Following BAM’s initial introduction to Eave smart ear-defenders at our Nine Elms Remediation site in 2017, we’ve been busy trialling the latest evolution of the hearing protection at our East Croydon demolition project in recent months.

Since fostering an early relationship with Eave five years ago while taking part in one the first ever trials for the ear protection, BAM has worked alongside them providing feedback to help shape the product so that it can be improved for the construction setting.

In 2020, Eave which is a Small Medium Enterprise, received funding from Innovate UK to help improve the level of protection available, which is game changing to an industry in which hearing loss is one of the most prevalent health and safety concerns.

As a safety device, the Eave headset sets itself apart by protecting the wearer’s hearing from harmful noise while filtering speech and maintaining situational awareness through a microphone system. In addition, the ear defenders also record noise data and can be linked to an on-site Bluetooth network which can be accessed online. This means the system can be used to map areas of noise and take measures to minimise exposure and check individual levels to ensure no one worker exceeds exposure limits.

BAM Innovation Manager Arjun Thirunavukarasu said: “The opportunity for us to partner with start-ups and SME’s means we can work with them long-term so they can understand our industry and develop a product more intuitively for us.

“Eave has done a lot of work on improving and refining the hardware so it’s far more useful on a daily basis. That means improving the way it fits, improving the weight and feel of the product. This is beneficial to our market and industry and improves the safety and wellbeing of our people”.

The feedback from this latest trial at East Croydon has been overwhelmingly positive. The site team has commented that they appreciate the ability to communicate and hear what’s happening around them - while remaining protected from the adverse effects of excess noise.