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Worker Communication Technology:
solving the HIGH NOISE barrier
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
OSHA Standards for Shipyard Employment
76 FR 24702, May 2, 2011
• 1915.84(a)
Except as provided in § 1915.51(c)(3) of this part, whenever an
employee is working alone, such as in a confined space or isolated
location, the employer shall account for each employee
• 1915.84(a)(1)
Throughout each work shift at regular intervals appropriate to the job
assignment to ensure the employee's safety and health; and
• 1915.84(a)(2)
At the end of the job assignment or at the end of the workshift,
whichever occurs first.
• 1915.84(b)
The employer shall account for each employee by sight or verbal
communication.
*http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=193
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Surviving at Work Without Effective
Communication…
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
The Result of Inadequate Communication in HIGH NOISE and with
RESPIRATORS…
Degraded production resulting
from poor communication
Misinterpreted instructions
contributing to accidents
Noise Induced Hearing Loss
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
How BIG Is The Problem?
• Hearing Loss was the #2 OSHA
Recordable Illness for Manufacturing
in 2007.
Source: National Safety Council. (2008) Injury Facts®, Itasca, Il: Author.
#1
• Hearing Loss was the
OSHA
Recordable Illness for Manufacturing
in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011!
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics: (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh.pdf).
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Hearing Loss Claims In The Military
•
Hearing Loss and Tinnitus
are the two most common
Compensation Claims for
VA.
• 8% increase from
2007 to 2008
• 1,223,590 Hearing
Loss claims in FY 2009
• ANNUAL federal
expenditure of $1.1
billion in 2009
Source GA)-11-114
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Shipyard Risks Exposed
• Moll van Charante, AW Moulder, Study of Shipyard
workers in the Netherlands.
• Risk Factors found:
– Alcohol consumption
– hearing loss greater than 20dB
– loud noise greater than 82dB.
• Risks attributable to noise and hearing
loss together accounted for 43% of the
injuries.
– Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2316497
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
SCA Occupational Injury and Illness Survey
No lost time cases on OSHA 300
YEAR
TOTAL
ILLNESS
HEARING
LOSS
2007
6
0
2008
13
2
2009
24
1
2010
27
22
Annual voluntary survey data accumulated by Shipbuilders Council of America
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Why people with high frequency hearing loss have
difficulty understanding speech:
VOWELS
A-E-I-O-U
CONSONANTS
S–F–TH–V-Z
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Without the ability to hear consonants speech
isn’t complete
• High Frequency hearing loss is like reading a
newspaper with holes in it:
– Our aw ih on ah twel lor.
– Did Reda rr ah warng lul?
– Ray ah lit ree daggr.
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Poor speech discrimination IS the most critical
communication problem.
Our aw ih on ah twel lor.
(Our office is on the twelfh floor)
Did reda rr ah warng lul?
(Did Freddie hear the warning whistle?)
Ray ah lit ree daggr to ah leh.
(Raise the lift three degrees to the left.)
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Speech Discrimination Studies on Radio Communication
for Firefighters
•
Fire Ground Speech Discrimination Scores using radios in 8
acoustic environments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
No Noise – no mask
No Noise with mask
Mask with low air alarm
Pumper truck work panel
Two PASS alarm with mask
Hose with fog nozzle and mask
Chain saw cutting wood and mask
Rotary saw cutting metal door
89%
78%
58%
42%
16%
11%
4%
2%
Source: US Dept Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Hearing Protection IS a Communication Problem
Hearing Protection and Personal
Listening Devices Cause Adaptive
(induced) Hearing Loss
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Attenuation from hearing protectors affects
workers’ ability to hear:
• NRR 32
Freq in Hz
125
250
500
1000
2000
3150
4000
6300
8000
Avg.
Atten. in
dB
41
36
41
42
41
45
44
45
48
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Making sense of it all:
Hearing protection on top of hearing loss
Even AMPLIFIED
sound cannot be
heard!
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Radios and/or speaker mics cannot be heard due to
HIGH NOISE and use of HEARING PROTECTION
“SHUT
THE
MACHINE
DOWN!”
Did he say
send more
Grit
down?
Interesting Note: Workers claim to ignore their radios because they
can’t understand them anyway
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Respirators and Blasting/Welding Hoods further
complicate communication
I’m going to
remove this
dang thing, so
he can
understand
me!
WA, WA WA
WA, WA, WA
WA WA WA!
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
CavCom® Technology is “Talk Through Your Ears”
We’ve miniaturized bulky
components to achieve:
•Optimum comfort
•Superior hearing protection
•Safe listening levels
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
CavCom Technology: Both Microphone and Speakers are inside
the hearing protection device protected by the HPD
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
RADIO GEAR™ and CAVCOM® ear sets
Ear set options with miniaturized speaker and
microphone components:
OMNI Universal
NRR32
Custom Fit
NRR26
QUAD Universal
NRR32
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Trials
Communication is possible with the most difficult jobs: Workers agreed
Survey
Ability To
Results
Ability To Hear Radio
Hearing
Hear Radio
1 Lowest
With
10 Highest Protection
In Noise
Respirator
Personal
Comfort
Safety To
You and
Others
With Radio
Abrasive
Blasters
9
7.7
8
7.2
9.2
Riggers
and Crane
Operators
8.75
8.85
NA
8.5
8.5
Welders
8.6
9.6
9.2
8.4
9.2
Note: Results were averaged from total surveys among each individual group
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
Versatility of CavCom®
• Performs in areas well over 100 dB
with protection values up to NRR 34
• Integrates with any PPE, including
respirators and double hearing
protection
• Variety of comfortable universal or
custom fitted ear sets.
• Intrinsically Safe models available
• Adapts to any 2-Way Radio
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.
LEADING THE WAY
in 2-Way Radio Communication Solutions and Hearing Protection
CAVCOM, Made in the U.S.A. under US Patent No. 6175633. © 2011 CavCom Inc.