. All businesses who employ staff have to PAT Test. Both ourselves and Castle have PAT testers for rental as well as purchase, so doing it yourself can still be a cheaper option regardless of the size of business.
Q. Is there one thing that people always get wrong or mis-understand about PAT testing?
A. Yes. Its that a lot of people believe one has to be an electrician to PAT test when in fact you don't. Timescales are another area people often misunderstand as it’s not simply a case of testing everything every year!
Q. How often does testing have to be carried out?
A. Ah well. That's when the training comes in handy. Its is not every 12 months as some people believe. Sometimes appliances need testing more regularly & sometimes less regularly. It really depends on the environment the equipment is used & also the type & class of equipment as well. It really isn't as complex as it sounds.
Q. Is it simply a case of everything with a plug?
A. NO. The scope of equipment which needs testing is appliances that have a flexible lead & can be moved. Again the training will be helpful to assess what we can & cannot do.
Q. I’ve heard that PAT testing really doesn’t prove anything about electrical safety – is this true?
A. PAT Testing on it's own will not pick up every fault. The PAT machine does not have eyes. That's where we come in. A visual inspection is just as important as the actual PAT tests. We can check the outside of an appliance but the only way to check that all layers of safety are intact is by carrying out a PAT Test.
Q. Is there anything simple I can read to get me up to speed with more of the detail?
A. Yes there are a couple of publications from the HSE, which are detailed below. Otherwise, contact Castle, who will be able to advise you of the best way forward regarding products and training and they can access all the resources of us as the manufacturer.
Free booklet "Maintaining portable electrical equipment in offices and other low-risk environments". INDG236 from HSE Books.
Free booklet "Maintaining portable electrical equipment in hotels and tourist accommodation". INDG237 from HSE Books.
(HSE Books Tel: 01787 881165).
I hope that was useful. Dont’ forget that if you haven’t already, you should sign up to our mailing list where you’ll get a whole load more useful emails like this one with all sorts of health and safety information and guidance. I am also setting up a private area for anyone who is signed up to the list and it’ll be packed full of articles, fact sheets, FAQ and all sorts of valuable information. So get yourself signed up now by going here:
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/component/option,com_chronocontact/chronoformname,mailing_list/
In the meantime, if you want to check out our selection of PAT products, just go here:
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/portable-appliance-tester/view-all-products.html
For training courses, or if you would like us to come and do some testing for you, then give us a call on 01723584250.
Q. What’s the biggest issue for business wanting to get their PAT testing up to date?
A. Trying to get an electrician to come & carry out the PAT Testing at all can be a challenge in itself. Electricians are busy people & PAT Testing probably comes low down on their list of priorities.
Q. Do employers need to be formally qualified to carry out their own PAT testing?
A. No formal qualification is required. The Health & Safety Executive state " A competent person who has been given instruction" A practical based training course like the one run through Castle is a good idea. The delegates are assessed on the course & a Certificate of Achievement is awarded if successful.
Q. What size of business should consider conducting PAT testing in-house – is there a practical cut-off point?
A. Not really. All businesses who employ staff have to PAT Test. Both ourselves and Castle have PAT testers for rental as well as purchase, so doing it yourself can still be a cheaper option regardless of the size of business.
Q. Is there one thing that people always get wrong or mis-understand about PAT testing?
A. Yes. Its that a lot of people believe one has to be an electrician to PAT test when in fact you don't. Timescales are another area people often misunderstand as it’s not simply a case of testing everything every year!
Q. How often does testing have to be carried out?
A. Ah well. That's when the training comes in handy. Its is not every 12 months as some people believe. Sometimes appliances need testing more regularly & sometimes less regularly. It really depends on the environment the equipment is used & also the type & class of equipment as well. It really isn't as complex as it sounds.
Q. Is it simply a case of everything with a plug?
A. NO. The scope of equipment which needs testing is appliances that have a flexible lead & can be moved. Again the training will be helpful to assess what we can & cannot do.
Q. I’ve heard that PAT testing really doesn’t prove anything about electrical safety – is this true?
A. PAT Testing on it's own will not pick up every fault. The PAT machine does not have eyes. That's where we come in. A visual inspection is just as important as the actual PAT tests. We can check the outside of an appliance but the only way to check that all layers of safety are intact is by carrying out a PAT Test.
Q. Is there anything simple I can read to get me up to speed with more of the detail?
A. Yes there are a couple of publications from the HSE, which are detailed below. Otherwise, contact Castle, who will be able to advise you of the best way forward regarding products and training and they can access all the resources of us as the manufacturer.
Free booklet "Maintaining portable electrical equipment in offices and other low-risk environments". INDG236 from HSE Books.
Free booklet "Maintaining portable electrical equipment in hotels and tourist accommodation". INDG237 from HSE Books.
(HSE Books Tel: 01787 881165).
I hope that was useful. Dont’ forget that if you haven’t already, you should sign up to our mailing list where you’ll get a whole load more useful emails like this one with all sorts of health and safety information and guidance. I am also setting up a private area for anyone who is signed up to the list and it’ll be packed full of articles, fact sheets, FAQ and all sorts of valuable information. So get yourself signed up now by going here:
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/component/option,com_chronocontact/chronoformname,mailing_list/
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Exposure to physical agents is one of those concepts that sometimes just seems to elude understanding. Then, even when you feel you understand it, you try to explain it to someone and it all comes unstuck. I thought I'd share with you how we try to explain the concept on our training courses and seminars. Even if you don't need the explanation, maybe this will be of some use in explaining it to others.
Exposure applies to many areas of health and safety, though perhaps the one people struggle with most is Noise, and that's only because the numbers work in a strange way. The key point here is that all physical agents, whether that be Dust, Noise, Radiation, Vibration or EMF's work in the same way, so once you understand one, the rest should follow. The purpose of using exposures is that, almost without exception, the harm to employees comes from how long they are exposed to these things. It doesn't matter how much noise there is in a room, for example - if no one goes in there, then there can be no exposure! This means that before you enter a space where a hazard exists, your exposure is zero. This does work too, if you put zero time into the equations, you get zero exposure.
The standard day can also cause concern, because I'm not sure I know anyone who works exactly eight hours every day! It doesn't matter at all how long you work or how long you are exposed to something hazardous as long as you compare that to a standard eight hour day. This means that you are considered to have 100% of exposure time after 8 hours, so if there is 93dB of noise in a workspace and you stay in there for 8 hours, you will have 93dB of exposure. Simply enough, if you are in the hazard for 4 hours, you will have half the exposure (as noise doubles or halves every 3dB, then in our example, that would mean 90dB). It also works the other way, which is where it gets a bit more ethereal; if you are exposed for more than 8 hours, then the exposure will keep increasing. If in our example, you work for 16 hours, your exposure will have doubled, so would then be 96dB. You have to not worry about the fact that this is more than the actual measured noise level just think of the logic of it.
Analogies are always a good idea for explaining ideas, and the one I use is sunbathing (no really, I do!). if you imagine one day with beautiful sunshine for a full 8 hours (hard to do at this time of year, I know!) and then imagine you are just about to go out into it to sunbathe. Just before you step outside, your exposure will be zero (because you've not had any exposure yet). The amount of sunburn you get from that point, will be entirely dependent on the time you spend soaking up the rays, but the maximum you can have is 8 hours (100%). If you are only out there for 2 hours, your exposure would only be 25% (and hopefully, so would the sunburn). If you then had to compare that to another day, when the sun shone for 10 hours, then the maximum possible exposure on that day would actually be 125%.
There are exceptions to this, for example; when looking at some hazardous substances, where very short duration exposures are dangerous and effectively no exposure should be allowed. Also ionising radiation exposures tend to be averaged out over a 12 month period.
A little story...
I have a friend, Peter, who was in a rock band, performing 75 minute sessions, 3 nights per week and he never wore hearing protection (this was 20 years ago)! He still plays about once per week and still doesn't wear hearing protection, despite my remonstrations (just another health and safety bod trying to spoil his fun!). He has a brother, John, who has worked most of his life on construction sites driving diggers and who wore cheap, nasty hearing protection all the time. The point is that John suffers quite pronounced Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), while Peter is about normal for his age. It is highly likely that the reason Peter is ok is that the exposure time was so much less that his brother's, even though the levels were most certainly higher. It is the exposure, not the level that is critical!
Exposure applies to many areas of health and safety, though perhaps the one people struggle with most is Noise, and that's only because the numbers work in a strange way. The key point here is that all physical agents, whether that be Dust, Noise, Radiation, Vibration or EMF's work in the same way, so once you understand one, the rest should follow. The purpose of using exposures is that, almost without exception, the harm to employees comes from how long they are exposed to these things. It doesn't matter how much noise there is in a room, for example - if no one goes in there, then there can be no exposure! This means that before you enter a space where a hazard exists, your exposure is zero. This does work too, if you put zero time into the equations, you get zero exposure.
The standard day can also cause concern, because I'm not sure I know anyone who works exactly eight hours every day! It doesn't matter at all how long you work or how long you are exposed to something hazardous as long as you compare that to a standard eight hour day. This means that you are considered to have 100% of exposure time after 8 hours, so if there is 93dB of noise in a workspace and you stay in there for 8 hours, you will have 93dB of exposure. Simply enough, if you are in the hazard for 4 hours, you will have half the exposure (as noise doubles or halves every 3dB, then in our example, that would mean 90dB). It also works the other way, which is where it gets a bit more ethereal; if you are exposed for more than 8 hours, then the exposure will keep increasing. If in our example, you work for 16 hours, your exposure will have doubled, so would then be 96dB. You have to not worry about the fact that this is more than the actual measured noise level just think of the logic of it.
Analogies are always a good idea for explaining ideas, and the one I use is sunbathing (no really, I do!). if you imagine one day with beautiful sunshine for a full 8 hours (hard to do at this time of year, I know!) and then imagine you are just about to go out into it to sunbathe. Just before you step outside, your exposure will be zero (because you've not had any exposure yet). The amount of sunburn you get from that point, will be entirely dependent on the time you spend soaking up the rays, but the maximum you can have is 8 hours (100%). If you are only out there for 2 hours, your exposure would only be 25% (and hopefully, so would the sunburn). If you then had to compare that to another day, when the sun shone for 10 hours, then the maximum possible exposure on that day would actually be 125%.
There are exceptions to this, for example; when looking at some hazardous substances, where very short duration exposures are dangerous and effectively no exposure should be allowed. Also ionising radiation exposures tend to be averaged out over a 12 month period.
A little story...
I have a friend, Peter, who was in a rock band, performing 75 minute sessions, 3 nights per week and he never wore hearing protection (this was 20 years ago)! He still plays about once per week and still doesn't wear hearing protection, despite my remonstrations (just another health and safety bod trying to spoil his fun!). He has a brother, John, who has worked most of his life on construction sites driving diggers and who wore cheap, nasty hearing protection all the time. The point is that John suffers quite pronounced Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), while Peter is about normal for his age. It is highly likely that the reason Peter is ok is that the exposure time was so much less that his brother's, even though the levels were most certainly higher. It is the exposure, not the level that is critical!
Noise Exposure of Headset Wearers!
If any of your staff wear telephone or communications headsets (call-centres, radio-comms, in-ear monitors), then this post will be of interest. If they don’t, then you needn’t read any further!
The control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 apply to anyone in the workplace, no matter how practical or not it is to assess the risk to that employee. For organisations who employ people wearing communications headsets or in-ear monitors, this has been a problem for some time. General noise levels and exposure in the workplace is relatively simple to measure and therefore assess for risk, but where the noise is introduced directly to the ear, it is a different matter and normal sound measuring devices simply don’t measure up!
The traditional method involves cumbersome and expensive equipment, which requires a consultant to operate it. The process does not measure on the actual operator, but on a ‘dummy-head’ sat next to the operator, which monitors the same sounds as the worker, but in parallel and using a ‘standard’ ear!
You can see a detailed overview of the H2 headset monitor by following this link.
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/sound-level-meters/h2-headset-monitor/detailed-product-flyer.html
There is now a really clever new product for assessing the noise exposure of people wearing headsets, be it in a call-centre or out and about. This is a real-time system that is completely non-invasive and can be used on an on-going basis to monitor levels for the Noise at Work Regulations 2005. The simplicity of the system comes from its ability to use the actual headset being worn by the operator, whilst in-use on real calls! All you need is the H2 monitor unit (about the size of a paper-back book), some software and a cable or two!
There is a small drawback and that is that the system needs to know some information about the headsets in use. This data is found by measuring the model of headset in use in a test-laboratory and loading this information into the software. It is possible that the data already exists from previous tests, but if not, it is simple enough to do. In essence, It has never been this easy or cost-effective to monitor levels for staff in call-centres or those using headsets in any area of the business.
Complying with the regulations from this point forward is simply a case of carrying out the normal risk assessment using the numbers straight from the software. This puts you back in charge of the process and provides all the information to get on with the task of stopping people going deaf!
If you would like to read more about the H2 headset monitor, then here is a link to our web-site. If you would like us to come and talk to you about it, then please feel free to call us on 01723 584250, or just reply to this email with any questions you might have.
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/sound-level-meters/h2-headset-monitor/detailed-product-flyer.html
The control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 apply to anyone in the workplace, no matter how practical or not it is to assess the risk to that employee. For organisations who employ people wearing communications headsets or in-ear monitors, this has been a problem for some time. General noise levels and exposure in the workplace is relatively simple to measure and therefore assess for risk, but where the noise is introduced directly to the ear, it is a different matter and normal sound measuring devices simply don’t measure up!
The traditional method involves cumbersome and expensive equipment, which requires a consultant to operate it. The process does not measure on the actual operator, but on a ‘dummy-head’ sat next to the operator, which monitors the same sounds as the worker, but in parallel and using a ‘standard’ ear!
You can see a detailed overview of the H2 headset monitor by following this link.
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/sound-level-meters/h2-headset-monitor/detailed-product-flyer.html
There is now a really clever new product for assessing the noise exposure of people wearing headsets, be it in a call-centre or out and about. This is a real-time system that is completely non-invasive and can be used on an on-going basis to monitor levels for the Noise at Work Regulations 2005. The simplicity of the system comes from its ability to use the actual headset being worn by the operator, whilst in-use on real calls! All you need is the H2 monitor unit (about the size of a paper-back book), some software and a cable or two!
There is a small drawback and that is that the system needs to know some information about the headsets in use. This data is found by measuring the model of headset in use in a test-laboratory and loading this information into the software. It is possible that the data already exists from previous tests, but if not, it is simple enough to do. In essence, It has never been this easy or cost-effective to monitor levels for staff in call-centres or those using headsets in any area of the business.
Complying with the regulations from this point forward is simply a case of carrying out the normal risk assessment using the numbers straight from the software. This puts you back in charge of the process and provides all the information to get on with the task of stopping people going deaf!
If you would like to read more about the H2 headset monitor, then here is a link to our web-site. If you would like us to come and talk to you about it, then please feel free to call us on 01723 584250, or just reply to this email with any questions you might have.
http://www.castlegroup.co.uk/sound-level-meters/h2-headset-monitor/detailed-product-flyer.html
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