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Industrial & Noise Protection

General Information

By law, as an employer, you must assess and identify measures to eliminate or reduce risks from exposure to noise so that you can protect the hearing of your employees.

Where the risks are low, the actions you take may be simple and inexpensive, but where the risks are high, you should manage them using a prioritised noise-control action plan.

Where required, ensure that:

  • Hearing protection is provided and used
  • Any other controls are properly used; and you provide information, training and health surveillance
  • Regular hearing checks are carried out

Review what you are doing if anything changes that may affect the noise exposures where you work.

Do you comply with the latest HSE Regulations to control Noise at Work Regulations?

The following is the recommended maximum exposure in dB(A) and period of time:

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guide uses a “% points” system. This makes calculations easier for end users and enables easy comparison between, for example, a loud noise for a short period and a quieter noise for a longer period.

  • 85 dB(A) for eight hours = 100% dose for the day
  • 85 dB(A) for four hours = 50% of daily dose allowed

Remembering that every three dB increase actually is a doubling of noise does;

  • 88 dB(A) for eight hours = 200 of daily dose allowed, or
  • 88 dB(A) for four hours = 100 of daily dose allowed
Db(A) recommended Max exposure
85 8 hours
88 4 hours
91 2 hours
94 1 hour
97 30 minutes
100 15 minutes
103 7.75 minutes
106 3.75 minutes