Noise & HAV Risk Management Masterclass: Practical Solutions for Safer Workplaces

NISO is hosting a masterclass on Noise and HAV Risk Management. This will take place in Cork and Dublin/Online hybrid in September 2026.

There are two parts to this masterclass:

• Hand-arm vibration risk management: the common myths v best practice
• Noise: How to mitigate the incoming hearing loss cost escalation tsunami

Register Here

Event Details

Title: Noise & HAV Risk Management Masterclass: Practical Solutions for Safer Workplaces

Venues:

• Dublin / Online (Hybrid)
• Cork (In Person)

Dublin / Online (Hybrid Event)

Date: 3 September 2026
Location: Online via Zoom or NISO, A11 Calmount Park, Ballymount, Dublin 12, D12 EH21
Time: 12.hrs.–16.00hrs.
Registration: 11.30hrs.
Fees: €200 (NISO Members) / €250 (Non Members) | £175 (NISO Members) / £218 (Non Members)

Cork (In person)

Date: 17 September 2026
Location: Clayton Hotel Cork City, 10 Lapps Quay, Centre, Cork, T12 RD6E
Time: 12.00hrs.–16.00hrs.
Registration: 11.30hrs.
Fees: €200 (NISO Members) / €250 (Non Members)

Programme

Speakers

Peter Wilson: Technical Director: INVC: BSc MSc: Member of the Institute of Acoustics (M.I.O.A.)

A popular speaker at conferences worldwide due both to expertise and perhaps being unusually entertaining (possibly a spin-off from doing stand-up comedy as a hobby…). He wrote the IOSH competency courses in both noise and hand-arm vibration. He also has a reputation for developing innovative engineering noise and vibration control techniques, including award-winning aerodynamic fan noise control technology and acoustic barriers, remote analysis technology, dynamic vibration absorbers and etc.

He has also been involved in mental health campaigns at conferences, in schools and in national TV advertisements.

Further details

HAV: Hand-arm vibration risk management: the common myths v best practice

The high level of risk from hand-arm vibration (HAVS) from many industries across the globe is often associated with a host of technical misunderstandings and myths. This creates a minefield of opportunities to waste resources on ineffective actions. For example:

• Most vibration measurements are unnecessary placebo checkbox exercises – there are effective, low-cost alternatives to this marketing myth…
• “Anti-vibration glove” is an oxymoron, there is no PPE for HAVS
• You need an effective buy/hire smooth policy
• Personal behaviour has a huge effect on individual risk, so it must be prioritised

The perceived “technicalities” with which vibration is imbued make it difficult for safety professionals to determine the facts from the fictions associated with the common myths and marketing misinformation.

This multimedia presentation dispels the myths and provides a best practice action checklist. This can be used to evaluate where improvements to HAVS risk management can be made to minimise damage by modifying activities, processes and management

_ _ _

Noise: How to mitigate the incoming hearing loss cost escalation tsunami

There is an oncoming tidal wave of undiagnosed hearing damage accompanied by a simultaneous dramatic rise in the costs of claims and insurance. Typical current hearing conservation programmes based on outdated assumptions have never been adequate and are not up to these new challenges. It’s time to update to new standards and new technologies to cut both the human health and financial costs.

This presentation reviews what hasn’t worked well enough, provides detailed information on what constitutes the new best practices to minimise the damage and includes practical advice on how to implement these improvements. It covers:

The “Perfect Storm” is already upon us…

• New medical research: the risks to health from NIHL are dramatically higher than previously thought. NIHL is the single highest modifiable dementia risk factor, increasing the risk by up to 500%
• Quality of life: recent research shows that the effects of NIHL on quality of life have been underestimated – unemployment, early retirement and a 200% increase in the likelihood of an accident
• Underestimated NIHL prevalence: traditional audiometry does not detect many forms of NIHL that the switch to OtoAcoustic Emission (OAE) testing is uncovering
• New legal framework: takes the above into account, hence the recent >£700k settlement + the current 3M earplug UK litigation (USA settlement of $6billion)
• HSE noise inspection focus: 60% of noise reports are inadequate; PPE use is seriously inadequate; there has been a 300% increase in enforcement actions

What and how to update current practices

Urgent actions are necessary to reduce the risks and thereby the potential dramatic rise in future costs to meet the objective of Nil NIHL. The following are the areas covered where implementing the recent updates to best practices can reduce NIHL risk by up to c 90% with little or no effect on current expenditure.

• PPE performance: the attenuation is much less than you think. You need to understand why to improve protection. Implementing PPE field performance assessment + how to improve. We will provide access to a new real-world PPE performance calculator.
• Assessment and report quality: develop/acquire a high quality template for use in-house or by consultants. This makes it easy to track progress over time, something that is a) very important and b) virtually impossible if report formats (and quality) keep changing. We will provide access to a benchmark assessment template.
• Noise Control Audit (NCA): invest in a cost/benefit analysis of your noise control options. How to implement low cost modern noise control technology. Cutting noise from 97dB(A) to 94dB(A) cuts risk (even with PPE) by 50%.
• Health surveillance: switch from largely placebo pure tone audiometry (PTA) to otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing. PTA is “a tax on the failure to control risk”, not a risk management tool. OAE is…
• Return on Investment (RoI): how to calculate how effectively your resources are being spent so efficacy can be tracked and improved over time.
• Multimedia and case studies are used throughout as illustrations.

Resources

Noise
Updating risk management: https://invc.com/noise-assessment/how-reduce-hearing-damage-risk-at-negligible-cost/

Top 10 noise control techniques: https://invc.com/noise-control/top-10-noise-control-techniques/

Real world PPE attenuation calculator: https://invc.com/noise-assessment/free-real-world-ppe-attenuation-calculator-tool/HVAS

HAVS
BOHS article: https://invc.com/resources/downloads/havbase-use-review-article/

HAVS myths: https://invc.com/resources/technical-notes-vibration/hav-myth-management-common-costly-errors/

HAVS risk management check list: https://invc.com/resources/technical-notes-vibration/havs-programme-element-guide/

Register Here