After receiving good remarks from your previous work, you hear that Acme Manufacturing Co. has asked you and BSCI to return for some additional work. BSCI has been contracted by Acme Manufacturing Co. to conduct a study to determine employee exposures to noise. In addition, Acme Manufacturing Co. has requested that, while on site, you conduct a needs analysis to determine the development of a new safety training program, exhibiting training and management techniques. Explain your methodology and the steps in conducting this needs analysis. After conducting a field assessment, prepare a written report for Bob Sanders (CSP) to present to the Board of Directors. During your field investigation, you find the following field observations:
Machine Shop #1
The company has an on-site maintenance and repair facility. Inside Machine Shop #1, there are five employees that operate a variety of machines, ranging from stationary and portable grinders, drill presses, and metal shearers. Based on the information provided in the following table, determine the individual employee’s exposure: (DO NOT COMBINE NOISE LEVELS)
Location Employee Sample #1 Sample Time #1 Sample #2 Sample Time #2 Sample #3 Sample Time #3
Stationary Grinding Wheel Robert Jones 82 dBA 90 min 91 dBA 125 min 83 dBA 265 min
Drill Press #4 Clara Tucker 89 dBA 135 min 79 dBA 249 min 81 dBA 96 min
Metal Shear #2 Rick Starnes 75 dBA 283 min 94 dBA 39 min 84 dBA 158 min
Metal Shear #3 Jennie Gump 83 dBA 114 min 73 dBA 239 min 95 dBA 127 min
Bench Press #7 Bernie Edwards 73 dBA 203 min 79 dBA 172 min 83 dBA 105 min
Carpentry Shop #2
Inside Carpentry Shop #2, there are six machines operating almost continuously, including table saws, planers, exhaust systems, jointers, with 10 employees working in this area. To determine whether this table should be designated as a hazardous noise environment, thus requiring employees to be entered into the hearing conservation program, you must calculate combined exposures and treat the entire area as one noise source. The following table indicates the recorded measurements that you collected during your on-site assessment. Does the data from this table indicate a hazardous noise environment, and do you recommend entering employees into a hearing conservation program?
Machine Noise Level (dBA)
Table Saw #3 92 dBA
Jointer #4 87 dBA
Table Saw #5 90 dBA
Exhaust Ventilation System 80 dBA
Planer #2 84 dBA
Drill Press #1 79 dBA
Electronic Communication Repair Shop
Acme Manufacturing is currently considering remodeling this shop in order to install a new noise absorbing wall and floor insulation. They have asked that you review the previous history of noise level exposures in this area and provide your recommendations. However, this data is given in measurements of N/m², but the Project Engineer is requesting the information in W/m². Given the following data, convert N/m² to W/m² and include it in your report:
Date Location SPL (N/m²)
4/12/10 East Wall 0.0683 N/m²
4/12/10 West Wall 0.0742 N/m²
4/12/10 South Wall 0.0813 N/m²
4/12/10 North Wall 0.0699 N/m²
Respond to the details in each section, and format your report in APA style. Include at least each of the following in your report for this unit:
Introduction-briefly describe why the studies were performed (why you started the study).
Report details-briefly discuss the details of the scenario (what you found from the study).
Conclusions and recommendations-briefly describe your recommendations based on your findings (what you recommend to resolve any deficiencies).