The mining industry is one of the most crucial sectors of the economy. Despite that, the industry faces unique challenges due to its remote locations, rugged terrain, and hazardous work environments. As a result, communication is essential for the sake of miners' lives, enabling companies to overcome many of these challenges and improve safety, productivity, and profitability.
Would you believe it if you were told that about 61% of mining, oil, and gas workers have been exposed to hazardous noise on the job (NIOSH, 2019)? The oil and gas industry is especially a high-risk working environment, where workers are exposed to various hazards daily, including constant exposure to extreme noise. More often than not, oil and gas workers aren't adequately protected. As such, the need for effective intrinsically safe communication and hearing protection devices in the oil and gas industry that support worker compliance cannot be overemphasized.
“What?! What did you say?! I can’t hear you!” Is this a typical occurrence in your oil or gas operations? Industrial noise in an oil or gas operation is a concern for all employers, with noise levels reaching up to 110 dB(A) or beyond. Studies have shown that the prevalence of hearing loss among oil and gas workers can be as high as 27% depending on their work environment. Beyond the on-the-job safety concerns of noise and the impact it has on hearing loss, there are long-term health effects that go well beyond hearing impairment. The CDC reports that hearing loss is the third most chronic physical condition in the US, outpacing diabetes and cancer. Studies have also shown a substantial increase in an individual’s likelihood of developing Alzheimer's or dementia as the severity of hearing damage increases.
A noisy environment is one of the main stress triggers for employees and leads to reduced productivity. In high-noise environments, sounds coming from machinery or equipment produce high or extreme noise levels that can adversely affect communication between workers. Common practices like shouting at others or asking them to talk loudly are barely effective. If employees cannot alert each other, accidents can occur and cause injuries. As OSHA requires workers to wear hearing protection in environments where noise reaches or exceeds 85 dB(A), workers run into issues by removing their hearing protection when they need to communicate with one another. Most employees have a critical requirement to communicate with colleagues and traditional hearing protection headsets restrict the workers' ability to communicate. Therefore, workers need a solution that provides the correct level of hearing protection, while allowing employees to communicate and have situational awareness.
Would it be beneficial to hear short-range radio communications without crosstalk interference? With Sensear’s short-range technology, or SR for short, workers are capable of having headset-to-headset communication up to 150 feet from one another, while having crystal-clear communication in high-noise work environments. Furthermore, this requires no communication equipment other than the headsets themselves. So, workers can have group communication and SENS® face-to-face communication without needing two-way radio cables or pairing with smartphones.
Wrong. Based on research found by us at Sensear, the average noise level around the server areas of a data center can be up to 92 dB(A), and within the server racks, noise levels can reach up to 96 dB(A). To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to listening to a motorcycle up close all day, for 48-52 hours a week (or more if there aren’t enough workers). How long and how loud can someone listen to sound without risking hearing damage? OSHA and NIOSH break this down in Figure 1 below.
Oil and gas companies are always under scrutiny for causing environmental concerns such as oil spills or fires. The reality is that these companies take employee safety very seriously, as it is a very dangerous profession and can be perilous. Although oil and gas companies do not want oil spills and other disasters to occur, the safety of their employees is an equal priority for them. This requires a need for certain resources to assure safety and efficiency.
A noisy environment is one of the main stress triggers for employees and leads to reduced productivity. Common practices like shouting at others, or asking them to talk loudly are barely effective.
Even though most of the retail industry is facing uncertainty with the current COVID-19 situation, several direct-to-consumer brands selling non-essential items online have somewhat remarkably seen an increase in their online sales in the recent few weeks.
The oil and gas industry is turning towards digital communication technologies to develop more efficient ways for communication, remote monitoring, and real-time asset management on oil rigs and oil fields. For oil and gas industry operators, a move to the digital era will offer the potential to accelerate productivity, improve operational efficiency, and provide superior protection to workers. To seize these opportunities, operators look for communication solutions that can help improve operations, and safety, reduce operational costs and manage risk more effectively.
