Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00426:reg:130:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00426
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 130 (pt 2/2)
Character Range: 21738–24238

and more than 15 dB(A) greater than the ambient noise level at any position in the signal reception area. More detailed guidance on assessing the audibility of warning signals can be found in  ISO 7731:2003 Ergonomics – Danger signals for public and work areas – Auditory danger signals.

3. How to identify the hazards

The potential for noise to be hazardous is not always obvious. Hazard identification is a way of finding out which work activities have the potential to contribute to hearing loss or other harm caused by noise.
Exposure to noise is cumulative and a worker may perform a number of noisy work activities over time which, in combination, may expose the worker to hazardous noise.

3.1 How to find noise hazards
You may not need specialist skills to identify sources of hazardous noise, but you must undertake the process in consultation with your workers and their health and safety representatives. As a guide, if you need to raise your voice to communicate with someone about one metre away, the noise is likely to be hazardous to hearing.
A checklist is provided in Appendix B to help you further with this process.

Inspect the workplace
Regularly walking around the workplace, talking to workers and observing how things are done can help you identify noise hazards. Find out where noise is coming from and which tasks or processes produce noise. Take immediate action to control noise where this is possible, for example fix loose panels that are vibrating and rattling during machine operation.

Review available information
Information regarding noise levels from the manufacturers or suppliers of plant and equipment used at the workplace should be obtained.
Information and advice about hazards and risks relevant to particular industries and work activities is also available from regulators, industry associations, unions, technical specialists and safety consultants.
You should check whether any workers' compensation claims have been made for hearing loss and if any hearing loss or tinnitus has been found during repeat audiometric testing. If a worker's hearing has been affected and has been attributed to a particular task, then a hazard may exist that could affect other workers.
Table 2 below lists common noise sources and their typical sound levels which can be used to compare whether noise in the workplace sounds as loud as or louder than 85 dB(A).

Table 2 Common noise sources and their typical sound levels

Typical sound level in dB  Sound source