Program Evaluation
Proper program evaluation is important in maintaining the health of hearing conservation program. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has created a checklist to help evaluate the effectiveness of a hearing conservation program. It can be found on their website. NIOSH recommends that fewer than 5% of exposed employees should have a 15 dB Significant Threshold Shift in the same ear and same frequency.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is pushing a higher emphasis on a hearing loss prevention program rather than a hearing conservation program. While this change may seem superfluous, it is important to note the advancement. Prevention implies a response by the workplace caused by initial signs of employee hearing loss rather than instilling a new set of policies (such as “buy quiet”) and thinking (such as hearing protection training and education) to decrease the possibility of occupational hearing loss from happening in the first place.
The Buy Quiet policy is an easy way to progress towards a safer work environment. Many traditionally noisy tools and machines are now being redesigned in order to manufacture quieter running equipment, so a “buy quiet” purchase policy should not require new engineering solutions in most cases. As a part of the “buy quiet” campaign, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection released a products and vendor guidance sheet in order to assist contractors for achieving compliance with the New York City Noise Regulations.
In order to make these plans effective, employees and administration need to be educated in occupational noise-induced hearing loss prevention. It is also necessary to identify and examine sources of noise first before being able to control the damage it may cause to hearing. For example, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has conducted a study and created a database on handheld power tools for the sound power levels they expose their operators to. This Power Tools Database allows contractors in a trade-skill profession to monitor their exposure limits and allow them preparation to prevent permanent hearing damage.
Read more about this topic: Hearing Conservation Program
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