Exceed OSHA Standards for Ear Protection
As working professionals, we want to do everything in our power to keep both ourselves and our team members as safe as possible. Motorola ran a survey in 2015 with leaders in manufacturing, they said that one of the major concerns among the vast variety of fields is loud noises in the work place. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration) sets safety levels to limit the hours or exposure to high decibel levels, as shown in the chart below. The damaging effects to the ears may not even be noticeable to a worker until the sound reaches a staggering 140 dBA. Damaging noises can induce permanent and often progressive hearing loss that may take years to develop.
| Decibels | Hours of Exposure |
|---|---|
| 90 | 8 |
| 92 | 6 |
| 95 | 3 |
| 100 | 2 |
| 102 | 1.5 |
Finding Solutions to Ensure Safety
Basic ear defenders, ear muffs and ear plugs may be considered the first solution. These solutions may not always be the best though. OSHA has said these hearing protection devices are considered an acceptable but less desirable option to control exposures to noise and are generally used during the time necessary to implement engineering or administrative controls…”. In other words, they are just a Band-Aid on the problem, not the solution. They can also lead to a loss of safety in a work place by reducing awareness of surroundings. Motorola Solutions has been working to create the best possible solutions for its customers, including the options listed below:
- Heavy-Duty Headsets are wired headsets for your two-way radio, integrated into industrial ear-defenders. Workers’ hearing is protected, but they’re still connected to their teams through the radio system.
- XBT Heavy-Duty Wireless Headsets uses SENS technology to block noise while allowing normal conversational speech to be relayed to the wearer. The integrated headset is connected to the radio over Bluetooth, so there are no wires to get in your way.
- Industrial Noise Cancelling Remote Speaker Microphone (INC RSM) uses multiple directional microphones to discriminate between background noise and speech, so you can be heard clearly when you speak in the clamor of a busy plant floor.
- 3M Peltor Heavy-Duty Headsets have been optimized and certified to meet Motorola’s performance standards for APX and MOTOTRBO series radios. These headsets provide hearing protection in loud environments while improving communication and enhancing productivity.
For even better connectivity, your MOTOTRBO™ two-way radio system can be integrated with your factory control system such that alarms and alerts are sent directly to the right technician – and even read out loud with the text to speech feature. Noise may be an inherent part of your operations, but you can protect your employees and provide them with communication tools that are best suited for their jobs and the environment.