Ensuring a safe and productive working environment is a primary goal of any business. As technologies advance, there are more solutions available on the market that make our workday easier and more comfortable. Noise levels have a direct impact on our satisfaction and stress level, productivity, concentration. Unfortunately, loud work environments can also cause partial or full hearing loss. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health workers that are exposed to 90-dBA permissible exposure limit (PEL) for 40 years have a 25% chance of noise-induced hearing loss. Therefore, in the efforts to protect the employees from the consequences of occupational noise exposure more and more companies continue their battle for industrial noise reduction to the lowest levels possible.
One of the best industrial noise reduction tips you may find is to estimate the noise levels in the planning stage and choose alternative processes that produce less noise when you build your facility. If you don’t plan on starting any major construction projects or changing your operational processes in the nearest future, we have prepared an easy to follow complete guide on how to reduce noise levels of your current equipment below.
Primarily you should focus your efforts on reducing noise at the source by:
- Keeping your equipment up-to-date
- Reducing the Possible Noise Energy
Augusta, ME. Landfill biogas power generation system designed by The Hope Group. To decrease the noise levels and fit the residential area requirements, we put the system inside a container with acoustic insulation.
- Building an Enclosure
Enclosure created by The Hope Group engineering team that decreases the sound level of the system by 10 dBA.
Another way to deal with the high noise levels is to isolate the vibration by:
- Using resilient materials
- Pneumatic suspension
- Isolating vibration source from service equipment/other moving parts
In situations where the abovementioned methods don’t work or are impossible to implement providing the ear protection means directly to the machine operators/employees is a good solution. Using earplugs or earmuffs would be extremely beneficial to the operators of the noisy machines for personal protection. Earmuffs are a more expensive option, but they give more protection to the workers.
To sum up, the noise level has a direct impact on the productivity levels of facility workers. By ensuring a low noise environment, you provide a more accommodating environment that promotes higher job satisfaction levels and lowers the levels of stress. By optimizing your processes and making them less noisy, you also decrease your costs and prolong the life of your equipment. If you have any questions regarding the article or would like to learn more about The Hope Group, please fill out the form, and we’ll get back to you shortly.
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