Abstract

In Québec, approximately 500,000 workers are regularly exposed to significant noise levels. Workplace noise can lead to hearing problems and deafness, and can cause industrial accidents. With over 2000 recognized cases every year, occupational deafness places second in types of occupational diseases compensated by the CSST.

In the workplace, vibrating tools (chainsaws, drills, pneumatic nail guns, etc.) often generate high levels of vibration that may result in hand-arm vibration syndrome. Moreover, moving vehicles produce considerable levels of vibration that can cause back and spine injuries.

Research based on frequency prediction methods has been carried out, with the goal of reducing noise and vibration levels in the workplace. However, these studies do not tackle all the sources of noise or pulse-type vibrations that emanate from explosions, shocks, impacts or riveting found in occupational sectors employing hundreds of thousands of workers.

A recent study has shown that, in principal, time simulation methods could better solve the problems inherent in noise and pulse-type vibrations. This raises the question of whether existing time resolution modeling tools provide an optimal solution to these problems.

The objective of this activity is to assess the effectiveness of such tools.