Why choose us?
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We are a leading independent acoustic consultancy serving the UK and beyond, specialising in workplace noise reports.
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Our noise at work consultants are highly qualified, dedicated, and provide highly practical and pragmatic design advice.
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We can provide alternative solutions to costly projects, with very fast turnarounds on time-sensitive projects.
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We are dedicated to bringing you the best possible service in every way. You can trust us with your project, and we will work tirelessly for you until we achieve success..
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Our clients always come first. Our occupational noise experts consultants provide a bespoke, friendly and technically robust service without fail..
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We offer a wide range of consultancy services, to ensure all your needs are met and specific requirements are achieved.
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We provide highly competitive pricing, and an unrivalled quality of service. Our noise consultants aim to minimise stress when trying to comply with regulations and achieve performance requirements.
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Noise in the Workplace
Noise at work assessments, commonly referred to as occupational noise assessments, or workplace noise assessments, are essential to protect all employees from avoidable hearing damage.
Noise in the workplace is governed by the Health and Safety Executive,, with the 'Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005' outlining the requirements.
Clear Acoustic Design can carry out fully compliant noise at work assessments for any size of business, ranging from simple, single-operation businesses, to extremely complex, multi-operational buildings or businesses.
All our noise at work reports, and occupational noise assessments, are carried out in full compliance with the 'Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005', by the HSE. Following an on-site noise survey, a full noise risk assessment is provided, along with advised hearing protection requirements for all staff and all working areas.
Long term exposure to high noise levels can cause irreversible damage to an employees hearing, and way of life. A relatively simple noise at work assessment report can prevent this, by establishing and implementing the correct specification of hearing protection.
Any specified hearing protection must be carefully selected to avoid under-protection as well as over-protection. If the hearing protection is over-specified, causing over-protection, this can cause an employee to lose awareness of their surroundings, including other workers, distress calls, or any warning sounds and alarms.
Clear Acoustic Design provide Noise at Work Assessments in line with The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 for any type of business or building, including but not limited to:
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Factories
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Industrial Facilities
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Workshops
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Warehouses
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Commercial Buildings
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Recycling Centres
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Food Production Facilities
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Music Venues
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Mechanical Plant rooms
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Energy Centres
Are Your Noise at Work Consultants Suitably Qualified?
When you're looking for a local acoustic consultant, it's important to make sure that they are suitably qualified in order to ensure accurate and reliable results. This normally means that a noise survey must be conducted by a full member of the Institute of Acoustics (MIOA) and have appropriate qualifications to be classed as a 'suitably qualified acoustician'.
This is important because it ensures that you're working with someone who has the proper training and experience to help you with your noise issues.
This also ensures that the key decision makers across the UK will accept the conclusions put forward in the workplace noise report. Make sure to ask your local consultant about their qualifications so that you can be sure that you're making the best decision for your project or business.
Clear Acoustic Design Ltd has extensive experience conducting noise at work surveys across the UK. Our team is fully qualified, members of the IOA, and our reports are fully accepted by policy makers nationwide.
0330 043 5493 info@clearacousticdesign.com
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What are the Requirements of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations?
As a basic summary, the level at which employers must provide hearing protection and hearing protection zones is 85 dB(A) (daily or weekly average exposure) and the level at which employers must assess the risk to workers' health and provide them with information and training is 80 dB(A).
There is also a maximum exposure limit value of 87 dB(A), taking account of any reduction in exposure provided by hearing protection, above which workers must not be exposed to, in any circumstance.
There are also LCPeak noise limits in the HSE Regulations, which protect workers against impulsive sounds, such as loud bangs or cracks, which may only occur sporadically.
The full text of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 can be viewed online by clicking the text links.
How do you Carry out a Workplace Noise Assessment?
Firstly a site walk-around is carried out to understand the on-site operations and assess where the risk areas are located. This is normally carried out with a site manager, who understands the on-site processes well. A review of the current hearing protection provided, and worn on site, will also be carried out.
Following the above, ambient and peak noise level measurements are taken at a variety of locations, which represent the workers, who are at risk of high noise exposure. During the noise survey all site operations must be operating in their usual manner so that the measurements are fully representative of daily/weekly conditions.
Noise measurements should be carried out as close as possible to the workers ear, to accurately assess the noise exposure. For predictable and repetitive on-site operations, short-term attended measurements can be undertaken using a handheld sound level meter. Longer-term noise exposure can then be calculated based on typical working patterns and the time spent in different working areas.
For highly complex, and unpredicitable working environments, where workers move between operations on a regular basis, personal dosimeters can be used. Dosimeters are attached to the workers clothing, close to the shoulder, and can measure the noise exposure level for an entire shift, or even a working week.
It may be assumed that using personal dosimeters is always the preferred option, but this is not necessarily the case and is not always more accurate or representative. Care must be taken that whatever measurement method is used, that the data truly represents the average, long-term, noise exposure, which can often be achieved with attended, short-term noise measurements. For very complex working environments mixture of the 2 measurement methods, may provide the most robust assessment, however the increased cost of this approach will also be a consideration for businesses.
Following the data collection, the level of noise exposure is then evaluated, and the daily/weekly dose is established for each operation, or each zone of the building, according to the Control of Noise at Work Regulations requirements. This daily/weekly dose then informs the specification of hearing protection for the workforce.
The workplace noise report that follow the on-site work, provides all of the information needed to understand the noise levels measured, and the hearing protection specification provided to protect everyone working on site.