![]() What are the benefits of having these apps on smartphones? It’s to make employees more aware of the noise in their workplace (or, for that matter, while using power tools at home or when attending a concert).Īnd then there’s cost. ![]() The agency plans on extending this study to examine the effect of external microphones on the overall accuracy of sound measurement apps. NIOSH says external microphones such as the MicW i436 omni-directional measurement microphone comply with the sound meter standard. Newer iPhones allow users to connect external microphones through the headset jack when using these apps. No Windows phone noise apps met NIOSH’s standards either. Therefore, NIOSH could not recommend a particular app for the Android platform. Yep, that’s the catch: Because several manufacturers make Android phones, there was a wide variance among the same app measurements on difference devices. NIOSH says these four apps may be considered adequate for certain occupational noise assessments when used on iPhones. Out of these three, SoundMeter had the best results. OSHA requires noise measurement instruments to have an accuracy of +/- 2 decibels (dB).įor unweighted sound level measurements, NoiSee, SoundMeter and SPLnFFT had mean differences within the +/- 2dB of the reference measurement.įor A-weighted sound level measurements, Noise Hunter, NoiSee and SoundMeter had mean differences within +/- 2 dBA (A-weighted decibels) of the reference measurement. The tests also compared results for i-Phones and Android phones. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) evaluated the apps at its acoustic testing lab. The answer is, “Yes,” but only four apps that were tested measure up. Can smartphone apps, costing anywhere from $1 to $20, provide accurate occupational noise measurements? A new study provides the answer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |