Analysis of non-auditory effects of industrial noise on worker productivity – Case study of Erbil Steel Company

Sound is among the significant environmental factors for people's health, it has an important role in both physical and psychological injuries, and it affects individuals' performance and productivity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of exposure to high noise levels on the performance and rate of error in manual activities. The industrial noise in Erbil Steel Company in Erbil city-Iraq is a concern for workers, possibly due to the negative effects of industrial noise, and industrial noise affects the decision-making process in producing companies. Furthermore, the effects on worker productivity are one of the significant external costs. The productivity is subjected to decrease in the workplace due to machines' noise in addition to the costs to prevent or reduce industrial noise caused by machines. The increased number of machines made workers' life painful and worrisome especially in the nearby machines, and hence it is accompanied by health and economic risks on the worker. Non-auditory effects of noise were studied among 120 workers from Erbil Steel Company. Statistical analyses of the responses gathered were analysed and reported. Descriptive statistics was carried out using SPSS version 20 and graphs were plotted using Microsoft Excel 2016. The statistical analysis showed that that there is so much noise at Erbil Steel Company and that company workers are at a higher risk of being disturbed by noise at work. The effect of noise on the productivity of workers at Erbil Steel Company was quite high based on responses from the selected workers.