4 ms·

See this article [1] for more detail on the problem. You will learn that the current beeps are poorly designed, do not do their job well as is, and are frequent

See this article [1] for more detail on the problem. You will learn that the current beeps are poorly designed, do not do their job well as is, and are frequently so loud that they can damage worker’s hearing. As someone who got beeped on for months on end, I can confirm they routinely violate both OSHA worksite noise regs and municipal noise ordinances. Unfortunately it will take decades for any change to happen to the 100000s of pieces of equipment out there, even in the best case. Under current regs operators can not update the beepers without approval from the manufacturer. It will take a lot of pressure from multiple sources for any change at all. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018517/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018517/

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
mfer 5y ago
Looking at that paper, the criticism isn't around effects other than their ability to make things safer. The beeps are annoying but what else does a better or equal job? Any solution that doesn't do an equal or better job will lead to more workplace injuries and deaths. Do we want that? It's a trade-off. As someone who was around large construction equipment with all those beeps for some time, I would love to have a different solution.
- itsdrewmiller 5y ago
  The article is about something that purportedly does a better job.
  - mfer 5y ago
    The article doesn’t show evidence or direct to evidence that it does an equal or better job for safety. The people who set the requirements (e.g. insurance companies) care about safety effectiveness.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  > The beeps are annoying but what else does a better or equal job? White noise generator / 'broadband alarm': > White-noise / broadband alarms offer advantages over the typical tonal alarms: > * Broadcast a range of frequencies making them easier to locate > * Sound is more confined to those in the area who are most at risk > * Reduces noise disturbance and noise pollution in surrounding community > * Are available with adjustable sounds for specific environments * https://www.worksafenb.ca/about-us/news-and-events/campaigns-and-initiatives/broadband-back-up-alarms-new-technology-offers-an-alternative-to-traditional-tonal-alarms/ https://www.worksafenb.ca/about-us/news-and-events/campaigns... * https://www.heavyequipmentguide.ca/article/24957/backup-alarm-being-replaced-more-frequently-with-white-noise-by-bc-businesses https://www.heavyequipmentguide.ca/article/24957/backup-alar... * https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/new-back-up-alarm-snow-removal-1.5027996 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/new-back-up-alarm-snow...
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  The problem here is that the venn diagram of "people who care enough about safety to have an opinions" and "people who's minds won't implode when faced with a tradeoff that cannot be easily side stepped by inputting money" and "people who are ok with subjective solutions that are not one size fits all" are very nearly three separate circles. The obvious answer here is to use one type of beeper in quiet environments (e.g. warehouse forklift) and one beeper for loud environment (scrapyard forklift). Of course that opens the door to subjective decisions (the inspector may have to judge whether a beeper is appropriate) and gaming the system (a workplace could run loud machinery at reduced speed) and the vast majority of the people trying to handle workplace safety are coming at it from a perspective where that is a non-starter. You see this any time the subject of "required" PPE and the health and safety implications of it when worn in extreme and non-typical workplaces. People get tied in all sorts of ideological knots when it becomes clear they can't just sling one size fits all solutions at problems.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

mfer 5y ago

Looking at that paper, the criticism isn't around effects other than their ability to make things safer. The beeps are annoying but what else does a better or equal job? Any solution that doesn't do an equal or better job will lead to more workplace injuries and deaths. Do we want that? It's a trade-off. As someone who was around large construction equipment with all those beeps for some time, I would love to have a different solution.

itsdrewmiller 5y ago
The article is about something that purportedly does a better job.
- mfer 5y ago
  The article doesn’t show evidence or direct to evidence that it does an equal or better job for safety. The people who set the requirements (e.g. insurance companies) care about safety effectiveness.
throw0101a 5y ago
> The beeps are annoying but what else does a better or equal job? White noise generator / 'broadband alarm': > White-noise / broadband alarms offer advantages over the typical tonal alarms: > * Broadcast a range of frequencies making them easier to locate > * Sound is more confined to those in the area who are most at risk > * Reduces noise disturbance and noise pollution in surrounding community > * Are available with adjustable sounds for specific environments * https://www.worksafenb.ca/about-us/news-and-events/campaigns-and-initiatives/broadband-back-up-alarms-new-technology-offers-an-alternative-to-traditional-tonal-alarms/ https://www.worksafenb.ca/about-us/news-and-events/campaigns... * https://www.heavyequipmentguide.ca/article/24957/backup-alarm-being-replaced-more-frequently-with-white-noise-by-bc-businesses https://www.heavyequipmentguide.ca/article/24957/backup-alar... * https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/new-back-up-alarm-snow-removal-1.5027996 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/new-back-up-alarm-snow...
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
The problem here is that the venn diagram of "people who care enough about safety to have an opinions" and "people who's minds won't implode when faced with a tradeoff that cannot be easily side stepped by inputting money" and "people who are ok with subjective solutions that are not one size fits all" are very nearly three separate circles. The obvious answer here is to use one type of beeper in quiet environments (e.g. warehouse forklift) and one beeper for loud environment (scrapyard forklift). Of course that opens the door to subjective decisions (the inspector may have to judge whether a beeper is appropriate) and gaming the system (a workplace could run loud machinery at reduced speed) and the vast majority of the people trying to handle workplace safety are coming at it from a perspective where that is a non-starter. You see this any time the subject of "required" PPE and the health and safety implications of it when worn in extreme and non-typical workplaces. People get tied in all sorts of ideological knots when it becomes clear they can't just sling one size fits all solutions at problems.