What's all the Noise About?

The Northern Ireland Safety Group held an extremely successful seminar at the King’s Hall in Belfast. The subject was Noise and Vibration and we were delighted that a range of experts were able to join us and pass on valuable advice to NISG members – nearly 100 were in attendance.

Dr David Smeatham (Noise & Vibration Specialist Inspector HSE) gave a detailed presentation on the control of vibration at work. He began by talking about hand-arm vibration, explained what it was, who was at risk and the Regulations. This was followed by practical points on how to do a risk assessment and where to get realistic vibration data. The hierarchy of control was discussed from elimination to information, instruction and training. Dr Smeatham finished his presentation by looking at whole body vibration.

In his second presentation Dr Smeatham discussed the control of noise at work. He began by talking about noise induced hearing loss. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations were outlined and the key messages that came from it. Again he spoke about risk assessment and discussed the best machine for the job concept, engineering control, noise barriers and noise enclosure. The requirements for hearing protection were outlined with good practice and caution discussed. In his summary Dr Smeatham touch again on the new regulations, the emphasis on control, the justification for the new regulations and how HSE were working closely with industry.