Workplace Noise Survey & Exposure Assessment

Noise-induced hearing loss develops without pain, over years, and is irreversible by the time it is noticed. Assessment establishes who is exposed, to how much, and whether the controls in place are adequate — which is both a legal obligation and the only basis on which hearing protection can be sensibly selected.

What we measure

• Walkthrough area surveySound pressure levels mapped across the premises, identifying which areas exceed action levels and where hearing protection zones should be designated. Establishes the scale of the problem before individual assessment.
• Personal dosimetryBody-worn dosimeters recording a worker's actual exposure across a full shift, capturing the movement between quiet and noisy tasks that a fixed-point reading misses entirely.
• Octave band analysisNoise broken down by frequency rather than reported as a single figure. Required to select hearing protection correctly and to design engineering controls that address the frequencies actually present.
• Peak sound pressureMeasurement of impulsive noise from impacts, pneumatic tools and pressure release. Peaks can cause immediate damage at levels a time-averaged reading does not reveal.

Why octave band data matters

Hearing protectors do not attenuate equally across frequencies. A protector rated well overall may perform poorly at the frequencies your process actually produces, so a single-number rating can suggest adequate protection where none exists. Octave band data allows selection by the HML or octave band method rather than by SNR alone.

The opposite error is as common: over-protection. A worker in a moderately noisy area given high-attenuation protectors cannot hear warning signals, speech or approaching plant, and will remove them — leaving them fully exposed. Correct selection targets the protected level into a defined range rather than reducing it as far as possible.

Assessment approach

• Review of the work pattern, identifying groups with similar exposure rather than measuring everyone
• Instruments calibrated before and after measurement, with drift recorded
• Measurement duration representative of the full working period, including intermittent and occasional high-noise tasks
• Daily personal exposure calculated and normalised to an eight-hour equivalent
• Weekly averaging where exposure varies substantially day to day
• Peak sound pressure recorded separately from time-averaged levels
• Existing controls and hearing protection use observed rather than assumed from policy

Standards applied

Surveys follow ISO 9612 for determination of occupational noise exposure, with instruments meeting IEC 61672 for sound level meters and IEC 61252 for personal dosimeters. Hearing protector selection follows ISO 4869. Assessment is made against the action and limit values in your governing regulation or client HSE specification, and where a client applies a stricter internal limit we assess against that.

Where surveys are carried out

• Manufacturing and process plant
• Construction sites and fabrication yards
• Power generation and utility facilities
• Oil and gas installations, onshore and offshore
• Workshops, compressor houses and pump rooms
• Warehousing and materials handling operations
• Following installation of new plant or a change in process
• In response to a worker complaint or an audiometry finding

Coverage

Surveys are carried out across the UAE — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain and the northern Emirates — at your premises, on construction sites, and at offshore installations. Because dosimetry requires a full working shift, measurement is scheduled around your shift pattern rather than office hours, including night shift work where that is when the noisy operations run.

What you receive

• A report identifying measurement locations and the personnel or groups assessed
• Measured levels, daily personal exposure and peak sound pressure against the applicable limits
• Octave band data where measured, and its implications for protector selection
• A noise map identifying areas requiring hearing protection zones and signage
• Specific hearing protection recommendations with calculated protected levels
• Practical engineering and administrative control options, ranked by the control hierarchy
• Identification of personnel who should be included in health surveillance
• Instrument calibration traceability

Related services

Noise assessment is commonly commissioned alongside environmental and safety compliance auditing, where noise is one of several exposures under review, and alongside general safety training covering hearing protection use and its limitations.