“Situational awareness” describes an alertness to what’s happening around you and your environment so you’re able to respond if there’s a threat to yourself or others. More simply, keeping your head in the game keeps you safe.

Picture a flagger directing traffic in a busy work zone. Or a hydrovac driver’s attempt to back up within a few feet of their operator. All of these jobs require focus and concentration to maintain safety.

Why situational awareness is important

Avoiding a scenario that can lead to a struck-by or back-over incident may be as simple as hearing a vehicle’s backup signal before it’s too close, or a co-worker hollering out for you to look up. Those are clear examples of the value of situational awareness — especially when you’re focused on your own task. You’re able to take action and maintain a safe distance. Add the challenges of extreme noise and bad sight lines and you have situations where knowing what’s going on around you is absolutely essential to maintain a safe and productive job site.

Isolation is the enemy

We know occupational noise exposure is a problem and you must protect your hearing. However, traditional earplugs and earmuffs block out all noise. They don’t distinguish between sounds that threaten your hearing, your coworker’s raised voice, or an alarm beeping on a console. Everything is muted.

As a result, workers experience a sense of isolation when wearing earplugs or earmuffs. It makes them uneasy. So much so that they may refuse to wear hearing protection in order to stay in touch with their environment.

Key features to look for

In-stereo listening — Two microphones, one on each ear dome, allows you to hear where sounds are coming from. Yes, hearing a backup alarm is great, but knowing if it’s coming from your right, left or from behind gives you better information allowing an intuitive response.

Awareness on demand — Being able to decide when to open up the external microphones or keep them off lets you bring in outside sounds when you’re ready. Toggling the feature on or off with a quick, one-handed button press lets you keep working without having to stop, take the gear off and fumble around while you figure it out.

Fully adjustable volume — Since no two workers or work environments are the same, changeable volume levels lets you mix in the right amount of outside sounds that suit your situation.

You shouldn’t have to compromise your safety or your long-term hearing ability just to have a conversation with your team. Situational awareness lets you take control of who and what you need to hear to improve your ability to stay alert and responsive. 

Sonetics Corp. creates wireless communication solutions that enable natural conversation in challenging environments. Building on a platform of collaboration and rugged performance, the company’s team communication systems deliver a productive, safe and enjoyable work experience. With more than three decades of experience, Sonetics Corp. and its Sonetics, Flightcom and Firecom product brands deliver innovative solutions to customers, transforming the way they work.

800-833-4558 | sales@soneticscorp.com | www.soneticscorp.com