Loud noise can permanently damage hearing, often so gradually that people do not notice until it is too late. Vibrating tools can cause disabling damage to the hands and arms.

Workplace vehicles, such as forklifts, lorries and vans, are involved in many deaths and serious injuries at work every year. In this final module, you will learn how these hazards are controlled.

Loud noise at work, constant or intermittent, can cause severe and permanent damage to hearing, from partial to complete loss in extreme cases. Damage often builds up gradually, and tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears, can become permanent. People may not notice a problem until it is advanced, with a serious effect on quality of life. Hazardous noise can come from machinery, tools and equipment. The noise regulations require employers to carry out a risk assessment to eliminate noise exposure or, where that is not possible, reduce it to the lowest level practicable.

The assessment uses observation, manufacturers' noise data and direct measurement if required. The regulations set exposure action values. The lower values are a daily or weekly average of 80 dB(A) and a peak of 135 dB(C). The upper values are 85 dB(A) and 137 dB. Exposure must not exceed 87 dB(A) or a peak of 140 dB. Hearing protection is required above 85 dB.

Exposure to loud noise can cause:

• Noise-induced hearing loss, which is permanent and cannot be cured.
• Tinnitus: a permanent ringing, buzzing or whistling in the ears.
• Accidents, because warnings and instructions cannot be heard.

A rough guide: if you have to shout to be heard by someone about two metres away, the noise level is probably high enough to need action.

Engineering controls can reduce harmful noise effectively. Use quieter work processes, replace noisy equipment with quieter alternatives, and isolate vibrating machinery from its surroundings. Build enclosures, barriers or screens around noisy equipment and use sound-absorbing materials in buildings. Organise workflows so that noisy machinery is away from occupied areas, limit the time workers spend in noisy places, and maintain equipment regularly to prevent wear. If engineering controls cannot bring noise down to safe levels, employers must measure it and set up hearing protection zones, which must be clearly marked.

They must provide suitable hearing protection such as ear defenders or earplugs, based on the risk assessment. Employees need training, instruction and information about the risks, the precautions and their own duties. Employees who use hearing protection where noise exceeds the upper action value of 85 dB must also have health surveillance, including regular hearing tests.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 set these levels, averaged over a working day, or as peak noise:

• Lower exposure action value: 80 dB(A), or a peak of 135 dB(C). Employers must assess the risk, give information and training, and make hearing protection available.
• Upper exposure action value: 85 dB(A), or a peak of 137 dB(C). Employers must reduce exposure, mark hearing protection zones, make hearing protection compulsory, and provide health surveillance such as hearing tests.
• Exposure limit value: 87 dB(A), or a peak of 140 dB(C), taking hearing protection into account. This must never be exceeded.

• Use quieter equipment and processes, and maintain machines so they do not become noisier.
• Enclose or isolate noisy machines, and use screens, barriers and sound-absorbing materials.
• Keep people away from noisy areas, and limit the time spent in them.
• Where noise cannot be reduced enough, wear hearing protection correctly, all the time you are in the noisy area.
• Report any damaged hearing protection, and any problems with your hearing.

Hand-arm vibration is vibration passed to the hands and arms from tools. Sources include hand-held power tools such as grinders and road breakers, hand-guided equipment such as powered lawnmowers or floor saws, and holding materials against hand-fed machines such as pedestal grinders. Regular, frequent exposure can cause two permanent conditions: hand-arm vibration syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome. Symptoms include tingling and numbness in the fingers, which can make everyday tasks like fastening buttons difficult, loss of strength in the hands, and fingers turning white and then red and painful, especially in cold or damp conditions.

They may be intermittent at first, but with continued exposure they become persistent, causing pain, distress and sleep disturbance. They usually develop over years, but sometimes within months. Employers must assess the risks, control them, give training and arrange health surveillance. Employees should follow instructions and time limits, keep their hands warm, and report defects.

Hand-arm vibration comes from using hand-held power tools, such as drills, grinders, breakers, sanders, chainsaws and strimmers. Regular exposure can cause hand-arm vibration syndrome, or HAVS, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Symptoms include:

• Tingling and numbness in the fingers.
• Loss of strength and grip in the hands.
• Fingers going white, then red and painful on recovery, especially in the cold.

The damage can be permanent, so early symptoms must be reported.

Employers must assess the risks from hand-arm vibration and reduce them as far as reasonably achievable. Exposure can be reduced by cutting the vibration that reaches the hand, the length of time the vibrating equipment is used, or both. Manufacturers are legally required to state the vibration emission of their equipment, and this information should guide the choice of new equipment and the replacement of old.

Always give preference to equipment with lower vibration emissions. Older machines that are poorly maintained can cause worse effects, so regular maintenance of all vibrating tools matters. Employers must also make sure that employees do not exceed the maximum time allowed for using vibrating equipment, train employees in the safe use of equipment, and monitor equipment use and exposure levels. Where possible they should supply lower vibration tools.

There is a daily exposure action value of 2.5 m/s², and a daily exposure limit value of 5 m/s². Employers must reduce exposure by:

• Looking for other ways of doing the job without vibrating tools.
• Choosing low-vibration tools, and keeping them well maintained.
• Limiting the time each person uses vibrating tools, and rotating work.
• Providing health surveillance for those at risk.

Keep your hands warm and dry, take regular breaks, and do not grip tools tighter than you need to.

Many vehicle accidents involve people being struck or crushed, often while the vehicle is reversing. A safe site has:

• Separate routes for pedestrians and vehicles, with barriers and marked crossing points.
• One-way systems, to reduce reversing.
• Good lighting, clear signs, and safe speed limits.
• A trained banksman or signaller where reversing cannot be avoided.

Workplace vehicles include lorries and HGVs, vans and company vehicles, forklift trucks and mobile plant such as dumpers and excavators. Each category has specific legal requirements, whose aim is the safe supply, use and maintenance of vehicles, including training for drivers and others who work near them. Vehicles should give the driver good visibility, with mirrors or cameras where it is limited. All occupants need suitable seat belts, and mobile plant such as dumpers or tractors needs rollover protection.

Design the workplace for safe vehicle movement, separate pedestrians from vehicles using barriers, marked paths and walkways, use clear signs and markings, and minimise reversing. Inspect all vehicles regularly, keep maintenance records, and carry out statutory inspections where required, for example on forklift trucks. Secure loads with suitable slings or restraints, never overload, provide safe access, and prevent falls with guardrails or harnesses. Keep three points of contact when climbing around loads.

• Vehicles must be suitable for the job, maintained, and checked before each use.
• They should have good visibility aids, such as mirrors, cameras and reversing alarms.
• Only trained, competent and authorised people may drive workplace vehicles, such as forklift trucks.
• Seat belts must be worn where they are fitted.
• Loads must be secured, and never exceed the vehicle’s rated capacity.

When climbing onto or around a vehicle or its load, always keep three points of contact.