Blog
Safety Focus of the Week: Hearing Conservation (revisited)
Most of us that have been in the construction industry for the past several decades have suffered some amount of hearing loss. Some of the loss probably occurred from recreational activities outside of the workplace, such as shooting, loud music, wood cutting, etc. Fortunately, we have the ability to stop any further loss (and for our younger workers to prevent any loss) just by recognizing the hazards and providing appropriate hearing protection for those exposure situations.
A good rule of thumb is that you need hearing protection when ever the noise is loud enough so that you need to raise your voice level to communicate with a person next to you. Hearing protection is always required when working in these conditions. Also, look for the hearing protection requirement symbol:
Our Safety Manual address hearing protection: Safety Manual – Hearing Protection
Hearing protection (foam earplugs or muffs) are available from Stu/Matt, the ECI Tool Crib, and your foreman. If you frequently work in conditions requiring hearing protection, you should consider the use of ear muffs. Severe noise should be addressed with both.