Hi folks - your guidance would be appreciated here. We have a noise issue offshore where existing compressor equipment noise is measured at circa 105dBA. We are looking to destruct existing equipment and construct new compressors either side of these legacy units. The single hearing protection provided (ear muffs) has a SNR of 40 which in my mind would be acceptable for short term exposure. However; The project will take almost 2 years to complete and the guys will be working 12 hour shifts and 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. With the actual exposure time at the workface circa 10 hours what with lunch and tea breaks etc I reckon the exposure time is too great. I am suggesting that we attempt to enclose the units that will be running but meeting some resistance and am considering nioise absorbing curtains as a last stand. I also appreciate that the destruct etc will create its own noise and I am starting to feel uncomfortable here. As the CON@W act calculators only go for 8 hours - how do we stand for 12 hours working? Thanks David H

David If you follow the link in Pikeman's reply, you will see that you can plug some numbers into the HSE's spreadsheets and investigate, for example, the effect of increased exposure time. The hearing protection calculator will need dB(C) noise levels if you want to use the spreadsheet for SNR. LB

It's offshore. Don't worry about it. They've been killing people for decades, and still are. Being deaf is a minor problem, so is tinnitus.