Here is a safety checklist for sound or noise hazards in the workplace. This checklist is designed to help employers and employees identify and control noise-related hazards to prevent hearing loss and ensure compliance with safety regulations.

Workplace Noise Safety Checklist

I. Monitoring and Assessment

• Has a noise monitoring program been developed and implemented where employee exposure may equal or exceed an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels? [1]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is the sampling strategy designed to identify employees for inclusion in the hearing conservation program and to enable the proper selection of hearing protectors? [1]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is monitoring repeated whenever changes in production, processes, equipment, or controls increase noise exposures? [2]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are noise level measurements conducted in areas where noise levels may frequently exceed 80 dBA? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is the noise level measured in accordance with an approved method? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Has a competent person evaluated the sources of noise and recommended corrective action in consultation with the committee, the representative, or the workers? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are the measurements, evaluation, and recommendations documented? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are areas with noise levels exceeding 80 dBA clearly marked with signs indicating the range of noise levels? [4]
  • Corrective Actions:

II. Engineering and Administrative Controls

• Have all reasonably practicable means been used to reduce noise levels in all areas where workers may be required or permitted to work? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Have engineering controls or other physical means been implemented to reduce employee exposure to sound levels that do not exceed the limits referred to in section 7.4? [5]
  • Corrective Actions:
• If it is not feasible to reduce noise levels, has a report been made to the Head of Compliance and Enforcement, and a copy provided to the work place committee or the health and safety representative? [5]
  • Corrective Actions:

III. Hearing Protection

• Are hearing protectors made available to all employees exposed to an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels or greater at no cost to the employees? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are hearing protectors worn by employees required to wear personal protective equipment and those exposed to an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels or greater who have not yet had a baseline audiogram established or who have experienced a standard threshold shift? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are employees given the opportunity to select their hearing protectors from a variety of suitable options provided by the employer? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is training provided in the use and care of all hearing protectors provided to employees? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is proper initial fitting ensured and the correct use of all hearing protectors supervised? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is hearing protector attenuation evaluated for the specific noise environments in which the protector will be used, using one of the evaluation methods described in Appendix B? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Do hearing protectors attenuate employee exposure to at least an 8-hour time-weighted average of 90 decibels? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• For employees who have experienced a standard threshold shift, do hearing protectors attenuate employee exposure to an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels or below? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is the adequacy of hearing protector attenuation re-evaluated whenever employee noise exposures increase to the extent that the hearing protectors provided may no longer provide adequate attenuation? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are more effective hearing protectors provided where necessary? [6]
  • Corrective Actions:

IV. Audiometric Testing

• Is an audiometric testing program established and maintained for all employees whose exposures equal or exceed an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels? [2]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is the audiometric testing program provided at no cost to employees? [2]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are audiometric tests performed by a licensed or certified audiologist, otolaryngologist, or other physician, or by a technician who is certified by the Council of Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC)? [2]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is testing to establish a baseline audiogram preceded by at least 14 hours without exposure to workplace noise, or are hearing protectors used as a substitute? [7]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are employees notified of the need to avoid high levels of nonoccupational noise exposure during the 14-hour period immediately preceding the audiometric examination? [7]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is a new audiogram obtained for each employee exposed at or above an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels at least annually after obtaining the baseline audiogram? [7]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is each employee's annual audiogram compared to that employee's baseline audiogram to determine if the audiogram is valid and if a standard threshold shift has occurred? [7]
  • Corrective Actions:
• If the annual audiogram shows that an employee has suffered a standard threshold shift, is a retest obtained within 30 days, and are the results of the retest considered as the annual audiogram? [7]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Do all audiograms obtained meet the requirements of Appendix C: Audiometric Measuring Instruments? [7]
  • Corrective Actions:

V. Training and Information

• Is each employee who is exposed to noise at or above an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels trained in accordance with the requirements of this section? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is the training program repeated annually for each employee included in the hearing conservation program? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the training program inform each employee of the effects of noise on hearing? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the training program cover the purpose of hearing protectors, the advantages, disadvantages, and attenuation of various types, and instructions on selection, fitting, use, and care? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the training program explain the purpose of audiometric testing and the test procedures? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are affected employees or their representatives provided with copies of this standard, and is a copy posted in the workplace? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are affected employees provided with any informational materials pertaining to the standard that are supplied to the employer by the Assistant Secretary? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are all materials related to the employer's training and education program pertaining to this standard provided upon request to the Assistant Secretary and the Director? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:

VI. Recordkeeping

• Is an accurate record maintained of all employee exposure measurements required by paragraph (d) of this section? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are all employee audiometric test records obtained pursuant to paragraph (g) of this section retained? [8]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Do audiometric test records include the name and job classification of the employee, the date of the audiogram, the examiner's name, the date of the last acoustic or exhaustive calibration of the audiometer, and the employee's most recent noise exposure assessment? [9]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are accurate records maintained of the measurements of the background sound pressure levels in audiometric test rooms? [9]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are noise exposure measurement records retained for 2 years? [9]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are audiometric test records retained for the duration of the affected employee's employment? [9]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are all records required by this section provided upon request to employees, former employees, representatives designated by the individual employee, and the Assistant Secretary? [9]
  • Corrective Actions:
• If the employer ceases to do business, are all records required to be maintained by this section transferred to the successor employer, and are they retained for the remainder of the prescribed period? [9]
  • Corrective Actions:

VII. Hearing Conservation Plan

• If 10 or more workers' occupational noise exposure exceeds or is believed to exceed 85 dBA L ex , is a hearing conservation plan developed in consultation with the committee? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is the hearing conservation plan reviewed and, if necessary, revised every 3 years? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is a supervisor appointed to oversee the hearing conservation plan? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include the methods and procedures to be used in assessing the occupational noise exposure of workers? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include the methods of noise control to be used, including engineering controls and administrative arrangements? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include the selection, use, and maintenance of hearing protectors? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include a plan to train workers in the hazards of excessive exposure to noise and the correct use of control measures and hearing protectors? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include the maintenance of exposure records? [10]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include the requirements for audiometric tests? [11]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Does the hearing conservation plan include a schedule for reviewing the hearing conservation plan and procedures for conducting the review? [11]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is a copy of the hearing conservation plan readily available for reference by workers? [11]
  • Corrective Actions:

VIII. Warning Signs

• Are warning signs posted in conspicuous locations within the work place where an employee may be exposed to an A-weighted sound pressure level greater than 87 dBA, warning of a potentially hazardous level of sound in the work place? [12]
  • Corrective Actions:

IX. General

• Are all new places of employment designed and constructed to achieve the lowest reasonably practicable noise level? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Are any alterations, renovations, or repairs to an existing place of employment made to achieve the lowest reasonably practicable noise level? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:
• Is all new equipment to be used at a place of employment designed and constructed to achieve the lowest reasonably practicable noise level? [3]
  • Corrective Actions:

Checklist completed by:

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Date:

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Supervisor Signature:

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