Resources
Noise at work, in plain English
The law, the numbers and what actually happens on the day — plus real case studies from the kinds of floor we measure. No jargon.
Guides - The law and the numbers, without the jargon
What the regulations require, what the action values mean, and what a real assessment looks like.
Covers the employer duties that switch on at each action value, what a suitable and sufficient assessment has to contain, and the records the HSE expects you to be able to produce if asked.
Walks through why "the ear" matters more than the machine’s rated noise output, and why two sites running identical equipment can land either side of the same threshold.
Includes the signage the regulations actually require, and the difference between a zone where protection must be available and one where it must be worn.
From the first call to the report landing in your inbox — what we need from you, how long it takes on a typical site, and what the report itself has to show.
Shows how a single busy shift produces a map with pockets well above 87 dB(A) around the presses themselves, fading fast within a few metres — and what moving one process does to the picture.
A high SNR number on the box means little if it isn’t fitted correctly — this covers the fit checks that matter and when dual protection (plugs and muffs together) is actually justified.
A borrowed sound meter and five minutes on the shop floor isn’t a suitable and sufficient assessment — this explains the competence the regulations actually expect, and what to ask before you book one.
Health surveillance keeps mattering even once controls are in place, because it’s the only way to catch a developing problem before it becomes permanent — this sets out who qualifies and how often.
Noise designed out at the purchasing stage is almost always cheaper than noise controlled after installation — the questions worth putting to a machinery supplier before you sign.
A change in shift pattern, a new machine, or even a layout move can quietly invalidate an assessment that was correct the day it was written — this covers what actually triggers a re-check.
Year 1 baseline, Year 2 review, Year 3 full reassessment, Year 4 review — the same fee throughout, and what you actually get back each time.
Measured, interpolated and predicted points mean different things — and none of them is a legal pass or fail on their own.
Case studies - Real sites, real numbers
How the assessment played out across different kinds of floor — and what actually moved the reading.
The eight-hour average looked fine; it was the one changeover hour, run at full tilt, that pushed the exposure over 85 dB(A) — the kind of detail only a full-shift measurement catches.
High-frequency cutting noise doesn’t always sound as loud as it measures — protection chosen on "how it sounds" rather than the attenuation figures left a real gap at the ear.
No single machine was ever the loudest thing on site — it was the steady background of conveyors and wash-down bays, run across a long shift, that built the dose.
At over 100 dB(A) at the saw, hearing protection alone wasn’t enough to bring the risk down on its own — this is the case for tackling the source as well as the ear.
The same grinding job measured on an open yard and inside a steel hull gave very different numbers — hard, reflective surfaces hand the sound straight back rather than letting it dissipate.
The bottling line itself was the obvious source — the map showed the zone boundary actually needed to sit further back than anyone on site expected.
The daily average barely moved, but the impact peaks from the press work were the real risk — judged separately against the peak limit, not the average exposure.
Chippers and extraction fans ran continuously across every shift pattern on site — the plan that followed was built to stay accurate as those patterns changed, not just on the day it was measured.
Two minutes to a clear answer
The 60-second check gives you an indicative level for a site like yours; the Care Plan puts one fixed price on keeping it measured and current for four years.