According to OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration), about 30 million people are exposed to noise a year on the job, and it’s been one of the biggest concerns in the US for nearly 3 decades. In fact, there are quite a few high-noise environments where workers are exposed to harmful levels of noise.
Working in a modern data center is a critical role within many organizations. Internal and external customer demands, coupled with the varied demands of the job (not just IT), and physical and mental pressures combine to create a potentially stressful environment. In fact, according to a 2014 IT Admin Stress Survey conducted by Opinion Matters, “79 percent of IT staff are actively considering leaving their current role due to job-related stress.”
Buying a safety communications headset for your team may be one of the most important decisions you make in regards to their safety. In smoky, hard-to-see environments with fire raging all around, communications between your crew in the building and those on the ground are key, and having a communications headset that gives your company full situational awareness is the most critical factor. But what are other important factors in selecting a safety communications headset for your team? And how do you rank the other features, benefits, and requirements—and in what order of importance to your fire department?
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.
Over the years, many things have changed in industrial plant environments, resulting in changes in process, technology, and communications. In a recent, 2015 manufacturing study/white paper conducted by Motorola, a number of specific—and interesting—statistics came out that pointed to this.
Do you find it surprising that 1/3 of manufacturers are using two-way radios, while almost half of them are using cell phones and the internet/email as their primary mode of communication? We really aren’t. Our engineering team has been hearing the demand for Bluetooth® for some time. But why?
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.
Since its creation by a group of engineers at Ericsson in 1994, Bluetooth® technology has advanced significantly and has been used in a myriad of communications devices. You might be using Bluetooth® to connect your cell phone to an earpiece or to your car; you might use it to connect a mouse to a laptop or to a tablet, or you might even be using it to monitor your sleep patterns using a Bluetooth® enabled device.
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.
This year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) was an amazing event. According to the show organizers, “attendance at the annual conference reached a 46-year high of 108,300, the highest in show history and up 3.3% from last year.”
The importance of hearing protection is of constant concern in environments of extreme noise exposure, which creates a challenge for those conducting and participating in plant tours. You’re proud of your plant, and you provide plant tours for many valuable business reasons. Communication is key during these tours because it is essential for the person taking the tour to be able to hear what you are saying to them; this ensures that listeners have the opportunity to make a well-informed decision about your company. However, many companies settle for either: a) reduced communication in the name of safety, or b) focus on communications with hearing safety being at risk. Sensear offers a revolutionary solution by implementing industry-leading technology so that both communication and safety are available in headset tour equipment.
