Opening the UK’s first Acoustic Safety Conference at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath stressed the importance of controlling noise at work and protecting the hearing of Britain’s one million call centre workers.
Acoustic shock is the result of a random frequency surge delivered via a headset, caused by a sudden spike in noise that can damage the human ear. There are an at least 170,000 people in Britain today suffering from deafness or tinnitus caused by work-related conditions with hundreds of legal cases pending.
Taking action early can prevent these problems, said the minister, the most important advice for call centres is to have a traceable reporting system for headset users, and that headsets should have built-in protection against high noise levels.
Speaking after Lord Hunt, Dave Joyce of the CWU welcomed the government’s support for the Acoustic Safety Programme, and called for greater vigilance by call centre owners and environmental health officers to protect the hearing of Britain’s call centre workers.
The conference was organised by the Call Centre Management Association and sponsored by Clement Clarke Communications (headset manufacturers) and Tecteon plc (who make the software which detects and removes sudden noise from headsets), plus the Communication Workers Union and ProCertus occupational health.
Health and Safety minister calls for protection of call centre workers
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath stressed the importance of controlling noise at work and protecting the hearing of Britain’s one million call centre workers
