Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive adopted by the European Council in 1989 is superseded in 2018 by a new PPE Regulation (EU)2016/425. The new regulation has been created to enhance consumer safety and ensure fair competition between companies who provide the best PPE for their sector.
It included moving Hearing Protection from Category II to Category III, acknowledging the risk that harmful noise may cause very serious consequences such as irreversible damage to health.
European standards have high status globally for being effective in setting performance levels and are used in many countries where they do not have their own product standards. All ACS New Zealand hearing protection products conform to these standards accordingly and hold EU Type Examination Certification. We have only put four of our protectors forward for testing and they comply and are certified as being class 3 and 5 of Australian and New Zealand Standards AS/NZS1270:2002.
The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 came into force for all industry sectors in Great Britain including for the music and entertainment sectors. The aim of the Noise Regulations is to ensure that workers’ hearing is protected from excessive noise at their place of work, which could cause noise induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus. In New Zealand and Australia there is no equivalent but we do take these regulations seriously and comply within anyway.
Employers in New Zealand and Australia have a duty of care towards the safety of their staff. The sound pressure level at which employers must assess the risk to workers’ hearing health is 85 decibels (A). Hearing protection must be made available. The sound pressure level, as a daily or weekly average exposure, at which employers must provide hearing protection and install its compulsory use is 85 decibels (A). To discover your exposure time with and without hearing protection see our Safe Exposure Calculator.
Hearing protection must be suitable, sufficient, fit for purpose and certified. All ACS New Zealand certified products conform to BS EN 352-2 and/or AS/NZS1270:2002 and PPE Regulation (EU)2016/425. They have a certified sound reduction of 12, 15, 17, 20, 27db.
Many thousands of people are exposed to loud noise at work that may be a risk to their hearing. Compliance with these regulations allow workers’ hearing to be protected so they can;
Work Safe Today and still Hear Tomorrow!
Compliance
ACS was one of the first UK companies to achieve the Module D certification as required by the new PPE Regulation. We welcomed auditors from the notified body to complete a company wide audit and passed with flying colours. You can rest assured that you are purchasing a fully compliant and certified product.
Copies of our Module D certificate and certificates of conformity can be seen below.
Certificates of Conformity
- PRO15 Custom Earplugs
- PRO17 Custom Earplugs
- PRO20 Custom Earplugs
- PRO26 Custom Earplugs
- PRO27 Custom Earplugs
- PRO26 Communicator
- PRO27 Communicator
- PACATO 16 Universal
- PACATO 19 Universal
Contact Us
If you have a duty of care and legal obligation to protect your employees’ hearing please contact via email us so we can advise on the best solution for you.