Hearing Conservation: Adani Group Ohs Procedure For
Hearing Conservation: Adani Group Ohs Procedure For
Hearing Conservation: Adani Group Ohs Procedure For
Page 1 of 29
ADANI GROUP
OHS PROCEDURE FOR
Hearing Conservation
OHS-15-B
DOCUMENT HISTORY:
Rev
Date Key Changes
No.
01/01/2016 0 Issued for implementation
Prepared by:
Approved by:
CONTENT-INDEX
SR. PAGE
SUBJECT TOPIC
NO. NO.
1.0. PURPOSE & SCOPE 3
3.0. PROCEDURE 3
3.1. Hearing conservation Program 3
HEARING CONSERVATION
This procedure applies to Adani Group business locations and activities including
offices within India.
3. PROCEDURE:
a) Adani group business and sites are committed to provide a safe and healthy
working environment. Whenever feasible, the company uses engineering
controls to minimize employee exposure to potential noise hazards. Hearing
c) When noise levels exceed the levels listed above, and all attempts at
eliminating the hazards have been made, the company institutes feasible
engineering and administrative controls.
d) If the controls fail to reduce the sound levels to within those levels listed
above, the company provides the employees with hearing protection PPE to
reduce sound levels to an acceptable level. Permissible exposures are based
on the normal plant operation and presence of continuous noise rather than
intermittent or impact-type noise.
e) When the daily noise exposure is composed of two or more periods of noise
exposure on different levels, consider their combined effect, rather than the
individual effect of each. If the sum of the fractions C1/T1 + C2/T2 + …Cn/Tn
exceed 100%, the mixed exposures should be considered to exceed the
limit. Cn indicates the total time of exposure at a specified noise level, and
Tn indicates the total time of exposure permitted at that level.
f) When employee noise exposures equal or exceed an 8-hour time-weighted
average (TWA) of 85 dBA, slow response, the company must institute a
continuing effective hearing conservation program.
g) This procedure provides guidance to identify and reduce exposure to
harmful noise in the environment. The site safety head and others should
use it to anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control occupational and
environmental exposure risks. This procedure provides guidance to:
Assess the potential employee exposure to noise and hearing
hazards,
Organize and complete a site sound level survey and personal
dosimetry (if necessary) to indicate high exposure areas or jobs and
tasks. Sites should evaluate monitoring result to further protect
employees and ensure that proper control measures are in place,
Assess the effectiveness of the control measures (where applicable),
Ensure that employees are properly trained to recognize potential
noise hazards in their work areas and to use the appropriate control
measures, and.
Ensure and demonstrate compliance with applicable regulations and
guidelines.
h) If a respective state exposure standard, such as conflicts with the Adani
business Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for noise exposure, the lower value
should be used.
a) Sound is any pressure variation in air, water, or other medium that the
human ear can detect. It is a stimulus response that produces a sensory
response in the brain.
b) The effects of sound on a person depend on three physical characteristics
of sound:
Amplitude, or loudness, is measured in decibels (dBA),
Frequency, or the number of cycles occurring in one second, is
measured in Hertz (Hz).
Duration is measured in time such as minutes or seconds (min, sec).
c) Noise is any unwanted or undesirable sound. It bears no information and
the intensity of noise usually varies randomly in time. Noise interferes with
the perception of wanted sound and is likely to be physiologically harmful
d) The following effects produced by undesirable sound (noise):
The masking of wanted sounds.
Auditory fatigue.
Damage to hearing.
Annoyance.
e) No instrument can distinguish between sound and noise – only humans
can.
a) The noise levels at each Site must be monitored before and after the Site
begins operations to determine any areas where noise levels equal or
exceed 85 dBA using Annexure-1 Area noise sampling form.
b) Noise sampling may be required for any of the following reasons:
Compliance with either company or government regulations,
At the specific request of or following complaints from workers,
residents, surrounding areas or others,
To permit the design or evaluation of control measures,
For research purposes,
To support ongoing or continuous monitoring at regular intervals,
and
Additional sampling may be required based on additions or
modifications to operations or equipment
c) Complete noise surveys when there is a change to the facility’s
configuration or operation. Review the introduction of new equipment or
tasks in the workplace according to OHS Procedure No. OHS-13
under the chin, over or behind the head, and the air-tight seal between
the cushion and the head.
NRR= (NRR*-7)/2
[Where: * NRR- is for specific hearing protection used and available from
product label]
d) Wear double hearing protection when hearing protectors are not sufficient
alone to reduce noise level below 85 dBA.
Additional hearing protection lowers the noise level by 5 dBA.
n) Unless a physician determines that the standard threshold shift is not work
related or aggravated by occupational noise exposure, sites must ensure that
the following actions are performed:
Employees who are not using hearing protectors must be fitted with
hearing protectors, trained in their care and use, and required to use
them.
Employees already using hearing protectors must be refitted and
retrained in the use of hearing protectors and provided with hearing
protectors offering greater attenuation if necessary.
The employee must be referred for a clinical audiological evaluation or
an otological examination, as appropriate, if additional testing is
necessary or if the employer suspects that a medical pathology of the
ear is caused or aggravated by the wearing of hearing protectors.
The employee must be informed of the need for an otological
examination if a medical pathology of the ear that is unrelated to the
use of hearing protectors is suspected.
The noise induced work related occupational hearing loss is illness
reportable to Government agency under the factory act and rule as
per notifiable occupational disease. Must be reported in appropriate
form.
4. RESPONSIBILITIES:
a) To follow high noise area work instruction and use recommended PPE.
5. TRAINING:
Refer training procedure OHS -05 for training matrix for training need and available
training topics.
All employees at site having identified high noise area, equipment or the work
should attend Awareness level training topic as under:
6. AUDITING:
8. CROSS REFERENCES:
Annexure-A
Part-A
7. Date(s) of the previous Sound Level Surveys, Personal Monitoring and Noise
Qualitative Assessments:
Type of Assessment Date Performed by Firm/ CIH
I
n
f
o
r
m
Adani Group OHS Effective Date: January 01, 2016
Part-B
Site Specific improvement
A record (describe)
Site Specific Changes-
B Deviation, Exclusion record
(describe)
Annexure-1
AREA NOISE MONITORING SURVEY RECORD FORM
SITE NAME :
DATE/TIME OF TEST:
COMMENTS/ADDITIONAL FACTORS:
Annexure-2
JOB PROFILE/ TASK (REPRESENTATIVE) PERSONAL DOSIMETER NOISE SURVEY RECORD FORM
JOB PROFILE/ TASK (REPRESENTATIVE) PERSONAL DOSIMETER NOISE SURVEY RECORD FORM
SITE NAME:
SURVEY PERFORMED BY: DATE:
DOSIMETER MODEL AND SETTINGS:
DOSIMETER EMPLOYEE JOB PROFIEL/ CALIBRATION BEFORE DOSE: L-AVG: L-MAX: PROJECTED CALIBRATION AFTER
SR. NO. NAME ID# TASK 8 HR DOSE TIME
DESCRIPTION
94dB 114dB 124dB 80/90d 80/90d 1s/1/16s 94dB 114dB 124dB
B B
Annexure-3
NOTIFICATION OF NOISE SAMPLING RESULTS
2. Employee Name:
4. Today’s Date:
1) Re-evaluate the process with a concentrated noise study to determine where and
when potential exposure occurs.
2) Sample and observe the process for 2-3 days. Include both area and personal
sampling over the course of typical 8-hour workdays.
Annexure -4
AUDIOMETRIC TEST - HEARING HISTORY
Questions YES NO
1. Do you have a hearing problem? If YES, answer questions 2 and 3
2. Right Ear?
3. Left Ear?
4. Are you currently exposed to noise?
5. Do you wear hearing protection when exposed to loud noise at work?
6. Do you wear hearing protection when exposed to loud noise at home or play?
Questions YES NO
42. Gasoline-powered garden equipment?
43. Fireworks resulting in hearing change?
44. Listen to or play loud music?
45. Chainsaw use/exposure?
46. Operator of heavy equipment/machinery?
47. High RPM Power Tools (woodworking, auto body, etc.)?
48. Military Service involving noise exposure?
49. Frequent use of aspirin, quinine, or thiazide (diuretic BP medicine)?
50. Do you have a past history of antibiotics by IV (in the vein)?
51. Do you have a past history for treatment of TB (Tuberculosis)?
52. Did you ever have a hearing test prior to employment with Adani?
53. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a hearing problem?
54. Have you ever consulted an ear specialist?
55. Is there a family history of hearing loss?
56. Have you ever worked in a noisy job before?
I hereby certify that the foregoing information is complete and correct to the best of my
knowledge. I understand that the results of my hearing test will be shared with the
company/site for which the examination is made.
X ________________ __ ___/____/___________
Employee’s Signature Date
Appendix -1
Audiometric Equipment Requirements
Appendix-2
Audiometer Calibration Guidelines
Acoustic calibration of audiometers
Audiometer calibration shall be checked acoustically, at least annually, according
to the procedures described in this appendix. The equipment necessary to
perform these measurements is a sound level meter, octave-band filter set, and a
National Bureau of Standards 9A coupler.
(3) "Tolerances"
When any of the measured sound levels deviate from the levels in Table E-1 or
Table E-2 by + or - 3 dB at any test frequency between 500 and 3000 Hz, 4 dB at
4000 Hz, or 5 dB at 6000 Hz, an exhaustive calibration is advised. An exhaustive
calibration is required if the deviations are greater than 15 dB or greater at any
test frequency.
Appendix-3
Standard Threshold Shift (STS) Evaluation Guide
Evaluating Audiogram
A standard threshold shift (STS) is a change in hearing threshold relative to the
baseline audiogram of an average of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hz in
either ear.
In determining whether an STS has occurred, allowances may be made for the
contribution of aging (presbycusis) to the change in hearing level by correcting the
annual audiogram according to the procedure described in for Calculations and
Application of Age Corrections to Audiograms.
Computing the Standard Threshold Shift
Example 1
Frequency (Hz) Baseline audiogram Annual audiogram Change
threshold (db) threshold (dB)
500 5 5 0
1,000 5 5 0
2,000 0 10 +10
3,000 5 20 +15
4,000 10 35 +25
6,000 10 15 +5
Considering the Hearing Threshold Level (HTL) values at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 Hz,
there are changes in hearing threshold of 20, 15, and 25 dB, respectively. Thus:
Conclusion: The STS is +16.7 dB; hearing has deteriorated, the employee must be
notified in writing within 21 days, and, depending on professional discretion, the
employer may elect to retest the employee and/or revise the baseline audiogram.
Example 2
Frequency (Hz) Baseline audiogram Annual audiogram Change
threshold (db) threshold (dB)
500 5 5 0
1,000 5 0 -5
2,000 0 -10 -10
3,000 5 -5 -10
4,000 10 -5 -15
6,000 10 5 -5
Again, considering the HTL values at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 Hz, the hearing
threshold has changed by -10, -10, and -15 dB, respectively. Thus:
Conclusion: The STS is -11.6 dB; hearing has improved, the employee should be notified,
and, depending on professional discretion, the baseline audiogram may be revised.
The audiogram at age 27 is considered the baseline since it shows the best
hearing threshold levels. Asterisks have been used to identify the baseline and
most recent audiogram. A threshold shift of 20 dB exists at 4000 Hz between
the audiograms taken at ages 27 and 32.
The difference represents the amount of hearing loss that may be attributed to
aging in the time period between the baseline audiogram and the most recent
audiogram. In this example, the difference at 4000 Hz is 3 dB. This value is
subtracted from the hearing level at 4000 Hz, which in the most recent
audiogram is 25, yielding 22 after adjustments. Then the hearing threshold in
____________________________________________________________
Audiometric Test Frequency (Hz)
Years _________________________________
1000 2000 3000 4000 6000
____________________________________________________________
20 or younger.... 5 3 4 5 8
21 ..................... 5 3 4 5 8
22 ..................... 5 3 4 5 8
23 ..................... 5 3 4 6 9
24 ..................... 5 3 5 6 9
25 ..................... 5 3 5 7 10
26 ..................... 5 4 5 7 10
27 ..................... 5 4 6 7 11
28 ..................... 6 4 6 8 11
29 ..................... 6 4 6 8 12
30 ..................... 6 4 6 9 12
31 ..................... 6 4 7 9 13
32 ..................... 6 5 7 10 14
33 ..................... 6 5 7 10 14
34 ..................... 6 5 8 11 15
35 ..................... 7 5 8 11 15
36 ..................... 7 5 9 12 16
37 ..................... 7 6 9 12 17
38 ..................... 7 6 9 13 17
39 ..................... 7 6 10 14 18
40 ..................... 7 6 10 14 19
41 ..................... 7 6 10 14 20
42 ..................... 8 7 11 16 20
43 ..................... 8 7 12 16 21
44 ..................... 8 7 12 17 22
45 ..................... 8 7 13 18 23
46 ..................... 8 8 13 19 24
47 ..................... 8 8 14 19 24
48 ..................... 9 8 14 20 25
49 ..................... 9 9 15 21 26
50 ..................... 9 9 16 22 27
51 ..................... 9 9 16 23 28
52 ..................... 9 10 17 24 29
53 ..................... 9 10 18 25 30
54 ..................... 10 10 18 26 31
55 ..................... 10 11 19 27 32
56 ..................... 10 11 20 28 34
57 ..................... 10 11 21 29 35
58 ..................... 10 12 22 31 36
59 ..................... 11 12 22 32 37
60 or older ....... 11 13 23 33 38
___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Audiometric Test Frequency (Hz)
Years _________________________________
1000 2000 3000 4000 6000