Industrial noise throughout manufacturing spaces can significantly impact the safety and wellness of employees.

Why Do Manufacturers Need Noise Control Systems?

Many different noise levels and their related origins exist to a degree in nearly every type of manufacturing industry worldwide. However, it’s possible to drastically reduce it in different areas of your business’s spaces with the right behavior adjustments and noise control pieces. Industrial noise throughout manufacturing spaces can significantly impact the safety and wellness of employees and more, making any efforts to effectively reduce and control area noise worthwhile to occupants and for ultimate business efforts. In this article, we’ll discuss the details and contributing factors to factory noise, some of the considerations and steps for industrial noise control for your manufacturing business, and the details of noise control systems to consider taking advantage of, so you can answer the question, “why do manufacturers need noise control systems?” and experience their myriad of benefits.

What Is Factory Noise?

Various unique activities, materials, and equipment pieces throughout a manufacturing facility can contribute to the area noise experienced by employees and others. When consistent levels of factory noise exist, and employees and others experience them on a regular basis while on the premises, these individuals can suffer a range of negative physical and psychological effects. 

Some of the top physical effects of consistent levels of factory noise include heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, tinnitus, paracusis, and hearing loss. Some of the top psychological effects of consistent manufacturing noise include stress, anxiety, irritability, and a decreased ability to effectively concentrate. These physical and psychological effects can not only significantly impact an employee’s work performance and relationships, but also their overall quality of life outside the job. However, manufacturers can use noise control to largely control specific manufacturing activities and equipment that contribute to consistent and overwhelming noise pollution.

Loud sounds can easily become consistent and altogether commonplace in various industrial environments. Including traffic hubs, warehouses, plants, and other manufacturing businesses. This excessive industrial noise can originate from a range of sources, including blowers, exhaust fans, vents, steam valves, power tools, and air compressor systems. Various pieces of equipment that can involve a fan exist as exceptional offenders as their blades can create ranging frequency changes. Manufacturing businesses that involve wood can also experience industrial noise through drills, lathes, sanders, and saws. Exposure to any of these for eight hours a day consistently and at levels at or exceeding 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing damage as well as other aforementioned negative effects.

How to Begin Industrial Noise Control

Industrial noise control generally involves adapting or otherwise replacing the various pieces of noise-producing equipment or machinery with quieter alternatives, implementing and practicing greater awareness of noise levels when working or interacting with others in the spaces, and adding noise control pieces or full systems to different areas and equipment. Each of these events on their own can work to address and control noise levels in your manufacturing business, and the combination of two or more is worthwhile to increase the noise control effects even further.

Adapting or Replacing Equipment

You can effectively reduce the amount of harmful noise emanating from different equipment and machinery pieces by adapting where possible. One example of this adaptation is in reducing the noise level emanating from a present air fan by either increasing the amount of fan blades or the pitch as well as decreasing the fan’s rotational speed. You can obtain equivalent airflow. You can also decrease industrial noise by interrupting its path, such as by covering a noisy motor with insulation material. It’s also important to use hearing protection devices where possible without interfering with necessary warning signals or employee communications.

Implementing and Practicing Awareness

Implementing and effectively practicing greater mindfulness during conversations and participating in potentially noisy work activities is another excellent way to have increased industrial noise control. Practice low voices when communicating with employees as well as mindfulness during activities and when using equipment. Engage in communication, equipment use, and other activities as quietly and efficiently as possible in the areas of the manufacturing business.

Adding Noise Control Pieces

In addition to adapting or replacing noisy equipment and practicing greater noise awareness and adherence, another top method of increasing area noise control is to invest in noise control materials and equipment for your business. Some of the top noise control materials used in many industrial businesses worldwide include mass loaded vinyl, acoustic foam, soundproof fiberglass, and vibration damper compounds. Each of these materials works to effectively address and control industrial noise by insulating or otherwise attenuating present noise. Focuses for these materials are generally the floors, ceilings, walls, and equipment of a business.

Noise Control Systems for Your Manufacturing Business

When considering which specific noise control materials and equipment pieces to implement in the noisy areas of your manufacturing business, it’s important to know that each material has its own noise control focuses and each noise control equipment piece has its own top area focuses throughout a business, whether it be the floors, ceilings, walls, equipment, or multiple. Using multiple noise control equipment pieces can provide you with more rounded noise control as a more complete noise control system. Some of the top noise control equipment pieces from a reliable Chicagoland company like Singer Safety include modular acoustic screens, ceiling baffles, quilted fiberglass panels, acoustic foams, and more.

Modular Acoustic Screens

Singer Safety’s soundproof modular acoustic screens can provide a versatile noise barrier to protect employees.

Ceiling Baffles

You can effectively absorb sound with quilted or poly-covered fiberglass panels to reduce reverberant noise.

Quilted Fiberglass Panels

For noise absorption and cancellation for walls, machinery, and doors, consider the quilted fiberglass panels.

Acoustic Foams

You can also enjoy Singer Safety’s high-quality flat surface or convoluted foams for mid-to-high noise absorption.

Why Do You Need Noise Control Systems?

To answer, “why do manufacturers need noise control systems?”, there are numerous physical and psychological effects of industrial noise. To avoid these effects and experience the impactful benefits of noise control systems, connect with Singer Safety today.