How to Measure the Safety of Your Workplaces?

We live and work in environments where the environmental conditions may range from silent to noisy to the degree of becoming hazardous or unsafe. Working in such work environments for a long time may affect your health and safety. This also may affect the process and outcomes. With employer costs increasing due to workplace accidents, workplace safety is highly promoted in workplaces across the US. Employers are recommended to test parameters like sound, humidity, and lighting inside their premises to ensure safe workplaces. In 1996, the month of June was declared as the National Safety Month by the National Safety Council (NSC). This month aims to increase awareness on the safety of workplaces. Does that mean safety only matters this month, not at other times? No, safety must be ensured at all times. It is a responsibility of an employer to build and maintain OSHA-compliant workplaces and care for an employee’s wellbeing. This post guides you on how to ensure the safety of your workplace by measuring noise, sound, humidity, temperatures, and so on. Is that all?  No, there’s a reference for effective tools developed by Triplett for to measure noise levels, sound frequency, light intensity, and so on in industrial and commercial workplaces. 

Three Workplace Conditions That Need to be Addressed Promptly

The following are three workplace conditions, which if not addressed properly, may cause severe issues.

1. Noise: This is one of the inevitable elements of workplaces. Exposure to loud noise for a long time may affect our nerve endings on the inner side of the ear. This may damage these nerve endings permanently. If this happens, the result will be permanent hearing loss, which cannot be corrected medically. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 22 million workers are affected by potential damaging workplace noises every year. Noise-induced hearing impairment has a severe effect on your communication capabilities. Although hearing aids may help, they cannot restore the hearing capability fully. It doesn’t matter, if you work in loud workplaces such as stadiums, manufacturing facilities, or others, you can still prevent hearing loss by measuring the workplace noise. How do you measure noise levels? The answer is you can measure it using certain tools like the Triplett SLM400-KIT Sound Level Meter and Calibrator Kit and the EM700 Environmental Meter with Sound.

About Triplett Tools

• Triplett SLM400-Kit Sound Level Meter and Calibrator Kit: It meets the IEC 61672-1 type 2, ANSI S1.4 Type 2 with ±1.5dB accuracy. It is offered with a 35 to 130dB range plus A and C weighting with selectable fast/slow response time. The calibrator fits 1/2" diameter microphones and has selectable 94dB and 114dB output with ±0.5dB accuracy. Calibrator output frequency is ±4%@1kHz.

• 8-IN-1 ENVIRONMENTAL METER WITH SOUND - (EM400): This meter is used to measure noise as well as other environmental parameters. Its sound level readings meet IEC 61672-2013 class 2 sound level accuracy (±1dB@1kHz).

2. Light: Both, very bright and too low luminosity of lights are detrimental. Too bright can cause harm to eyes and lead to headaches and eye fatigue. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, almost 85% of people perceive information through light. For instance, a well-lit workplace will help them see their colleagues, watch moving machinery, and make the right attempts on their PCs. However, if the workplaces are poorly lit then there may be a high strain on their eyes, causing eye fatigue and tiredness. This tiredness can lead to increasing incidents of safety violations and accidents. Triplett’s LT80 LED light meter is designed to measure light intensity in industry settings.

About Triplett Tools

• Triplett LT80 LED Light Meter: This light meter helps you measure the intensity of light to meet OSHA safety requirements for LED, fluorescent, high-pressure sodium, metal halide, and incandescent light sources. The meter features a 4000-count LCD display, Max/Min/Avg. function to recall the highest, lowest, and average reading, silicon photodiode sensor with a spectral response filter. There is a data hold function to freeze the reading on the tool. This will allow you to read the display at your ease. There is an auto-power off feature, which helps conserve the battery life.

3. Temperature, Humidity, Heat Index (HT), WBGT (Wet Bulb Global Temperature): Humidity and high temperatures in workplaces are known to cause more harm to the body than anything else. They result in exhaustion or illness, sometimes leading to heat stroke. It is always recommended that people with asthma or heart problems must avoid working in such conditions. If working, they must be extremely careful. Similarly, humidity, when combined with moisture, can lead to black mold concerns, which is unsafe. Sometimes, if humidity drops below a certain limit can, it may cause dry skin, itching and chapping, and scratchy noses and throats, thereby causing discomfort and sometimes increasing chances of respiratory illnesses. Thus, keeping these parameters in check is quite important. What if you can use a tool that helps you measure humidity, moisture, heat index, and WBGT? If that sounds yes, you can consider - Triplett RHT415 Hygro-Thermometer with Remote Probe, HS10 Heat Stress meter and the MS150Pin/Pinless Moisture meter.

About Triplett Tools

• Triplett Model HS10 Heat Stress Meter: This device monitors the heat stress or heat index indoors/outdoors. By knowing this, employers can make proper adjustments to reduce humidity and temperature.

• Triplett MS150 Pin/Pinless Moisture Meter: This device is designed to measure moisture content in various materials – building materials (1.5 to 33%) and wood (5 to 50%). If you are planning non-invasive testing then pinless measurement works well.

• Triplett Model RHT415 Hygro Thermometer: This thermometer comes with a remote probe that displays temperature (14°F to 140°F/-10 to 60°C), humidity (0 to 99%RH) and comfort level on a dual LCD with bargraph.

Safe workplaces require continuous monitoring, appropriate maintenance and adjustments. Hence, if you are planning to build OSHA-compliant workplaces, ensure to source your tools from Triplett. The company offers many instruments which help measure your work environments and areas to offer you accurate readings. These tools are perfected over years of research and offers you insights on safety measurements to be taken. You can get in touch with the team at Triplett today to learn more about our tools and to choose the best tools for your work environment.