Imagine, you and 10 other colleagues are sitting on a steel beam suspended 260 meters in the air. You’re enjoying your lunch and having a good chat, with a bustling city sitting beneath your feet.
Oh, and did I mention there are no helmets, safety harnesses, or steel-toe-capped boots? Talk about health and safety gone mad! This was an actual photo taken in 1932 named, ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’. Thankfully, with laws and regulations in place, workers are provided with the right equipment to do their jobs and do it well, all while feeling safe and secure.
While we're quick to spot and steer clear of immediate dangers, why do we often overlook those long-term risks and their lasting consequences?
In a recent survey, it was reported that [1]51% of all workers within construction have been exposed to hazardous noise, with 14% of these workers reported to have hearing difficulty. It was also noted that out of [2]765 cases that were recorded between 2013 and 2022, only five of these were women, with a whopping 760 cases being men. As well as this, construction has been voted as the [3]fifth nosiest job in the U.K. in a report taken last year.
It must be considered that construction work undertaken on a construction site, not only impacts the workers but also the members of the public who pass the site daily.
Luckily, we have a solution that reduces the risk for anybody in a close radius of a construction site, so hear us out…
Five words: BIGBEN Sound Blocker Acoustic Barrier.
Specifically engineered to reduce the impact of noise on site, BIGBEN Sound Blockers employ cutting-edge materials and state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. With their lightweight and exceptionally robust design, our Sound Blockers are simple to install, transport, and store. They can be effortlessly attached to scaffolding and any temporary or permanent fencing with our selection of two sizes (1.2m x 2m vertical or 3.6m x 2m horizontal). There are several eyelets in each design to allow simple toggle ties to secure them in place.
They are fast becoming an industry favourite thanks to their incredible sound absorption properties which help mitigate the long-term impact of hearing loss. Alongside this, they also overlap seamlessly, accommodating sites of any size, enhancing privacy, and reducing dust pollution that may blow onto nearby streets.
Annual studies suggest that hearing loss within construction is becoming an escalating problem with long-term impact within the sector. It’s time to act now, act fast, and act together to curb these statistics for the benefit of future generations of workers.
Click here to find out more about our BIGBEN Sound Blocker Envirohedge Acoustic Barrier.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/surveillance/construction.html#:~:text=Approximately%2014%25%20of%20all%20Construction,report%20not%20wearing%20hearing%20protection.
[2] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm
[3] https://probuildermag.co.uk/features/research-shows-construction-ranks-as-the-5th-worst-job-for-hearing-loss
