RR1173 - Forestry wood chippers: suitability of measurement procedures used to provide the manufacturer's and supplier's noise advice to purchasers and users
Exposure to noise from wood chippers can harm workers’ hearing and increase the safety risks if workers cannot hear warnings or approaching vehicles. Wood chippers are used in industries such as forestry, arboriculture and horticulture.
To encourage the purchase of low-noise machines, HSE needed to understand how noise emission information for wood chippers is determined. HSE specialists identified problems with the interpretation of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) 2008 regulations for the provision of noise emission information.
To provide manufacturers with clarity on these regulatory requirements, HSE scientists assessed:
- the noise testing requirements
- the relationship between emission values and noise exposures for wood chippers
- how the information is provided to users of wood chippers
The research showed that the regulations and associated methods are sufficient to produce useful and credible sound pressure levels. However, the noise test method for determining sound power levels produces data that are unreliable for identifying lower noise wood chippers.
Model noise emission declarations for providing effective information on noise to users of wood chippers are included as part of this research report.
This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive. Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.
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