Industrial settings are noisy. The hum of machinery and equipment, plus voices shouting over machinery, can create a dangerous environment. Excessive noise can easily lead to hearing damage and loss. Noise-reducing enclosures in industrial settings can limit the impacts of excessive noise and positively impact employees’ health, well-being, and productivity. Singer Safety Company is an expert in noise reduction solutions and soundproofing technology.
What is Noise?
It’s estimated that over 22 million workers in the United States are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year. Every industry is at risk of excessive noise, but industrial and factory noise is generally riskier than an office environment.
Sound is caused by vibrations and fluctuations in the pressure of air, which affect the human body. Vibrations that are detected by the human ear are classified as sound. Noise generally refers to unpleasant, unwanted, and excessive sound.
Noise Reduction Techniques
Noise reduction techniques are essential to limit the risk of hearing loss and damage but also to comply with OSHA regulations related to noise exposure. Sound mitigation techniques include muffling loud noises, lowering vibrations, establishing noise-reducing enclosures, and protecting workers’ hearing with protective gear.
OSHA requires employers to implement a hearing conservation program with noise reduction techniques when noise exposure is at or above 85 decibels averaged over eight working hours. Hearing conservation programs include providing annual hearing exams, hearing protection, and training, in addition to noise-reducing enclosures and other tactics to reduce noise exposure.
Administrative Controls
Administrative controls are changes in the workplace or schedule that reduce or eliminate the worker’s exposure to noise. This can include limiting the number of employees on shift while noisy machinery is operating and providing quiet areas for employees to get respite from noise.
Engineering Controls
Engineering controls involve physical changes to the work environment. This can include modifying or replacing equipment, installing noise-reducing enclosures and barriers, and isolating noise at the source.
Personal Protective Equipment
One of the simplest ways to protect employees from excessive noise is by providing and training employees on the use of personal protective equipment. Ear plugs and earmuffs offer direct protection to individual employees. However, installing strategically placed noise-reducing enclosures further protects everyone in the facility. The proper use of sound mitigation techniques creates a healthier, safer, quieter environment.
Types of Noise-Reducing Enclosures
Noise-reducing enclosures come in different styles and are made from different materials. Some solutions are permanent, while others are temporary or flexible. Strategically installing a variety of enclosures and sound-reducing solutions limits excessive industrial and factory noise, creating a safe environment.
Sound Dampening Curtains
Sound-dampening or sound-absorbing curtains are a versatile sound mitigation technique. They are made from heavy, thick materials with a porous surface, which allows them to absorb sound waves to make a room quieter. Truly effective and high-quality noise-canceling curtains will be heavy, tightly woven, and run from ceiling to floor. Sound-dampening curtains can be installed in any work environment and strategically placed to reduce factory noise.
Acoustic Screens
Modular acoustic screens are pre-engineered metal panels that can be configured and assembled into a variety of structures. The screens provide a measured degree of visual and acoustic privacy for employees. Singer Safety Company’s screens are assembled building-block-type noise enclosures that can be adjusted or added as your needs change.
Quilted Fiberglass Panels
Singer Safety Company’s quilted fiberglass panels offer premium noise absorption, noise barrier, and noise-canceling capabilities for machinery, walls, and doors. Singer Safety manufactures both one-sided and two-sided panels to provide the level of protection you need. Our quilted fiberglass materials, or QFM, are lightweight and semi-flexible and are best used as a suspended barrier.
Acoustic Foams
Acoustic foam is used for sound absorption and insulation. Acoustic foam can be attached to walls, ceilings, doors, and other room features to turn any room into a noise-reducing enclosure. The foam reduces noise, vibration, and echoes. Singer Safety Company’s acoustic foams are easy to install in any facility.
Ceiling Baffles
Facilities with open spaces and high ceilings, such as manufacturing facilities, are more susceptible to echoes and amplified noise. Ceiling baffles are an efficient and economical way of combating excessive factory and other noise in large industrial spaces. Singer Safety Company ceiling baffles are available in quilted fiberglass material or poly-covered fiberglass.
Singer Safety Company Sound Stopper Systems
Singer Safety’s Sound Stopper Noise Control Systems offer flexible solutions to fit your environment, industry, and regulations. Investing in noise reduction technology can have a positive impact on your working environment.
Singer Safety Company developed the original industrial noise partition in 1965, providing an effective solution to the issues and safety concerns associated with excessive industrial noise. Singer Safety continues to be recognized as a leader in the industry and has become the nation’s best-known and best-selling line of noise control panel systems, soundproof curtains, and industrial noise reduction panels. Our expert team can help you determine which noise control products will work best for your business. Contact us today to purchase your own Sound Stopper Noise Control System!