PPE and occupational safety, HACCP and food safety
PPE and occupational safety, HACCP and food safety
Has this happened to you?
You attended a project meeting in the large meeting room. The meeting was chaired by a soft-spoken lady who seated at the far end of the long meeting table. She did not use a microphone as usual for this kind of meeting.
Being a responsible subordinate, you listened with your full attention and carefully took down all notes you needed. During the briefing, in some points, you did have some difficulties in catching what she said but you managed to write them down.
You believed that you have taken down all you needed and left the meeting room happily without verifying with her because she was busy.
Following her instruction given in the briefing, you started doing your parts in the project.
However, when she came inspecting your job later, she pointed out mistakes you have made. You wondered because everything you have done is exactly according to what she has instructed in the meeting. You tried to explain but she insisted that you were making mistakes.
You became very upset and just did not understand why she behaved like that?
Do you know what the problem is?
If you were a manager and found that one of your subordinates was making mistake. He insisted that he was following your instruction that day given to him in the meeting room at some distance.
What do you think then the problem is?
This scenario is in fact not uncommon and it could be costly or even fetal in the extreme cases.
Why?
Most likely, you, or your subordinate in the later case, are having some problem in hearing. In other words, you or he could be having some hearing loss due to some reasons. In the case with the soft spoken lady as chair person in the meeting, you though you have taken down all accordingly but in fact you have not, because you could not hear all she said. That was why you made mistake.
Who shall be blamed?
If I were to interview a person and I want to make sure he has no problem in taking down my instruction, I would send him for an audiometric test. He will come back to me with his audiogram showing his hearing capability. It sound very unusual but hearing loss is not uncommon nowadays due to noise in the workplace – not necessary in the factory. If you are selling in an audio shop bombarding yourself every day with loud instrumental noises, I am sure you will have noise induced hearing loss if you work there long enough. That noise induced hearing loss is permanent – what is lost is gone forever.
Unfortunately, many do not know that they are having hearing loss.
Are you one of them?
If your workplace is noisy and you have to raise your voice to talk to someone at the normal talking distance, you mostly likely need to wear hearing protection device to protect you from noise induced hearing loss. The only way to know if you have hearing problem is to go for audiometric test.
If you are manager or safety officer, we need a hearing conservation program to make sure that every one working in the noisy areas are protected from hearing loss.
If you want some free training on hearing conservation program, please contact us here.
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May 4th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Is there any cost if we need you to run the HCP in our palm oil mill in Sibu?