Noise Monitoring Software: EU and OSHA Records, ISO 9612
A shift averages about 86 dB(A). As an EU daily exposure level that is above the upper exposure action value; as an OSHA 8-hour time-weighted average it would be above the action level and below the permissible exposure. The two figures are computed under different rules, so the software you buy has to hold both answers and the reasoning behind them, without mixing up which figures may include hearing protectors. Start there, then choose between measurement, monitoring and modelling tools.
Jump to the 3 products
Editorial responsibility: Dimitris Mitsios (Founder of The QHSE Standard; product marketing at Tekmon) · Tekmon pays for sponsored placements on this site (disclosure) · How pages are made · LinkedIn
Regulatory text read on 25 September 2026 in the official sources listed at the end. Product scope comes from the linked profiles, each with its own research date. This is a documentation review with proposed demo exercises, not hands-on testing, and not an acoustics or legal assessment. Evaluation methodology.
TekmonAd
Explore its published safety, quality and maintenance workflows. Confirm modules and pricing in a scoped proposal.
Two rulebooks, different numbers: Directive 2003/10/EC and OSHA 1910.95
| Question | EU minimum: Directive 2003/10/EC | United States: 29 CFR 1910.95 (general industry) |
|---|---|---|
| First trigger | Lower exposure action values: LEX,8h 80 dB(A), peak 112 Pa (135 dB(C)) (Art. 3(1)(c)). Hearing protectors must be made available (Art. 6(1)(a)); information and training start (Art. 8). | Action level: 8-hour TWA of 85 dBA or a 50% dose (1910.95(c)(2)). A continuing hearing conservation program, monitoring, audiometric testing and annual training apply ((c)(1), (d)(1), (g)(1), (k)(1)-(2)). |
| Second trigger | Upper exposure action values: LEX,8h 85 dB(A), peak 140 Pa (137 dB(C)) (Art. 3(1)(b)). Protectors must be used (Art. 6(1)(b)); a programme of technical or organisational measures (Art. 5(2)); signs, delimitation and restricted access where feasible (Art. 5(3)). | Permissible exposure: 90 dBA for 8 hours, falling to 115 dBA for a quarter hour or less (Table G-16). Above it, feasible administrative or engineering controls come first, then protective equipment ((b)(1)). |
| Ceiling | Exposure limit values: LEX,8h 87 dB(A), peak 200 Pa (140 dB(C)) (Art. 3(1)(a)). Never to be exceeded; if it happens, act at once, find the reason and amend the measures (Art. 7). | The footnote to Table G-16 adds that impulsive or impact noise should not exceed 140 dB peak sound pressure level, and that mixed exposures are summed as fractions C/T: a sum above 1 counts as exceeding the limit. |
| Do hearing protectors count? | Only for the limit values. The action values ignore protector attenuation (Art. 3(2)). | Not for the hearing conservation program: exposure is computed without regard to protector attenuation ((c)(1)). |
| When to measure again | Keep the risk assessment up to date, in particular after significant changes or when health surveillance shows it is needed (Art. 4(7)). | Repeat monitoring when a change in production, process, equipment or controls adds exposed employees at the action level or makes protectors inadequate ((d)(3)). |
| What the measurement must capture | Methods and apparatus suited to the noise, the exposure duration and ambient conditions; sampling must represent personal exposure (Art. 4(2)-(3)); account for measurement uncertainty (Art. 4(5)). | All continuous, intermittent and impulsive sound from 80 to 130 dB integrated ((d)(2)(i)); calibrated instruments ((d)(2)(ii)); personal sampling where mobility, variation or impulse noise make area sampling inappropriate ((d)(1)(ii)). |
| How long records live | Assessment and measurement data kept in a form that allows later consultation (Art. 4(4)); individual health records under national law (Art. 10(3)). | Exposure measurement records at least two years; audiometric test records for the duration of employment ((m)(3)(i)-(ii)). |
Why a single 'over the limit' flag is not enough
The same survey can sit in three EU bands and two US bands at once, and each band drives a different task: make protectors available, enforce their use, start a control programme, sign an area, enrol people in audiometry. A platform that stores one pass/fail result per worker loses the distinction. Ask for the band to be stored with the rule that produced it, the date of the rule set and whether protector attenuation was applied.
The Directive is a minimum. Member States may keep or introduce stricter measures (recital 2), may use a weekly instead of a daily exposure level for work that varies markedly from day to day, provided adequate monitoring shows the weekly level does not exceed 87 dB(A) (Art. 3(3)), and set health-record rules in national law (Art. 10(1) and (3)). Configure the national transposition you operate under, not the Directive text alone, and keep 1910.95 for US general-industry sites; construction and other OSHA parts were not reviewed here.
ISO 9612:2025: the method behind the number
ISO 9612 is the measurement method many noise reports cite. The third edition, ISO 9612:2025 (published May 2025, 53 pages), replaced ISO 9612:2009, which ISO now lists as withdrawn. According to ISO's abstract, it specifies three measurement strategies, deals with A-weighted levels but also applies to C-weighted levels, requires observation and analysis of the working conditions so that measurement quality can be controlled, and gives methods for estimating the uncertainty of the result.
Two limits of the standard matter for software. It does not cover measurement at the ear while hearing protectors are worn, so any protected-exposure figure the system shows is a separate calculation with its own inputs. And its uncertainty estimate belongs next to the result: the Directive also requires measurement inaccuracies to be taken into account (Art. 4(5)). A report that prints 84.6 dB(A) with no strategy, no sampling plan and no uncertainty cannot show on which side of 85 the worker actually is.
Ask every vendor which edition its exposure calculation follows. Cirrus Research, for example, lists an ISO 9612 module in NoiseTools on its profile; the profile does not record whether it implements the 2009 or the 2025 edition, so that is a question for the demo, not an assumption. We could not open the 2025 text itself (sold by ISO), so this guide does not name the three strategies or cite its clauses.
What one exposure record has to hold
| Field | Why it is needed | Source of the requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Worker or similar exposure group, task and duration | Sampling must represent personal exposure; OSHA requires personal sampling where area sampling would mislead | Directive Art. 4(3); 1910.95(d)(1)(ii) |
| Instrument, serial number and calibration check | Calibrated instruments; apparatus suited to the noise being measured | 1910.95(d)(2)(ii); Directive Art. 4(2) |
| Measurement strategy, edition and uncertainty | The method and its uncertainty decide which band a borderline result falls in | ISO 9612:2025 abstract; Directive Art. 4(5) |
| LEX,8h or TWA, dose and C-weighted peak | Each rule set uses its own metric and exchange of time and level | Directive Art. 2-3; 1910.95 Table G-16 and (c)(1) |
| Protector model and assumed attenuation, stored separately | Allowed for EU limit values only, never for action values or the OSHA program trigger | Directive Art. 3(2); 1910.95(c)(1) |
| Link to the audiogram and its baseline | The audiometric record must include the employee's most recent noise exposure assessment; a standard threshold shift is an average change of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hz | 1910.95(m)(2)(ii)(E), (g)(5)(i), (g)(10)(i) |
| Notification and observation evidence | Employees at or above 85 dBA TWA are told their results; employees or representatives may observe the measurement | 1910.95(e), (f) |
| Retention class | Two years for exposure records and employment duration for audiograms are US minimums; EU data must stay consultable | 1910.95(m)(3); Directive Art. 4(4) |
Noise products and the job each one does
At the last check, none of the listed profiles described an occupational hearing-conservation case system: no audiogram workflow, no standard-threshold-shift review, no training roster. Measurement, remote monitoring and modelling are different jobs, and a predicted level is not a measured one. Plan where the exposure record lives before you pick the acoustic tool; pricing terms and trial status are on each profile.
Ordered by how closely our sources document this process, not by quality. Sponsored placements are labelled. How lists are ordered
Same rule for every product: tagged “Noise Monitoring”, “Environmental Monitoring”, “Occupational Health” or “Industrial Hygiene”, with a sourced noise measurement, monitoring or modelling capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. 3 qualify.
Cirrus Research (NoiseTools and MyCirrus)
Personal and remote measurement. NoiseTools is Windows software for Cirrus meters, dosimeters and recorders, supplied without a licence charge and with an ISO 9612 module; MyCirrus and Quantum add live and remote monitoring on a subscription priced on enquiry. It is limited to Cirrus instruments. Source: cirrusresearch.com
SoundPLAN
Prediction, not measurement. SoundPLANnoise models road, rail, industrial, indoor and aircraft noise, including modelled workplace exposure levels, and designs barriers. A predicted level does not satisfy a duty to assess and, if necessary, measure (Directive Art. 4(1)); use it to test control options before a survey confirms them. Cloud licences must reach the internet at least every 30 minutes. Source: soundplan.eu
Acoem (Cadence and Airodis)
Environmental monitoring networks. Cadence is a cloud dashboard for Acoem monitors; Airodis collects logger data into SQL Server with a validation audit log. Aimed at exceedance reporting for regulators and neighbours; the profile describes no personal dosimetry. Whether a monitor's outage gap is backfilled was not established, so a regulator-facing exceedance report needs that tested. No price is published. Source: acoem.com
Demo script: one borderline survey, both rulebooks
Load a survey that sits on the boundary
Import a full-shift dosimeter file from your own instrument at roughly 84-86 dB(A) with a few impulsive peaks. Check that levels from 80 to 130 dB are integrated and that the instrument's calibration check travels with the file.
Ask for both classifications
Configure EU bands (80/85/87 dB(A), 135/137/140 dB(C)) and the OSHA action level and Table G-16. The system should show each result with its rule set, not one merged status, and state the measurement strategy and uncertainty used.
Add a hearing protector
Enter a protector and its attenuation. Only the EU limit-value check may change. If the upper action value or the OSHA program trigger disappears, the calculation is wrong.
Change the process
Record a new machine on the line. The system should prompt remeasurement and a risk assessment review, and show who is now newly at or above the action level.
Close the loop with health data
Attach a follow-up audiogram with a 10 dB average shift at 2, 3 and 4 kHz. Show the link back to the latest exposure assessment and the task to review controls, with restricted access to the medical record.
Export and retain
Export the exposure record, audiogram link, notification and training evidence. Set retention to at least two years for measurements and employment duration for audiograms, or your national rule if it is longer.
Price the configuration, not the licence
In this category the software is often the smallest line. Itemise instruments and their licensed functions, calibration, remote-monitor communications and hosting, analysis modules, workstation installs, support and renewal, and state which of them you already own. At the last check, no profile in this guide's list recorded a published software price; Cirrus states that NoiseTools itself has no licence charge, which moves the cost into instruments and the Quantum subscription.
Local recording does not prove live alerts. For every connected monitor, ask what is buffered during an outage, how a gap is flagged in the report, and who is told. These are proposed acceptance tests, not tests performed by QHSEtech.
Sources
4 sources, checked 25 Sep 2026
Regulations and standards, read on 25 September 2026:
- Directive 2003/10/EC (noise at work), EUR-Lex consolidated text
- 29 CFR 1910.95 Occupational noise exposure, OSHA
- ISO 9612:2025 Determination of occupational noise exposure, iso.org
- ISO 9612:2009 (withdrawn), iso.org
Vendor sources are listed on each product profile linked in the list above, with its check date. Inclusion follows the published rule and does not certify suitability; sponsored placements are separate from this guide.
Software categories to explore
Use this Process to define the work, then explore these software types. Confirm the exact workflow and module with each vendor.
See all software categoriesContinue the evaluation
More related guides
- Industrial Hygiene Program Playbook (2026)
Article on an industrial hygiene program.
- COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) — definition, software & FAQs
Definition of COSHH.
- Noise & Hand-Arm Vibration Compliance (2026)
Article on noise and hand-arm vibration.
- Noise Exposure Calculator — LEX,8h (EU/GB) vs OSHA Dose and TWA
Calculator for daily noise exposure: EU/GB LEX,8h and OSHA dose and TWA.
- Hand-Arm Vibration Exposure Calculator: A(8) and Points
Calculator for hand-arm vibration A(8) and exposure points.