Self-adjusting backup alarms in noisy workplaces

Authors

  • Hugues Nélisse <p>Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et Sécurité du Travail (IRSST)</p>
  • Jérôme Boutin Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et Sécurité du Travail (IRSST)
  • Christian Giguère University of Ottawa
  • Chantal Laroche University of Ottawa
  • Véronique Vaillancourt University of Ottawa

Abstract

It is well known that vehicle backup alarms, used to warn and alert people located behind vehicles, can be an important source of noise pollution. In order to reduce annoyance in residents living in close proximity to industrial settings and construction sites, self-adjusting alarms are often employed. Typically, they automatically adjust above the surrounding noise in an attempt to reduce annoyance. However, there are little results in the literature demonstrating how effective such devices are in the workplace. This paper presents a study aimed at examining in details how self-adjusting alarms work and perform in typical noisy working environements. A methodology developed and tested in a laboratory allows estimating the noise emitted by the alarm alone even when installed in real noisy conditions on a vehicle using simple microphones, a recoder and a current clamp. Details of the methodology as well as results for two types of alarms (tonal and broadband) are presented and discussed.

Author Biographies

Hugues Nélisse, <p>Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et Sécurité du Travail (IRSST)</p>

ResearcherMechanical and Physical Risk PreventionReasearch and Expertise Division

Jérôme Boutin, Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et Sécurité du Travail (IRSST)

Scientific professionalMechanical and Physical Risk PreventionResearch and Expertise Division

Christian Giguère, University of Ottawa

Full ProfessorAudiology and SLP Program

Chantal Laroche, University of Ottawa

Full ProfessorAudiology and SLP Program

Véronique Vaillancourt, University of Ottawa

Research assistantAudiology and SLP Program

Additional Files

Published

2015-08-24

How to Cite

1.
Nélisse H, Boutin J, Giguère C, Laroche C, Vaillancourt V. Self-adjusting backup alarms in noisy workplaces. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2015 Aug. 24 [cited 2024 Oct. 8];43(3). Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/2783

Issue

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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