Active Hearing Protection Benchmark Raised on HS2 Construction Sites

JOINT VENTURE Costain-Skanska (CSjv) is spearheading industry change with a new hearing protection policy across all of its HS2 enabling works construction sites.

Smart tech company Eave developed a hearing conservation solution to provide real time noise monitoring on site. CSjv is now mandating this active hearing protection with integrated noise monitoring from September 2020 across its HS2 sites.

Hearing Loss

Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the most commonly reported occupational disease in Europe.

Sandra Winters, Occupational Health Lead at CSjv said, “CSjv aims to support HS2’s mission to eliminate the causes of the top five occupational diseases in construction. Our trial with Eave gave measurable results that radically improved our hearing protection measures on site. We are now implementing this change across all our HS2 sites to ensure a greater level of safety for our operatives.”

Eave’s active ear defenders use ‘Hear-Through’ technology, that, unlike passive protection, allows the wearer to continue to hear environmental sound, improving the safety of workers.

Noise Exposure

The smart headsets also monitor and map noise exposure, analysing the data in real time to provide information about each worker’s noise exposure across a site — data that audiologists can use to assess long-term hearing health risks.

It is this combination of active hearing protection and integrated noise monitoring that CSjv is mandating on all its HS2 early works sites to raise standards across the sector.

Innovate UK funding

Eave and CSjv won Innovate UK funding in 2019 from the Department of Transport to trial their hearing conservation solution with HS2.

CSjv subcontractors can join a webinar on 28 July to find out how to implement active hearing protection with integrated noise monitoring on site.

Watch a video on CSjv and Eave’s collaboration with HS2