Construction projects in institutional and commercial facilities are complex undertakings for maintenance and engineering managers because of their cost and complexity. In addition, they expand the list of potential hazards that managers must address beyond the traditional risks presented by daily maintenance activities. Consider the potential of hearing damage or loss.
Hearing hazards such as hazardous noise and chemicals that can damage hearing are frequent on construction projects, and hearing loss is more common in noise-exposed construction workers compared to noise-exposed workers in all other industries, says a new study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
To guide interventions and determine specific strategies for reducing potential harm, authors used results from hearing tests to identify sub-sectors within the construction industry with the highest percentages of noise-exposed workers with hearing loss and those sub-sectors where noise-exposed workers have higher risks for hearing loss. The study provides the following key information:
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.?
