Experimental studies on the exposure of construction workers to noise emitted by a backhoe loader – a case study

Noise is the most commonly existing harmful factor which can be found at workplace. According to the Polish law, an employer is obliged to regularly conduct controls of the working conditions, which include, among others, conducting measurements of harmful factors. Such measurements are usually made after prior arrangements between parties, i.e. the employer and a party conducting the measurements. Therefore, one may suspect justifiably that the conditions in which those measurements are conducted are substantially different from the actual conditions of a particular site. This work includes the presentation of results of measurements of noise emitted by a backhoe loader, which were made both inside the cabin of the operator and in the vicinity of the machine. The measurements were carried out in the course of typical working operations as well as during operation with the use of specialised equipment – e.g. Hydraulic hammer. The results of the measurement show clearly that values of the Highest Permissible Noise Level or Highest Permissible Exposure Limit to which an operator was exposed were in no situation exceeded as long as the cabin door was closed. During work using a hydraulic hammer, people staying near the machine, located at a distance of less than 15 meters, are exposed to noise levels that exceed the permissible values for long-term exposure. However, during work using standard equipment, exceedances of permissible values of noise did not occur.