Interesting thread. I've never seen any studies done on most of these topics myself. However I am concerned about the fumes from hardware, and the noise. I already have damaged hearing from a hunting incident a few years back, don't wanna make it worse.
Appropriate hearing protection is vital - as a percussionist I'd be pretty screwed if I lost or damaged my hearing as it would take away something I love doing.
I'd advise that you make sure you have a clear policy in your business, if one doesn't exist - be the one to create it and distribute it. Most businesses will support this, as it will then show a level of care for their employees (and also if it is documented, and everyone is trained appropriately, reduces the risk of legal action).
Here in the UK, the law is very clear on the requirements to provide hear protection for employees but is optional for the employee to wear, and when it is mandatory for the employee to provide hearing protection.
Similar policies and training should also be covered for manual handling (ie: Lifting), working with raised floor tiles, cabling safely, appropriate electrical awareness and the such.
cabling safely? I guess you mean eye protection for when you get poked in the eye by a zip tie that hasn't had the tail cut off? unfortunately, that has happened to me a couple times!
When it all comes down to it, the employee will ultimately determine when they need to use hearing protection or not. I have never used hearing protection in a datacenter. I have used safety goggles before (the yellow ones because they brighten a datacenter up for some reason and I think they are stylish).
Ear plugs have always been provided to me in the rooms where we kept the generators (we had cat gensets indoors) but my hearing protection was to not go in there when they were running.
My hearing was tested last year and I scored almost perfect. I missed the highest frequency in my left ear. That is after 7 years of working in and around datacenters.
cabling safely? I guess you mean eye protection for when you get poked in the eye by a zip tie that hasn't had the tail cut off? unfortunately, that has happened to me a couple times!
Doh! I hate it when people do that, although I've never myself poked myself in the eye. A more common occurrence for me is if someone doesn't snip the cable tie flush, so you have a nice sharp tail and slice the back of your hand
Definitely, it should be at the employees discretion, however making sure your employees are aware, and also that regular sound checks are done in the areas where staff work frequently and are signed if they are over the limits set (we have strict limits here in Europe for baseline guidance) and an employee chooses not to follow them, then you can be fully covered.
From the personal perspective, no matter what, I always carry ear plugs - data centre, rock concert etc... my hearings just too important for me to loose!
I currently wear hearing protection in my data center. It basically goes along the lines of what you think your ears will tolerate. Once I started getting ringing in my ears from being in the data center I figured it was time.
Interesting topic, this is the problem which every person faces when he joins a data center but with time he gets habitual. Earlier i used to use earbuds but now i feel fine with that noise.
Interesting topic, this is the problem which every person faces when he joins a data centre but with time he gets habitual. Earlier i used to use earbuds but now i feel fine with that noise.
That’s still not a good thing for your ears I'd recommend everyone wear ear plugs even if they don't think it's doing any damage to your hearing - remember, it will usually be too late to go and fix the damage once it's done!
For those that don't protect and maybe get a hint of tinnitus when you're leaving, drop half an aspirin to thin the blood slightly in an effort to try to calm the never endings and bones in your ears.
That’s still not a good thing for your ears I'd recommend everyone wear ear plugs even if they don't think it's doing any damage to your hearing - remember, it will usually be too late to go and fix the damage once it's done!
For those that don't protect and maybe get a hint of tinnitus when you're leaving, drop half an aspirin to thin the blood slightly in an effort to try to calm the never endings and bones in your ears.
I agree, i dont want to mislead anyone, I would like to suggest that one should not follow others and should always follow safety measures.
I have a seperate personal room in the office and there is no problem of any noise.So guys i dont need any ear plugs.But for the noisy place like datacenter one must need a good quality of ear plugs for music and for avoid noise.
