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Focus Four for Health: An Initiative to Address Four Major Construction Health Hazards

Wednesday, May 18
8:00 - 9:15 a.m.

Despite having hearing conservation programs in place, the rate of hearing loss and high noise exposures for construction workers continues to persist. While hearing protection devices are often a commonly deployed control, advanced technologies can help when job tasks may require unique solutions to allow for greater ability to hear surrounding sounds and communicate more with other workers. This session will cover three best practices in hearing conservation for construction work including audio demonstrations of various technologies in hearing protection and communication devices.

 

Dr. Laurie Wells - 3M Safety

 Laurie Wells, Au.D., is a board certified audiologist and Lead Regulatory Affairs Specialist with 3M Personal Safety Division, where she works with hearing protection and hearing conservation program regulatory issues globally.  Her responsibilities include supporting evidenced-based standards development and providing subject matter expertise related to hearing loss prevention.  Before coming to 3M, Dr. Wells worked for a consulting firm, Associates In Acoustics, Inc. as Manager of Audiology. The experience of directly interacting with workers at their jobsites as well as consulting with corporate level health and safety professionals has allowed her to integrate real-world issues with policy making in an effort to better shape effective preventive practices. Dr. Wells served twelve years on the Council for Accredita­tion in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC), representing the American Academy of Audiology.  She held the offices of Vice Chair of Education, Chair, and Past Chair.  She continues to be an active CAOHC Course Director and teaches internationally. She also served several years on the board of the National Hearing Conservation Association, including holding the offices of Secretary, Program Chair, President, and Past President. Currently, she is co-coordinator of the NORA Cross Sector for Hearing Loss Prevention and is on the expert committee for the Safe-in-Sound award.