Hearing health: Welding Alloys takes care of its employees with Protac hearing protection

Noise at work can cause deafness, as well as other illnesses such as stress and fatigue. At Welding Alloys, employees are exposed to daily noise levels of up to 100 decibels. Welding Alloys is the world leader in customized wear protection solutions, specially designed for various components subject to wear.

To document the history of this collaboration and visually capture Welding Alloys’ needs, Prodways Group traveled to Colmar, the company’s headquarters, to orchestrate this report.

More than just a report, it’s a real awareness-raising campaign, designed to educate and even re-educate employees and employers faced with the problem of noise in their working environment. Welding Alloys aptly illustrates Protac‘s motto: “Tailor-made, reliable hearing protection, designed to meet your needs and preferences, to safeguard your employees’ hearing health”.

Welding Alloys employees took part in the interview, proudly expressing their opinion on hearing protection and its importance in their daily lives.

In this interview, Caroline Remy, Health and Safety Officer, Jérôme Escher, Welding Demonstrator, and José Besugo, After-Sales Service Manager, express their views.

Is hearing protection a priority for your company?

Caroline Rémy: Hearing protection is of paramount importance at Welding Alloys. We take great care to ensure the health and safety of our staff, especially when it comes to hearing. There’s a lot of noise, from grinding to welding, which is why it’s important to wear hearing protection.

What does your job involve?

Jérôme Escher: My job is to carry out welding tests in the R&D department. I work 7.5 hours a day. I use Protac hearing protection for my work because I’m exposed almost all my working time, so we’ll say on my 7h30, about 6h45 or 7h a day.

Is hearing protection important to you?

Jérôme Escher: On the one hand, they’re compulsory, and on the other, they’re very important if you don’t want to suffer hearing loss and they’re very comfortable to wear. They’re an integral part of my personal protective equipment. For me, when I leave the changing room, it’s like putting on my shoes, my overalls, my safety glasses, I have to have my hearing protection and if I don’t have it, I don’t feel good, I feel almost naked.

What do you like about Prodways hearing protection?

Jérôme Escher: What I like about Prodways hearing protection is that it’s really tailored to my ears. It’s a mold made in my ears, so it’s unique. I was able to choose the shape and material of the protection so that it was really adapted to my needs, depending on how long I worked and the noise in my environment.

What do you think of the Prodways team?

Caroline Rémy: We are particularly satisfied with the Prodways team. They are skilled, qualified, very attentive, and always available quickly. They consistently provide us with excellent advice. We can contact them at any time, and they respond promptly within the day

Personalized support

Yohann Caffin – Technical Sales Manager at Protac: We work with our customers on a daily basis to advise them which hearing protection is best suited to their noise levels and professional activity.

• First of all, we’re going to come and take ear impression from users, which is a really privileged part of being in contact with our customers.
• Then explain the choice of material and shape.
• We also explain how to insert and maintain the protectors.
• Finally, it’s important to make them raise awareness of the impact of noise on their daily lives, both at work and at home.

Do you think about the risk you would be exposed to if you had no hearing protection?

Jérôme Escher: I have a family, a wife and two children, and I’m aware of the risk if I don’t wear my hearing protection. The effects are irreversible, so it helps me to wear this protection so that I arrive home less tired and can pay more attention to my family.

José Besugo : I’ve worked in production for many years, and I’ve always felt that plugs are the ideal tool for protecting your ears and being much less tired at the end of the day.

Could you live in silence?

Jérôme Escher : I’d have a really hard time living in silence. I love music and hearing the birds, and I think it would be really complicated to live in silence.

Caroline Rémy : Everything in life is beautiful, we have to enjoy the joys of everyday life and therefore we have to take care of ourselves and our hearing. I think it’s hard to live in a world where we can’t hear what’s going on around us.

Yohann Caffin – Technical Sales Manager at Protac: I have a small child at home, and to imagine not being able to hear him, not being able to converse with him, I can’t imagine what that would do. I’m a musician too, so not being able to hear the music, not being able to chat, talk with the people I love, for me it’s totally inconceivable.

José Besugo : I don’t think it’s possible to live without hearing anything.

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Prodways was able to meet Welding Alloys‘ requirements thanks to its ability to listen and provide tailor-made support. A collaboration that testifies to the importance of noise protection for a fulfilling professional and personal life.