Let’s face it. Most safety headsets aren’t exactly treated gently. They get tossed around. They’re used 8, 10, 12 hours a day—or more. They get dirty, dusty, and grimy. In some cases, they might even be subject to extreme temperatures. They really take a beating, so it’s no wonder that they need to be replaced every so often.
This is a question on everyone’s mind. A poll on the top challenges for 291 safety conducted by SafetyNewsAlert.com listed six main areas of concern. These ranged from “getting senior management to buy into safety” (19.2% listed as the top challenge) to “keeping safety costs in check” (8.0%).
One of the most interesting concerns ended up being noted as the biggest challenge to one in three safety managers: “employees.” The post then adds “safety training” (13.6%) to that number, resulting in the conclusion that about half the safety managers polled feel that combined, this is the biggest challenge.
Employers are required to adhere to a long list of OSHA standards and responsibilities, and maintaining employee compliance can be a significant challenge. One would think that a few rules that keep an employee safe at work would be an obvious reason to follow them. But so many don’t. According to an analysis by the American University Law Review, “in the construction industry, approximately 80% of job-related accidents were solely the result of employee failure to adhere to safety regulations.”
It’s clear to anyone who’s ever worked a job that people are constantly looking for faster and more efficient ways to do their job, yet sometimes that approach can lead to unsafe practices. In an executive report titled “Employees' Top 10 Safety Excuses – And How to Counter Them,” employees have a number of reasons why they don’t follow safety policies. Two examples include:
This excerpt from the report provides a real representation of these two profiles (both don’t believe an injury will happen to them), what their perspective is on safety rules, as well as some great recommendations on how to address them.
The report goes into deep detail, but the excerpt provides some great insight into places to start looking and questions to ask. These include:
The report then explains some good approaches to addressing these challenges. For example, if you are rewarding fast production times, but not focusing on the safety aspect of the job, employees will value speed over adherence to safety guidelines, regardless of the standards in place. The suggested approach here is to reward adherence to safety rules “the same way meeting production deadlines are”.
Ultimately, there are some great suggestions for getting employees in line. They range from punishment (or reward), to bringing in someone who’s been seriously injured as an example to demonstrate the true negative impacts of not following safety guidelines to a young employee who feels invincible. There are more helpful suggestions in the excerpt and the report, and we talk more about How to Ensure the Use of Hearing Protection Devices here.
So what do you do when education, rewards, punishment, or a host of other tactics won’t get employees to follow safety guidelines? Or what if they believe that they’re being safe, but they aren’t? There are certain technologies out there that can proactively help safety managers help their employees adhere to OSHA regulations and guidelines.
Take for example the matter of protecting your employees’ hearing in high-noise work environments (you knew we were headed here didn’t you)? You invested in the latest technology: Bluetooth® digital headsets that have an NRR rating of 30. When you look out in the work area, all the employees are wearing them. Yet when you conduct your annual review, employees are still suffering from hearing loss.
How can this be?
Some safety devices leave a window of opportunity for employees to use the devices (adhering to the safety guidelines), yet also allow them to work around the device, or use it in a way that still results in unsafe conditions for them. In this instance, some of the best digital headsets allow you to increase the volume of the set to a level that’s STILL UNSAFE for the employee. So, while they are wearing the device and protecting their hearing from the external noise, they are using the protective device itself in a manner that results in hearing loss and circumventing safety procedures without even knowing it.
In this specific case, the employment of a hearing protection device (HPD), that has a built-in volume limiter, can prevent this exact issue from occurring. What good is a headset if it allows you to crank up the volume to levels that result in hearing loss and damage?
When you are planning your safety program and making technology acquisitions, it's useful to look for safety devices that not only meet OSHA’s standards but also support your workers in adhering to those standards. Products that are comfortable and convenient to use, that support different working styles, and that are equipped with technology that actually prevents them from side-stepping safety rules.
What techniques have you employed to get workers to adhere to OSHA’s standards or your safety program? Have you ever tried to bring in an injured employee as an example of what can happen when employees don’t follow safety guidelines?
According to OSHA, around 30 million American workers are exposed to hazardous levels of noise every year. This staggering number—and the OSHA standards that result from this data—mean that employers across the country are exploring ways in which to reduce and eliminate this hazard.
In a recent article in the Safety and Health Magazine, there are a number of trends to keep an eye on this year, including education, the need for better fitting devices, and electronic hearing protection systems “that permit situational awareness”.
In choosing an intrinsically safe headset for your safety program, it is critical that you provide education to workers using the device. An improper fit will result in reduced efficacy—or worse—misuse of the product entirely.
In an effort to help you choose an appropriate solution for your environment, we have compiled the top ten factors you should consider when selecting a Bluetooth® headset.
We’re all aware that noisy workplaces are subject to regular audits and inspections by various agencies that seek to ensure employees are provided with appropriate protection from hazardous environments. In the case of noise hazards, the intention is to remove any likelihood that workers’ hearing will be negatively impacted. OSHA sets the standards that your organization must meet to ensure compliance with noise levels that have been determined to be safe. To provide the best solution for your workers, the challenge you face is threefold:
For nearly 40 years, the International Wireless Communications Expo has been THE event for communications technology.
Companies in the oil and gas industries operate in environments that carry inescapable hazards. Oil and gas extraction involves large, powerful machinery often operating in inaccessible areas such as subterranean mines or deep-water sites. The sound levels in these environments commonly require the use of hearing protection, and the air may fill with combustible fumes or dust. This combination of hazards requires specialized technology for workers to perform safely. One such technology is the hand-held tablet.
As a global leader in developing and manufacturing best-in-class digital communications headsets, Sensear continues to be proactive to the needs of our customers, both existing and prospective.
To provide the quality and effective protection and communications functionality we’re committed to, we remain focused on our SENS® (speech enhancement, noise suppression) Technology and our “three circles” approach to our product offerings:
In the modern workplace, it’s common knowledge that workers must wear hearing protection when in high noise environments. What is less understood is that traditional hearing protection devices can often expose workers to other, more immediate risks.
Most of us have used Bluetooth-connected devices in relatively quiet environments: an office, a car, and/or at home. But what good is Bluetooth® in an extremely noisy location? Can it even be an option?
What is Bluetooth® anyway?
According to Wikipedia, Bluetooth® is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz[2]) from fixed and mobile devices and building personal area networks (PANs). Invented by telecom vendor Ericsson in 1994,[3] it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.
