NOISE SURVEY & NOISE MONITORING
A noise survey measures your employees' exposure to noise, and employers need one wherever that exposure may reach 85 dBA. Where employees are also exposed to ototoxic chemicals or whole-body vibration, the trigger drops to 82 dBA.
Qualitas Occupational Consulting is a Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) for noise. Our survey therefore serves as the noise monitoring required by regulation 8 of the Noise Exposure Regulations, 2024. We measure noise per area and task, map the noise zones you must demarcate and recommend practical controls. If noise from compressors, generators, forklifts or loaders has never been measured, start here.
WHY WORKPLACE NOISE IS A RISK
Noise-induced hearing loss is permanent, but it can be prevented. Noise can also cause tinnitus, reduce concentration and communication, and add to fatigue and the risk of accidents. Decibels are logarithmic, so a few minutes without hearing protection in a very loud area can make up much of a shift's exposure.
The business carries the cost. Noise can lower productivity and raise absenteeism. If diagnostic audiology confirms a shift of 10% or more in percentage loss of hearing, the employer must investigate and report it to the Compensation Commissioner. An inspector can also direct you in writing to correct any breach of the regulations within a set period.
Workplace noise is governed by the Noise Exposure Regulations, 2024, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (OHS Act). They replaced the Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Regulations, 2003, so documents that still cite the old regulations need updating.
Two duties set the intervals:
• Noise exposure risk assessment (regulation 7): by a competent person, before employees are exposed, then at least every 24 months.
• Noise exposure monitoring (regulation 8): by an approved noise inspection authority (AIA), at least every 24 months. It applies where employees may be exposed at or above 85 dBA. The trigger is 82 dBA where they are also exposed to ototoxic chemicals or whole-body vibration.
Your noise risk assessment must take ototoxic chemicals and whole-body vibration into account (regulation 7(2)(f) and (g)). Chemical agents are assessed under regulation 5 of the Hazardous Chemical Agents Regulations, 2021. Whole-body vibration is measured in a vibration survey under regulations 7 and 13 of the Physical Agents Regulations, 2024. Review your occupational health risk assessment under section 8(2)(d) of the OHS Act alongside these.
WHAT THE NOISE EXPOSURE REGULATIONS REQUIRE
HOW WE CONDUCT A NOISE SURVEY
Christo de Wet leads every noise survey. He is an occupational hygienist registered with the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH), ROH 0953, with 15 years of experience. Qualitas is a DEL Approved Inspection Authority for noise (AIA registration OH0253 - CI 072) and a SANAS-accredited ISO/IEC 17020 inspection body (OH0253). DEL has issued our noise AIA certificate under the Noise Exposure Regulations, 2024.
Before the visit, we review any existing noise risk assessment, earlier reports and site layout, and agree a day of normal production.
On the day, we walk the site with you and measure according to SANS 10083, with a calibrated Class 1 (Type 1) sound level meter and personal noise dosimeters. We take readings per area and task, including peak levels where there is impulse noise. We note how long each employee group spends in each area.
Afterwards, we calculate 8-hour rating levels, compare them with the legal levels and map the noise zones, including mobile plant. Our recommendations start with reducing noise at source; hearing protection comes last.
On mines and quarries, we survey surface operations only, under the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996. Christo can take the section 12(1) appointment for those operations.
- • Noise sources and the employees exposed to them, by area and task
• 8-hour rating levels per area and task, with peak levels where there is impulse noise
• Results compared with the 85 dBA limit, and with 82 dBA where ototoxic chemicals or whole-body vibration are present
• A noise zone map showing where each zone starts and ends
• Exposure data your occupational health provider needs to set hearing test intervals
• Recommended controls, in order of priority
• Your regulation 7 noise risk assessment document
• A report laid out according to DEL's guideline for monitoring reports, with instrument serial numbers and calibration dates, and signed on every page
What affects the quote: time on site and travel. Time on site depends on the size of the site and the number of work areas and employee groups. The quotation lists each service as its own line item.
WHAT YOUR NOISE SURVEY REPORT INCLUDES
- How often must a noise survey be done?
At least every 24 months, by an approved noise inspection authority. This applies wherever employees may be exposed at or above 85 dBA, or 82 dBA with ototoxic chemicals or whole-body vibration. Review the risk assessment immediately if machinery, work methods or controls change. An inspector may also direct you to repeat monitoring sooner. Our free Compliance Gap Assessment shows which of your assessments are overdue.
Who may do a noise survey?
Noise monitoring must be done by an approved noise inspection authority: an organisation the Chief Inspector has approved for noise specifically. Approval in another field, such as asbestos, does not count. The noise exposure risk assessment needs a competent person, and its findings decide whether monitoring is required.
What must we prepare for the survey?
A site layout, a list of employees and work areas, your noise risk assessment and any earlier survey reports. Plan the visit for a day of normal production, so the readings are representative. Tell us about shift patterns and mobile plant.
What happens after the survey?
You develop a documented action plan for the recommended controls, as regulation 8(4) requires. Demarcate the noise zones, check that hearing protection brings exposure below the limit and share the results with your occupational health provider. Keep the report: noise records must be kept for 40 years.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Free online tool: Compliance Gap Assessment. See what is due at your workplace
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FREE TOOL AND ARTICLES
REQUEST A QUOTE
Request an obligation-free quotation with your site address, the number of work areas and employees, and your last survey date. We are a B-BBEE Level 2 contributor working in all nine provinces, and travel from Pretoria is quoted upfront.
