Hi Leanne
I doubt that you can read much into the data you have collected other than that you appear to have at least one process that is very noisy and producing about 95dB.
For all I know you are using a very cheap meter which might be accurate to say + or - 10dB.
So your 95.6dB could be absolutely horrendous or might be only about 85dB.
But, you haven't explained where the meter or meters were placed when the readings were taken, so I don't know whether a figure of 95.6 is alongside the machine, one metre away at floor level, 5 metres away at ceiling level or whatever. What you need to assess is what is liable to get into a worker's ear!
Nothing wrong with using a simple meter if you know what its limitations are and particularly as an initial diagnositc tool.
It might tell you that there are impact noises which could be easily and cheaply mitigated without recourse to expensive monitoring - at least initially.
At the other end of the scale it should tell you about the processes that you probably shouldn't be too concerned about - well under 80dB(A) even allowing for the tolerance of the measuring equipment.
Might be that you put a datalogger on one person for 8 hours but that their exposure does not give you a picture of what others are exposed to.
If for a minute we assume that the meter is accurate (perhaps tolerance of plus or minus 1dB) and round up your maximum to 96dB(A) - assuming that your meter is actually recording A weighted readings and not (C) or other weighting or some other measurement, then what you need to know is how long someone's ears are exposed to 96dB(A) - even that assumes that the measurement has been taken in an appropriate location!
Rule of thumb (almost exactly correct) - every 3dB(A) increase means a need to halve time and vice versa.
So 96dB(A) for 8 hours means 95 as an eight hour time weighted average (TWA) or Lep,d or Leq(8).
But if only there for 4 hours then their fractional exposure from that job ONLY is still 93dB(A) Lep,d
2 hours, then 90, 1 hour 87, 30 minutes 84dB(A) fractional exposure for the whole 8 hours and so on.
So, let's say this worker is only doing this job for half an hour a day, you have a problem - but it's a problem that is likely greater UNLESS they spend the rest of their day in the office!
So starting point, I suggest, find out about the "meter" and what it can and cannot do (and when it was last calibrated), then check what the reports say about sampling methodology.
Good luck, Peter
Edited by user 16 May 2025 10:33:52(UTC)
| Reason: Typos