Australia is a country of industry. From the endless rattle of city builds, to the dusty drone of country construction, we Aussies like to think we’re immune to the effects of constant construction. But this is simply not the case, because in reality no one is immune to operational downsides, especially the likes of excessive vibration.
Excessive sound and vibration is caused when machinery experiences misalignment, rotational imbalance, wear and tear and other mechanical faults. For most Australians, this particular threat may seem innocuous, but to those who are constantly exposed it is very real.
This unwanted operational downside can cause a range of health effects to both workers and local residents. Therefore, consistent monitoring is essential to ensuring the safety of staff and the local area.
With all this in mind, here are three reasons why proper monitoring is essential to your operation:
- It protects your workers
Top quality noise and vibration monitoring is essential to protecting your staff from the physical pitfalls of constant exposure. Workers in construction and related industries are never going to fully escape vibrations but when they reach excessive levels the problem can have serious health effects.
Physical effects of this operational hazard can cause the following health problems:
- White finger: This is a problem workers can experience after long-term tool and machinery use. The problem is categorised by loss of bone strength in fingers, loss of sensation in fingers and bone cysts in fingers and wrists.
- Whole body problems: When the whole body is consistently exposed to this operational pitfall the victim can experience a range of negative impacts like back injuries, heightened discomfort, motion sickness and inability to work efficiently.
Your team’s health and safety is the most important thing – ensure that they are not susceptible to this nasty operational hazard through proper monitoring!
- It protects local residents
Any local resident who has found themselves constantly exposed to this particularly Aussie operational side effect will know just how unpleasant it is. You are awoken early by the blasting rattle of an outdated jackhammer and can’t even consider going back to sleep. Many might say that any neighbour who complains about this excessive noise may be soft but in reality it can have a dramatic effect on people’s quality of life.
Think about it: you have a major residential block coming up next door but the builders are using outdated demolition equipment to knock down the old complex. It’s safe to say you would be pretty annoyed if it was obvious that said technology was exceeding what would be considered as “safe” levels. As such, ensuring your technology is updated and without excessive rattle is imperative to ensuring the health and quality of life of local residents.
- It protects neighbouring buildings
When undertaking demolitions, outdated machinery that is causing excessive vibration will likely damage neighbouring buildings and essential amenities like gas lines. As such, it is essential to ensure that your machinery is updated and without the aforementioned problems of misalignment and rotational imbalance to ensure that you don’t incur any costly damages throughout the demolition process.
Proper monitoring is the only way to ensure you are avoiding this operational hazard. Not only will it protect your team, residents and neighbouring structures, but it will also alert you to greater dangers facing your machinery. As such, any building or demolition operation should have regular servicing scheduled for their worksite!
