Where
Sectors / workplace include:
Food and beverage outlets where
live music or recorded music is played in
- Restaurants, bars,
nightclubs, discotheques, lounges or pubs.
Who
Employees include:
- Bar staff, floor staff, DJs
(disc jockeys), security officers, managers, bouncers / door supervisors.
Why
Concern of Hearing Loss
Unlike manufacturing
industries, where noise is a hazardous by-product i.e. unwanted sound, noise is
actually the desired product of the music entertainment industry. However, the
damaging effects of exposure to loud noise are alike, whether the noise is
desired or unwanted.
The permissible exposure limit
for noise is 85 dBA over an 8-hr workday. The daily noise exposure level (Leq,8h) in pubs
and clubs range from 89 to 100 dBA (Ref 1). The corresponding permissible
exposure time is 2.5 hours to 15 minutes. Persons working in the entertainment
industry are at a higher risk due to longer working hours and exposure to loud
music.
What
Legal Requirements
Since 1
March 2008, hotels, food and beverage sectors have been covered under the
Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) and its subsidiary legislation.
Under the Act, all stakeholders
must proactively manage the safety and health risk at their workplace, and take
reasonably practicable measures to ensure the safety and health of employees
and other people that are affected by the work being carried out. The relevant
regulations are as follows:
1.
WSH (Risk Management) Regulations
-
Assess the safety and health risks at
workplace including risks from excessive noise, and take reasonably practical
measures to eliminate or reduce the risks.
-
Take practical measures to control noise
and ensure that employees are not exposed to noise exceeding 85dBA over an 8-hr
workday.
3.
Factories (Medical Examinations) Regulations*
-
Send employees who are exposed or likely
to be exposed to excessive noise for pre-employment and annual audiometric
examinations.
-
Report accidents and occupational
diseases (including NID) that occur at workplace.
* The WSH (Noise) Regulations and the WSH (Medical
Examinations) Regulations will be gazetted and will come into effect when the
WSHA is extended to cover all workplaces in September 2011.
How
Achieving the right balance
between protection of employees and customers‟ enjoyment does not necessarily
mean the end of the sound of music. Providing a conducive and safe environment
for both customers and employees makes good business sense.
Assessing the Risk
Hazard identification is
performed to identify employees who may be exposed to excessive noise – 85 dBA
or higher. This can be qualitative or quantitative in nature. If the outcome of
the qualitative assessment suggests that a noise problem exists, a quantitative
assessment should be carried out to determine the exposure.
1. Qualitative assessment
-
Assess the workplace using a checklist or
through visual inspection to identify employees who may be exposed to excessive
noise. One simple test to check is if employees need to raise their voice for
normal conversation at 2m apart
2. Quantitative assessment
-
Engage a competent person to conduct
noise measurements or monitoring to identify noisy areas, and to determine the
noise exposure level taking into account the noise level and exposure time.
1. Design of work areas
Ø Separate
staff from loud music by
ü Positioning bars away from dance floor to quieter
areas
ü Providing quiet areas or “chill-out” rooms for resting
ü Placing acoustic screens (hard and dense panels) to
protect employees from direct noise sources e.g. by enclosing or partitioning
off DJ booth or bar areas
Ø Reduce
noise level in other areas by directing the music to desired areas. This can be
done by
ü Distributing sound evenly over the dance floor using
directional speakers
ü Increasing the number of directional speakers to avoid
hot spots
ü Reducing the volume of peripheral speakers
ü Pointing speakers away from the bar and other work
locations
Ø Reduce the reverberant noise by
ü Carpeting hard floors
ü Lining the ceiling above dance floors with acoustic
absorbent materials (made of soft, porous or fibrous materials)
ü Lining walls with acoustic absorbent materials
ü Lining workstations with absorbent materials
2. Reduce the music volume
Ø Install
a sound limiter to prevent the music volume from exceeding a pre-set level; a
warning is given when the pre-set level is reached.
Ø The
pre-set level is determined by the type of venue, effectiveness of venue
design, and type of music played.
3. Maintenance of equipment
Ø Maintain
noise control equipment e.g. noise limiters, acoustic screens and sound
absorbers in good working conditions.
1. Administrative measures
Ø Reduce the duration of employees‟ exposure (if it is
not possible to reduce the noise level) by
ü Rotating staff between noisy and quiet areas
ü Rotating staff between noisy and quiet shifts
ü Rotating staff between noisy and quiet tasks
ü Providing regular „quiet‟ breaks
2 Providing hearing protectors
Ø Provide
and ensure proper usage of hearing protectors when all practicable measures
have been taken but are not sufficient to reduce employees‟ exposure to
excessive noise.
Ø Hearing
protectors should be suitable for the job, comfortable, and not overly
protected.
Ø Select the right type of hearing protectors for
adequate hearing protection whilst enabling staff to communicate with customers.
For example:
ü Earmuffs with sound restoration devices fitted for DJs
to enable them to monitor the music and isolate them from the ambient noise in
the venue
ü Communication equipment with built-in hearing
protection for door supervisors and security officers
ü Uniform attenuator earplugs or pre-mould earplugs for
bar staff who need to communicate
Training and Education
Ø Educate employees on the effects of noise on their
hearing. They need to understand the risk, the need for noise control and the
importance of wearing hearing protectors.
Ø Train employees on the proper use and maintenance of
hearing protectors.
Ø Ensure that employees understand the relevant
provisions of the regulations and the need to follow instructions on the
control measures taken.
Ø Conduct training for all employees exposed to
excessive noise, and within 3 months of job commencement for new employees.
Ø Audiometric Examinations
Ø Conduct pre-employment and yearly audiometric
examinations for all employees who are exposed to excessive noise.
Ø Ensure that employees are examined by Designated
Factory Doctors to detect any early hearing impairment.
Case study
(Source: Sound Advice- Control
of Noise at Work in Music and Entertainment, HSE 2008)
A venue owner engages live
bands on five nights a week. After consultation with health and safety
representatives, he arranged for some noise measurements to be made. With a
reference position 5 m away from the loudspeakers, a level of 103 dB was
measured. It was clear that the staff were being exposed to excessive noise.
A number of minor architectural
changes were made:
Ø Changed location of the stage.
Ø Provided loudspeakers directly above the dance floor.
Ø Put acoustic absorption material on the ceiling and
upper part of the walls opposite the stage and on the wall behind the bar.
Ø Fitted an acoustic screen to the end of the bar
nearest the stage.
Ø Replaced doors to kitchen, office and foyer with
acoustic doors.
Ø Some management changes were made.
Ø Bands were limited to a maximum of 103 dB.
Ø Job rotation for glass collectors.
The levels of exposure are
below. Before Leq,8h (dBA)
|
After Leq,8h (dBA)
|
||
Bar staff
|
92
|
86
|
|
Glass collector
|
94
|
88
|
|
Door staff
|
91
|
84
|
|
Reference point
|
103
|
100
|
|
 |
|||
