Reducing Noise Hazards for Call and Dispatch Center Operations

摘要

Workers at call and dispatch centers may suffer health risks associated with high noise levels from their headsets. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has developed recommendations for prevention. Millions of workers at call and dispatch centers in the United States use headsets during most of their workday. They mainly include dispatchers, medical transcriptionists, air traffic control specialists, customer service representatives, switchboard operators, reservationists, and bill collectors. Many work in high-pressure, stressful environments with noisy surroundings and poor ergonomic conditions. (NIOSH, 1997, 2005, 2007, 2008; Gavhed and Toomingas 2007; Patel and Broughton 2002). Although these other factors can pose additional health risks to workers, the scope of this document is limited to providing recommendations for reducing noise hazards.