Excess noise presents a risk to employees in a range of situations including:

• Construction workers as the noise levels of construction sites often exceed what experts believe is safe
• Workers at events, concerts, or festivals where there is loud music or audio
• Employees who work in close proximity to loud machinery
• Workers who don’t typically work in a noisy environment, but who are exposed to noise temporarily because of a new situation

A good example of the last point in the list above is an individual that works in an office while the office is undergoing construction work. Their work area might not be part of the construction work, but they could be close enough to be impacted by the noise.

Other Benefits of Installing Temporary Noise Barriers

Protecting the hearing of your employees is the main benefit of noise barrier solutions. After all, permanent damage can be caused to your hearing if you are exposed to noises that are too loud.

In all the above situations, noise can cause hearing problems for employees. Installing a temporary noise barrier is an effective and affordable risk-mitigating solution.

That said, there are other benefits that temporary noise barriers offer – benefits that ensure safe working conditions for your employees. These benefits include:

• Increased productivity – when employees are exposed to excess noise, they become distracted, reducing their productivity levels. They may also have to repeat tasks because of problems and errors caused by the noise.
• Reduces stress – excess noise can increase the stress of employees too, not least because of the point above. Not only are stressed employees bad for your business, but stress is bad for both the physical and mental health of the people on your team.
• Helps to reduce the impact of other pollutants – the activities or machines causing excess noise can also create other pollutants that can impact the health and safe working conditions of employees. This includes exhaust fumes from machines and vehicles as well as dust, dirt, and other debris from, for example, construction work. Depending on the temporary noise barrier you choose, it will provide a level of protection for your employees from these pollutants.

Modern Attitudes to Health and Safety

Ensuring your employees are healthy and are able to work in a safe environment is becoming more important. The expectations of employees as well as the government is that employers should take all reasonable measures to create safe working conditions.

In the past, noise may not have been high on the list of priorities. Where noise barriers where installed, it was often to prevent complaints from others.

That is still important today, but the health and safety factor is more so.