As industrial and manufacturing facilities continue to operate or reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic, minimizing risk to employee health and safety remains essential. Beyond protecting workers from exposure to disease, health and safety professionals must also continue to monitor and protect workers from the hazards of their positions.
Monitoring Personal Hazardous Noise Exposure
Hazardous noise exposure is one workplace danger that requires routine monitoring. OSHA requires a hearing conservation program for noise exposure at or above 85 decibels. Depending on your industry, there are OSHA, ANSI, DoD, DOT, ACGIH, as well as State standards and guidance that may apply to your operation including:
- 29 CFR 1910.95
- 29 CFR 1904.10
- 30 CFR 62
- 49 CFR 229
- ANSI S3.44
To monitor worker noise exposure, many facilities and manufacturing plants have workers periodically wear noise dosimeters. These instruments measure noise levels within work zones to determine if noise protection is needed. Industrial Hygienists and Safety Professionals then regularly survey the noise dosimeters to ensure noise exposure has not reached damaging levels and exceeded established guidelines.
Many noise dosimeters require in-person readings to track noise exposure throughout a worker’s shift. This can require a closer proximity between the person monitoring the instrument and the worker than is optimal during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In-person instrument monitoring may increase the risks of spread and exposure to disease.
Surveying from a distance with Quest™ Edge Personal Noise Dosimeter
The Quest™ Edge Noise Dosimeter allows Industrial Hygienists and Safety Professionals to monitor worker noise exposure from a distance, and in real-time through Bluetooth connection to the Edge dB App. The App can program the dosimeter, start and stop surveys, and email results.
It is common for safety professionals to check and record a worker’s noise exposure data multiple times during a noise study. Monitoring from a safe distance allows workers to continue their tasks without interruption and minimizes the risk of disease spread or exposure.
A surveyor monitoring noise exposure with the Quest Edge Dosimeter can capture data on multiple dosimeters at a time that are within Bluetooth range. Your teams can work safely and maintain social distancing while accurately monitoring noise exposure for each worker.
Looking Forward—Maintaining Worker Health and Safety
As companies continue to find safer ways to continue operations, they are working to reduce the risk of spread and worker exposure to COVID-19. They must also continue to focus on personal exposure monitoring for workplace hazards to their workforces. The Quest™ Edge Personal Noise Dosimeter allows users to both reduce the risk of spread and exposure to COVID-19 and protect workers from hazardous noise.