Workplace noise limits: are you actually covered?
The records you need before an HSE inspection.
Compliance
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations are not a paperwork exercise. If an inspector asks how you know exposure is under control, you need measurements, a competent assessment, and a record of what you did next.
Hearing protection is not a substitute for reducing noise at source. A file of old surveys with no action log will not help you. The useful record is the one that shows who is exposed, for how long, and what changed after the last assessment.
The lower action values are 80 dB(A) / 135 dB(C). The upper action values are 85 dB(A) / 137 dB(C). The exposure limit values are 87 dB(A) / 140 dB(C).
Before the inspector arrives
Keep the latest assessment, health surveillance records, and the list of control measures in one place. If a process has changed since the last survey, say so — and get it remeasured.
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