What is required under Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011

Understanding the Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations at your site in Singapore.

Who needs to comply with the Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations ?

In Singapore, as long as a person in your workplace is identified to be exposed to excessive noise by equipment or processes used in the workplace, the company needs to comply with the Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations.

A person is deemed to be exposed to excessive noise when he is exposed to

sound pressure level of 85 dB(A) over an 8-hour work day

a peak sound pressure level exceeding 140 dB(C)

Measure to reduce or control noise

Under section 4 of the noise regulation, an occupier is required to reduce the noise level so that workers are not exposed to excessive noise.

However, due to operational needs, it may not be practical to reduce the noise level to a level where no one will be exposed to excessive noise for all cases.

If that happens, the occupier is required to reduce the duration that the workers are exposed to the noise according to the table below.

So it is either they reduce the noise level or reduce the duration of exposure.

Appointment of competent person to advise on noise control

When the company has 50 persons employed or working in a workplace, the occupier is required under the noise regulation to appoint a competent person to advise on noise control.

That person’s role is to give advice on bringing down the noise level at the workplace.

Duty of manufacturers and suppliers of noisy machinery or equipment

Under section 6 of the noise regulation, if the supplier or manufacturer are supplying noisy equipment that can cause users to be exposed to excessive noise, they are required to provide information on the sound level likely to be generated by the machinery or equipment to the buyer.

Suppliers and manufacturers are also required to label on the machinery the need to wear hearing protectors.

Noise monitoring

If the occupier has 10 or more persons affected by excessive noise in the workplace, the occupier is required to conduct noise monitoring at least once every 3 years.

Noise monitoring shall be conducted earlier than 3 years if there are changes in equipment or process that increases the noise level.

The occupier is required to appoint a competent person to do the noise monitoring for them. A person is competent as long as he has gone through (WSQ: Monitor Noise and Vibration) course.

The occupier is required to take note of the following timelines required by the noise regulation:

– Within 14 days of conducting noise monitoring, collect the report from the competent person.

– Within 14 days of receiving the report from the competent person, communicate the contents of the report with stakeholders.

– Within 30 days of carrying out the noise monitoring, submit the noise monitoring report to the Ministry of Manpower.

– Keep the report for at least 10 years.

Hearing protectors

Under section 8 of the noise regulations, the responsible person (usually the employer) is required to provide suitable hearing protectors (Also known as personal protective equipment) to those exposed to loud noise working under their care.

The responsible person is required to do the followings：

– Provide hearing protectors suitable for the nature of work.

– Hearing protectors must be able to bring down the exposed noise level of the user below 85db after wearing.

– Implement procedures to make sure they use and know how to use the hearing protectors.

Lastly, the occupier is equired to put warning signs that indicate hearing protectors must be worn at the entrance of those areas.

The warning and wearing of hearing protector signage can be found in Singapore Standards 508 part 5.

Training programme

Under section 9 of the noise regulation, the responsible person is required to implement a training programme for those affected by excessive noise.

A training program which consists of the following items taken from the noise regulations needs to be established:

(a) the relevant provisions of the Act and these Regulations;

(b) the effects of noise on hearing;

(d) the advantages, disadvantages and attenuation of various types of hearing protectors;

(e) the selection, fitting, use and care of hearing protectors; and

(f) the purpose of hearing tests and the appropriate procedures and requirements of such tests.

The training programme is required to be conducted based on the following timelines:

– Within 3 months of the person commencing work.

– Refresher training at least once every 12 months.

Summary of things to be done to be compliant to the noise regulations.

This table briefly summarizes the workflow and timeline in sequence to be compliant

Sequence	Description	When	Act/SS/Regulations
Step 1	Conduct the first audiometric examination for each future employee who will be exposed to excessive noise	Pre employment	Workplace Safety and Health (Medical Examinations) Regulations 2011
Step 2	Choose a competent person to conduct noise monitoring	Start of new site or at least once every 3 years	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 3	Get the competent person to submit the noise monitoring report to you	Within 14 days of conducting the noise monitoring	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 4	Share the noise monitoring report with stakeholders	Within 14 days days after receiving the report from the competent person	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 5	Submit the noise monitoring to MOM	Within 30 days of noise monitoring start	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 6	Keep the noise monitoring report	Noise monitoring report should be kept for at least 10 years	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 7	Appoint a competent person to advise on noise control	If there are more than 50 people employed working with excessive noise	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 8	Conduct risk assessment for noise hazard and reduction	Before using equipment	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 9	Review risk assessment for noise hazard	At least once every 3 years	Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations
Step 10	Conduct new employee hearing conservation programme training	Within 3 months after his employment	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 11	Conduct hearing conservation program training refresher	At least once a year	Workplace Safety and Health (Noise) Regulations 2011
Step 12	Conduct audiometric examination for employees	Once every year	Workplace Safety and Health (Medical Examinations) Regulations 2011
Step 13	Keep audiometric examination records	At least 5 years	SS 549

Questions & Answers

When should the company conduct a pre-employment audiometric examination?

When the company hires an employee that will be working in an area that exposes him to excessive noise, the company is required to send that person for an audiometric examination during their pre-employment check up.

The doctor will determine whether he is fit for work.

When should the company conduct noise monitoring?

The company is required to make sure that noise monitoring is conducted by a competent person if there are more than 10 workers affected by high noise working in the workplace.

The monitoring should be done after the work area is set up with equipment running at steady state and the monitoring at least once every 3 years.

When should the competent person submit the noise monitoring report to the occupier?

The occupier can get 3^rd party vendors as the competent person to conduct the monitoring for them.

To be a competent person to do noise monitoring, that person is required to go through (WSQ: Monitor Noise and Vibration).

Within 14 days of conducting noise monitoring, the vendor (competent person) needs to send the report to the occupier.

When should the occupier share the noise monitoring report with their stakeholders?

Within 14 days of receiving the report from the vendor (competent person), the occupier is required to share the results with their stakeholders. The report will indicate the noise levels of each area and the noise levels the workers are exposed to.

When should the occupier submit the noise monitoring report to the Ministry of manpower?

The occupier needs to submit the report within 30 days of conducting the noise monitoring.

Which means, if the occupier received the report by the vendor 14 days later, they have 16 days left to submit the report.

How long should the occupier keep the noise monitoring report?

10 years minimum

When should the occupier appoint a competent person to advise on noise control?

After conducting the noise monitoring and identifying the high noise areas, the occupier is required to appoint a competent person to advise you on noise control.

A person can become competent by attending (WSQ: Control Noise and Vibration).

When should the company conduct a risk assessment for noise hazard reduction?

The company is required to conduct a risk assessment for that area to identify hazard and control measures with the competent person to advise them on noise control.

It is under the risk management regulation that the company is required to do a risk assessment on the hazards of the equipment and noise hazard is part of it

When does the company need to do the risk assessment?

The company has to do it before starting to use the equipment and at least once every 3 years under the risk management regulation.

When should the responsible person conduct new employee hearing conservation programme training?

For new employees going to work in high noise areas mapped out via noise monitoring, the responsible person is required to conduct the hearing conservation program training within the first 3 months of their employment.

Content of the training must include the Ministry of manpower’s guideline shown below:

How often should the refresher training on hearing conservation program be conducted?

Employees exposed to loud noise are required to have refresher training on hearing conservation program at least once a year.

Keep a record of their attendance.

How often should you conduct an audiometric examination?

You are required to conduct an audiometric examination at least once a year for your employees affected by high noise.

You can get an audiometric examination vendor to do it for you in your company or get the employees to go to their clinic.

How long should you keep the annual audiometric examination results?

The records are required to be kept for 5 years. The Ministry of Manpower will also request that the results are submitted to them.