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.
Hearing loss is typically a gradual process, and by the time its effects are noticeable, it is often too late to do anything about it. Hearing loss is more common than most people realize, according to the CDC, an average of 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace annually. Hearing loss can be caused by several different factors (age, illness, etc.), however, the most common of these is noise-induced hearing loss, especially among older adults.
Have you ever wondered what the loudest work environment is? According to a 2018 study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries are among the most hazardous for high noise and hearing loss, with the forestry and logging industry as the most pervasive. Workers exposed to high noise in the forestry and logging industry have “a higher percentage of hearing loss (21%) than all other noise-exposed industries combined (19%)” (CDC, 2018).
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.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dB(A) can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) to occur. Based on the study Hearing Loss Among Construction Workers: Updated Analyses, 58% of older construction workers now suffer from significant hearing loss, which was often a result of not taking the appropriate precautions while working in high-noise worksites. A study by Work Care found that employers pay $242 million a year in worker compensation for hearing loss, and these costs were higher in construction than in any other industry.
Since the dawning of their industries, workers in sectors such as aviation, rail, and shipping have worked in increasingly noisy conditions. Over time, these noise levels grew to the point of putting employees’ hearing at risk and compromising their situational awareness.
