Office going free, we want to move in, some H&S advice?

[boomam]

Hi.
Let me quickly paint a picture for you:
At the moment, all the servers and the core cab, and a LEA broadband cab sits in the same room as what my 'office is'.
Whilst its nice and cool because its air conditioned, it doesnt really meet H&S in other areas. Namely noise.
This is only gonna get made worse if/when the new network upgrade goes ahead.

An office is going free for the next year that i wouldnt mind moving into, but aparentely other members of staff have asked about as well.

Could some of you help me compose a short document that i can give to the head as to why i should get the room?

Unusual request i know.

Thanks.

[Sirbendy]

"Give it to us, or we'll grab you by the cat5 cable"?

We had the office next to the shared tech/teaching office going free 18 months ago..as soon as the head said "Any interest?", we had a hole cut through the wall and a carpenter in to fit a doorframe..heh.

Now got nice corner desks in diagonal opposites for me and NM, loads of storage and lockers for tools and spares, a 12 socket ex-rackmount power strip for my desk, and several new double sockets for him, the main school printer and waxjet next to them, loads of network sockets plus a wifi point and a stable door for enquiries..

Plus one entire wall is a window, with a view out onto the ski slope..it's nice and airy.

[Joanne]

'our current office is a health and safety nightmare'
'we are slowly going deaf'
'give me an example of a needier cause'

[coquet636]

We wanted a refurb for our office but there was NO MONEY... hadnt heard that before.

Went to doctors complaining of a sore elbow (gained from sports injury) he asked about work conditions and said they were in adequete.....

so...

got him to write a letter about the poor working conditions causing problems, presented to management.

Money found.

new office furniture

happy days.......

so a visit might just help your claim.....

[Oops_my_bad]

Talk to the union.






Sorry couldn't resist

[localzuk]

If you can take a reading of the volume level in the room that would help. You could bring up that fact that constant buzzing noises can lead to tinnitus (this is how my dad got it).

Other than that, go BOFH on them all.

[Sylv3r]

Can you not use the excuse that the air condition is not effective with people in the room constantly / door opening and closing all the time?

Fire risk?

Server room should be locked at all times.

[powdarrmonkey]

"I have your internet logs for last $n years" ? That always gets good responses.

Or, promise the head that they can laugh at the other bidder's logs in exchange for use of the office.

[boomam]

If you can take a reading of the volume level in the room that would help. You could bring up that fact that constant buzzing noises can lead to tinnitus (this is how my dad got it).

Already took readings. Average noise level is 63dBa!!!
Ive given him a typed up document, outlining why we want it, why this current room doesnt meet H&S, and outlining other possible locations and their advantages and disadvantages.

[speckled]

Pull his patch lead, when he calls you.....WHAT.....WHAT..SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU ITS TOO NOISEY IN HERE!

[Friez]

You could bring up that fact that constant buzzing noises can lead to tinnitus (this is how my dad got it).

More serious than you might think. I'm pretty certain that I'm going to go deaf this way at some point because I'm pretty much exposed to (loud) sound all the time (typically buzzes, walking underneath school bells while in the corridor does fun things to my ears too, plus I produce music in my spare time which will be the biggest factor to my deafening!). Other people who I know who live similar lifestyles have gone this way.

So I would certainly raise the issue of going deaf =P

[Andrew_C]

Already took readings. Average noise level is 63dBa!!!

That really isn't loud in an H&S context. Have a look at their site here. The ready-reckoner doesn't go below 75dB.

[richard.thomas]

75db may be fine for short periods of time but it's certainly not a level I could have for a full day! I'm sure there must be something in the health regs that looks at how long a 'user' is exposed to the level of sound

[boomam]

That really isn't loud in an H&S context. Have a look at their site here. The ready-reckoner doesn't go below 75dB.

ssshhhh! lol.
We wont tell them that. .

The thing to remember is that although its 63dBa now. Its only gonna get worse, as we have a big network upgrade due this year, which means a 2-3x increase in the hardware thats in this room.

[Andrew_C]

75db may be fine for short periods of time but it's certainly not a level I could have for a full day! I'm sure there must be something in the health regs that looks at how long a 'user' is exposed to the level of sound

Did you look at the H&S page? Thought not...

Using their daily exposure calculator, a 64dB level for 8 hours give a score of 1 point over the day, 75dB gives a score of 10. The lower action level is at 32 points.

I'm not saying that I'd be happy working in a room full of kit, and it is easier to concentrate in quieter surroundings, but don't try to use the H&S regs to get a change if you don't have a leg to stand on, you'll only damage your case.