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Industry Code of Practice (ICOP) for Management of Occupational Noise Exposure and Hearing Conservation 2019 has been released by DOSH Malaysia in accordance to Section 37 of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994. It acts as a guideline to conform with the requirements of Occupational Safety and Health (Noise Exposure) Regulations 2019 which have been gazetted on March 2019.

According to ICOP, the most occupational diseases reported in Malaysia are Occupational Noise Related Hearing Disorders (ONRHD). This may generally indicate that the cases are kept increasing, despite the increase of awareness among employees and employers may have contributed to that circumstances.

Furthermore, the effects of ONRHD are cumulative, permanent and irreversible, not to mention,  the indirect implication on financial aspect will be endured mostly by the employees, their families, the employers and the government.

Those aspecs above may explain the initiative made by Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) to amend the noise exposure limit and enacted a more practical standard to control the exposure of excessive noise to the respective employees at their workplaces.   

Hence, the ICOP is generated to provide a specific and practical guideline on how to execute and implement the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health (Noise Exposure) Regulations 2019.

Fast forward to June 2020 now, DOSH has given  one year period for employers to comply with some flexibility on certain aspecs from June 2019. Therefore, from July 2020, it is recommended that employers are fully comply with ICOP and continously providing safe workplaces for employees in Malaysia.