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Spécial “ Noise at work 2007 ”
Acoustique
&
Techniques n° 49
Atelier : Comment impliquer le personnel concerné ?
Participative strategy of risk management
applied to the problems of noise at work
any books, papers, documents are describing the
criteria for hearing conservation programmes (HCP) [1-7].
Unfortunately, many industries fail to take action to avoid noise
induced hearing losses (NIHL). The reasons are multiple [8]:
noise at work taken for granted and not perceived as a serious
problem, lack of leadership, no clear allocation of operational
responsibilities, lack of technical competence, presumption
that control measures are expensive, over-reliance on
contractors to provide hearing conservation programme (HCP)
services [9].
A different approach is to develop and propose a simple
method that can be understood and used by all companies
whatever their size and their health and safety management,
in order to, at least, become aware of the problem and
bring some straightforward solutions. Occupational health
specialists would be called in at later stages of the procedure,
if and when needed, to assist finding more sophisticated
solutions and organise personal protection and medical
surveillance programmes.
A strategy in four stages is described hereunder. Its ambition
is to make it possible to initiate and conduct a policy of
prevention in any company of any size or type, based on the
expertise available inside and outside this company.
The basic principles
This strategy is based on some fundamental principles that
need to be underlined.
The qualifications available are complementary
Knowledge about what really occurs in the work situation is
decreasing from the employee, who knows exactly what he
does and lives everyday, to the expert, who, in a very limited
time usually, collects only the information he needs for the
specific problem for which he was called in.
On the other hand, qualification in health, safety, wellbeing
increases in the opposite direction, from the employees,
foremen, direction… who are often little aware of the risks
they incur, to the expert very specialized in a single field.
It is thus logical to consider that the two sets of knowledge –
about the work situation and about the principles of health,
safety and wellbeing - are complementary. It remains to
organize the cooperation in an interdisciplinary way between
the workers, their local management, the occupational
physicians, the OHS practitioners, the experts.
Jacques Malchaire
Université catholique de Louvain
Unité HYTR
Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs 3038
B-1200 Bruxelles
Belgique
E-mail : malchaire@hytr.ucl.ac.be
Summary
The paper proposes a strategy for progressively control as much as
possible the noise exposure in industry. The procedure can, at the two
first stages, be used by the workers and their management themselves to
reduce some noises and improve the working situation by reviewing
the work procedures, checking the machines and tools, reduce the
number of people exposed… At later stages, when necessary, it calls in
progressively the assistance of specialists and experts to identify more
sophisticated solutions and organise personal protection and medical
surveillance.
Résumé
Cet article propose une stratégie progressive de contrôle de l’exposition
au bruit dans l’industrie. Cette procédure peut, dans ses deux premiers
stades, être utilisée par les travailleurs et la direction pour réduire le bruit et
améliorer les conditions de travail en analysant les procédures de travail, en
contrôlant les machines et les outils, en réduisant le nombre de personnes
exposées au bruit, etc. Aux stades les plus avancés, si nécessaire, cette
procédure prévoit l’intervention de spécialistes et d’experts pour offrir des
solutions plus sophistiquées et mettre en place un dispositif de protection
personnelle et de surveillance médicale.
M