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14
Spécial “ Noise at work 2007 ”
Acoustique
&
Techniques n° 49
Participative strategy of risk management applied to the problems of noise at work
the maintenance, the purchase and/or the engineering
department, when possible. The guide was prepared to
consider, in a 2-h meeting, all the aspects of the working
situations. Recommendations are made about who the
coordinator should be and how to organize the meeting. The
guide includes 18 tables (table 2) considering successively
the following aspects:
Table 2 gives the different aspects dealt with in the table
related to the noise aspects.
Stage 2, Observation
Stage 2,
Observation
, concentrates on the identification of
the noise sources. It starts by asking to make a drawing of
the working area, with the exact location of the sources and
the workers, in order to invite the partners to realize how they
are working day after day and decide perhaps appropriate
modifications. Then, for each workplace, it relies on the
voice level that has to be exerted in order to be understood
at a distance of 0.5 meter, to assess the severity of the
«problem». This was chosen as it avoids the problem of
measurements and corresponds to problems people might
have encountered repetitively in their daily life. From this voice
level, a rough estimation of the noise level and the severity of
this particular situation are deduced.
The users are then invited to observe carefully each source
and look for straightforward control measures. As these users
are the workers themselves and their technical management,
it can be expected that they know in detail
their equipment and can, more easily
than a specialist, identify efficient control
measures that will not interfere with the
tasks. They do know in general what types
of gears are used, what parts vibrate, what
can be enclosed…
The document suggests a series of possible
actions but mainly draws the attention on
the different aspects to be considered.
It mentions also solutions that cannot be
implemented without the assistance of
specialists: equilibration of parts, duct
silencers, absorbing materials … These were included
deliberately in order to help these users to recognize when
they need this assistance and to call in these specialists with
specific objectives.
The procedure ends up by inviting the users to determine who
will do what and when and deciding whether a specialist must
be called in to help perform a more detailed
Analysis
.
Stage 3, Analysis
Stage 3,
Analysis
grossly follows the same procedure, this time
going in detail in the particular situations that were identified as
unsatisfactory at the end of stage 2,
Observation
.
Working areas
Noise
Work organization
Atmospheric hygiene
Accidents
Thermal environments
Electricity, and of fire
Vibrations
Commands and signals
Autonomy and responsabilities
Work material, tools, machines
Work content
Work postures
Time constraints
Efforts and handling operations
Relationships personnel-hierarchy
Lighting
Psychosocial environment
Noise
To be discussed
In the workshops
- The ease to speak at a distance of 1 meter
- Personal protective equipements (ear plugs, ear muffs…)
available and used when necessary
In the offices
- No discomfort, nor lapse of concentration
- Traffic, telephones, air conditionning,photocopiers,
conversations…
Location of the workstations
- As far as possible from the noise sources
Means of communication
-- The ambient noise is taken into account
Noisy machines or installations
- Well maintained, equipped with hood
Holes, openings
- In the walls between the premises, slots around doors
Who
can do
what
and
when
?
Aspects to study more in details :
Table 2: Table of the Déparis guide concerning the exposure to noise