RR625 - Noise emission from fastener driving tools
Summary
The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992 as amended place duties on machine manufacturers and suppliers to design and construct machinery in such a way that noise emissions are reduced to the lowest level taking account of technical progress and the availability of techniques for reducing noise, particularly at source. There is also a requirement that manufacturers and suppliers provide information on the airborne noise emissions of their products. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which came into force in April 2006 implementing the EU Physical Agents (Noise) Directive (2003/10/EC), state that employers may use manufacturers' tool data to assess the risk to their employees from exposure to noise.
The aims of the work reported here were to:
- Measure the noise emission of the tools supplied by the manufacturers and compare to the manufacturers' declared emission, if stated
- Determine whether tools with a declared noise emission have been tested in accordance with the most appropriate test code
- Comment on the suitability of the noise test methods for the family of tools under test
- Investigate the link between the manufacturers' declared emission and the in real use emission
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