A subjective definition of noise could be “unwanted sound”. What is noise to one person is just entertainment to another. Ask two persons of different age what they think about Rap music, for instance. From a scientific perspective noise is a series of pressure waves.

From a legal standpoint the definition of noise is different. The best practice exposure level is 85 dB for all workers averaged over an 8 hour period.

The decibel scale is a logarithmic scale, which means that the scale is not linear, and we really have a hard time relating to the numbers. For example, an increase in the noise level of 10 dB means a ten fold increase in the actual noise level!

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Many employers are aware of their basic duty of care to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) at work, but do they really consider the value and the importance of health and safety workwear in their organisation?

Employers recognise the need to provide safety wear to protect their staff from carrying out tasks in a high risk environment, for example to protect from burning if employees work close to hot ovens or furnaces.  However, what are the thought processes that managers and supervisors go through when issuing safety workwear?

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The power of gloves Article download

A good rule of thumb is when you select protective gloves; base your choice on the type of work to be accomplished, the wearer and the environment in which they work.

So how are you supposed to make sure that you have the correct glove?

An effective way of anticipating and overcoming potential obstacles is to follow a step by step procedure to selecting the correct glove for each situation or application.

The steps are as follows:

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