Eave CEO/Founder, Dr David Greenberg has been named as the winner of the SHP Award for Trailblazer in Technology Award.
New for 2020, SHP Trailblazer Awards celebrate those who are going above and beyond to make a positive difference, the real pioneers of health and safety.
Dr David Greenberg, CEO/Founder at Eave was selected as the winner of SHP’s Trailblazer in Technology from a list of four finalists, by the SHP Awards judging panel.
Trailblazer in technology recognises individuals who have effectively used technology to improve the health, safety or wellbeing of their colleagues, customers or the general public.
SHP Trailblazer Awards is brought to you as part of the wider SHP Awards, in collaboration with the HSE and IATP.
Eave is an Internet of Things start-up, which has designed the world’s first smart ear defenders with integrated noise monitoring. It’s creator, Dr Greenberg, is a former NHS clinical and research audiologist. David is a Trustee of the British Society of Audiology, DeafKidz International, and the UK Hearing Conservation Association. He taught Hearing Science at the UCL Medical School and School of Audiology, and received a PhD in Auditory Neuroscience for his published work on the neural mechanisms underlying hearing, deafness, and communication.
Since 2015, Eave has been in a constant cycle of development and production, moving from a minimum viable product, an IoT hearing conservation system using ear defenders and noise monitoring software that prevents Noise Induced Hearing Loss, to a revised and upgraded product enhanced through end-user testing and feedback.
This year the company has focussed on the construction industry, where the need to protect workers from noise is paramount. It’s second generation product, the Eave FocusLite has proved successful on construction sites, and is now being rolled out across the industry.
Eave’s first product line is a complete hearing protection system designed to eradicate noise-induced hearing loss in the construction sector. Eave’s system comprises smart ear defenders, which promote situational awareness and capture real-time data on environmental noise levels and workers’ exposure to harmful noise, and an online platform for analysing the data and turning it into insights that health and safety professionals use to improve health and safety on their sites.
Judges commented on how the entry was “passionate, proactive, preventative” and “exactly the way we should be using technology. Hearing loss is a major burden, not only in the UK, but internationally as well.”
Dr David Greenberg said: “There are approximately 2.4 million construction workers in the UK – and most of them are being issued with traditional hearing protection devices which put their health and safety at risk; these devices do not promote situational awareness or provide the data health and safety professionals need to assess exposure to harmful noise and remove hazards at source.
“We’ve developed a hearing protection system which fixes these critical problems – but we’ve got a long way to go to achieve our mission of getting active hearing protection with built-in noise monitoring adopted as standard across the construction sector.
“I’m delighted to have received this award from SHP, because it will help us get the word out even further and shout even louder about the changes we know are vital if we are going to save as many people as possible from the isolation and loneliness that comes with hearing loss. The finalists for the SHP Trailblazer in Technology category were all extremely strong and I look forward to following the progress they all make in their respective fields in the future.”
