I worked as a cycle counter, sat down and weigh counted screws, washers, ect in a big factory. When I started, everybody (even drivers one side only) could use headphones or earbuds. We even had music on the intercom sometimes. Did that for 10+ years with no incidents or near misses.
Then the company got bought out. New management banned them "for safety" because the insurance had strict rules with all the fork truck traffic. Even though nothing bad ever happened. The ban was for everybody, even office workers who weren't anywhere near the warehouse. People pushed back, so lots got sneaky. Management started checking ears or asking to remove hats.
Work gave us optional big hearing protection muffs, so I hid cheap wireless buds inside mine. Kept the tiny circuit boards and from the buds but swapped the battery and small speakers for bigger ones from a pair of old headphones. Hot-glued it all together and it tucks completely under foam so it looked normal. Passed checks easy.
I started with a Bluetooth headset basically cut in half, I took the side with the battery and removed the other side os it was just a small speaker with a battery a bt board on it. The volume was too high to hear good. I decided to mod the buds, I added the second for stereo so I could turn it down a lot (always listened to podcasts at low volume, could hear people talk to me fine, even questions).
Battery lasted about 60 hours total. Turned them on by dropping buds in the case quick. Off by disconnecting Bluetooth. These cheap ones line to pair everytime they turn on. One time the left bud died completely. Took all weekend charging to get back to full since the charger wasn't never meant to charge such a big battery.
Early version had a wire between sides, it was essentially a bt headset I cut apart and hid inside but left the wire connecting the speaker. I tired to hide it with tape but it definitely looked obvious.
One close call: friend grabbed mine accidentally after break when the when audio was paused. Phone was set to read texts out loud. Lucky no messages came in.
My area was separate from the warehouse (had to get buzzed through a door, no accidental walking into truck paths). Trucks stayed in special aisles, and new management added lasers and floor lights for warnings. I was far from any traffic anyway.
I quit over a year ago. Had fun making them. Thought about giving them to a guy in the paint booth. He had really bad depression after his father passed away and he said he really needed music as a distraction since he claimed he got distracted by his thoughts but I didn't want to get him in trouble if caught.
At my job now I work in an office and they don't allow ear buds or headphones because the dock has 1 single fork truck that's only used to unload trailers. 99% of us who never go back there can't have them either. It would be unfair to the fork truck guy if we got to and he didn't. Probably insurance related too. But with my bosses now, they are so laid back it's easy to sneak a bud in my left ear.
Your 3M ear protection as a Bluetooth version as well:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-WorkTunes-Connect-Wireless-Hearing-Protection-with-Bluetooth-1-Set/15482104569
These are nice but I used the ones my work handed out to draw less attention. Ones with a wire like that would be seen and not allowed.
Very cool DIY stealth phones.
Another option is safety glasses with bone induction speakers. They actually sound ok and don't pose a safety hazard . Bluetooth Safety Glasses
Great idea, but most plants, oil rigs, refineries especially and most other industrial work environments will find any reason to ban these as soon as they are discovered. If something brings convenience or happiness to us, it will get taken away.
While legitimate safety rules and concerns are addressed and need to be respected, "safety" is also used as a means of reminding everyone who has authority and not in a good way.
Had to work off the first rung on a 6' ladder... in a fucking harness once. Because bossman wanted to prove... something.
These are junk FYI, do not recommend. Mine had one side go out and looking online it’s a very common issue. I tried to redneck fix it but there was no obvious fix. They also sound like crap
I used to have a pair and mine worked fairly well. Of course these are not for hifi listening, in particular because they are meant to be used in a very noisy environment. The only issue with mine was the battery time, but there is enough space inside to replace the original with a bigger one or add more in parallel
Growing up my dad had a pair of protective earmuffs that had a full blown radio and antenna built in. Oh my god I miss those little guys, I’d listen to sports talk while I mowed the lawn, but only from one side of the yard since the electric lines would interfere too much lol. University health and safety rarely enforce anything for me nowadays, but my little earbuds tucked away in my earmuffs just don’t have the same charm maybe
How do you charge it ?
I didn't include a picture of the charger, it's lost in storage. But it's a regular little case. I had to remove the lid and use a magnet to trick the case.
But HOW do you charge it?
I left the bottom of the buds attached. They still sit into the charging case. Both fit standing up. There are magnets inside the case and buds so that holds them in place. You can see in the pics where the pins in the case go into the buds. The charging and bt circuitry is still in the buds.
I like that a lot! That's a little less redneck and a lot more MacGyver.
Thats so cool
L that sux dude, like why are they making everyone miserable over safety when nothing even happened
Because safety should be preventive, not reactive.
Also idiots. Idiots everywhere.
Nothing even happened do some googling on the reasons these rules are in place. Rules like this are written in blood because something happened.
why do they always treat adults like kids, music helps so much with focus dude
Because music can be the difference between hearing the evacuation alarm and dying in a chemical fire. I’ve worked places that banned these because operators were jamming out and got hit by a truck backing up when they walked in to its blind spot. Driver couldn’t see them and they couldn’t hear the backup beeps.
Now someone could say “well I wouldn’t be stupid. I’d only wear them where it’s safe”, but if all it takes is slipping up once, then it’s too risky.
Warehouse work where they usually have these rules is because an alarm can easily blend into your music and you ignore it. I think one side is fine but both is asking for an accident.
I only use one and never for music only audio books and podcasts. I actually hear folks hollering for help better out of the ear bud ear than the ear plug ear. It’s not hard to not be stupid
Dozens of people died for this to become a law
I’ve been using plugfones for years now. https://www.plugfones.com/product/basic/?
Added this tiny bluetooth adapter. https://a.co/d/9zq7ok3
They look and act exactly like the standard EP’s they give us at the plant. No hearing loss and get my tunes. Listening on literally volume 1 is enough to hear music and background noise without putting myself at risk. Use them a little louder at home when mowing the lawn though.
Are these tozo t10s from Amazon? I've had a pair for like 6 years and they look the same
They could be? I bought super cheap ones. They had to be less than 15 bucks.
The tozo t10s actually have great sound for cheap buds, but they fall out my ear fairly easily, which is annoying
I switched from the t10s to the nc9's.
Little more expensive, much more secure in my ears. Good sound, active noise canceling is... okay. Transparent mode is good enough to hold a conversation without removing them. Awesome battery life. Easily 10 hours on a charge.