Dear Members,
Austal is an Australian shipbuilder and global defence prime contractor which designs, constructs and sustains some of the world’s most advanced commercial and defence vessels. We have ship building operations and service capabilities at Henderson and at Naval Base in WA.
We are interested in hearing from other businesses within Best Practice Network, that have introduced individually custom fitted ear plugs for their employees as hearing protection.
At Austal currently we have single use (disposable) foam ear plugs as hearing protection for our employees.
Issues with single use foam earplugs:
- Ear plugs and plastic packaging being littered all across the ground
- Ear plugs and plastic packaging entering waterways
- Sending a substantial quantity of earplugs related waste (plastic/foam) to the landfill
We believe there is an opportunity to reduce environmental impact caused by earplug waste by introducing individually fitted earplugs for employees. Also we believe higher quality and more effective hearing protection can be achieved form individually fitted ear plugs.
We would like to know:
- The implementation process of introducing individually custom fitted ear plugs
- The value achieved from custom fitted ear plugs, examples – reduction of environmental impact, waste reduction, cost saving, accountability etc.
- Any lessons learnt
If you can assist, please send your insights and feedback to: [email protected]
Thank you in advance.
Sanat Kundu
Continuous Improvement Coordinator
Austal Australia