Recordkeeping Isn’t Paperwork. It’s the Backbone of Hearing Conservation

Most safety leaders don’t wake up thinking about paperwork. They’re focused on keeping people safe, keeping inspectors off their back, and keeping operations running. But when it comes to hearing conservation, recordkeeping is the thread that holds the entire program together.

“In my 10 years at PwC working in audit and compliance for M&A deals, I saw time and again that companies don’t fail because they don’t care. They fail because they can’t prove what they’ve done. The same lesson applies here.” – Matt Reinhold, COO, Soundtrace

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a company and found the same story:

• A folder of PDFs zipped up on someone’s desktop.
• Binders packed with audiograms nobody has touched in years.
• A spreadsheet with employee names and test dates that may or may not be current.

On paper, that looks like “recordkeeping.” In practice, it’s a compliance gap waiting to show up in an audit.

Where Companies Get Burned

Here’s the reality: OSHA doesn’t cite companies because they don’t care about safety. They cite them because they can’t prove they did what was required.

• An employee missed an annual audiogram. Nobody noticed.
• An STS was documented, but the follow-up never happened.
• Calibration logs for the audiometer? Missing or incomplete.

“When I was at PwC, one missing document could derail a multi-million-dollar transaction. In hearing conservation, one missing record can derail a worker’s health. The stakes are just as high, if not higher.” – Matt Reinhold

When an inspector asks for records and all you have is a scattered paper trail, you’re exposed. That’s when fines land, credibility takes a hit, and more importantly, a worker’s hearing has already been put at risk.

Why Digital Changes the Equation

“Recordkeeping” makes it sound like a passive chore. File it away, hope it’s there when you need it. That’s not good enough anymore.

What’s needed is a system that actively manages compliance:

• Every audiogram tied to the right employee, location, and date.
• Automatic reminders when someone is overdue, when an STS requires action, or when calibration records are out of date.
• Instant reporting instead of scrambling to pull together files the night before an inspection.

“Audit and compliance work taught me that data isn’t valuable unless it’s accessible and actionable. A binder of audiograms is dead weight. A digital system that surfaces gaps in real time is a business asset.” – Matt Reinhold

Digital systems change recordkeeping from a weak spot into a strength. They make sure nothing gets missed, because missed records mean missed protections.

Recordkeeping Is Protection

This isn’t just about checking OSHA boxes. It’s about making sure employees actually get the interventions that protect their hearing.

• A missing record can mean a missed diagnosis.
• A skipped follow-up can mean permanent hearing damage.
• A missing calibration can mean unreliable results across an entire workforce.

“The same discipline that drives financial audits should drive safety programs. When records are airtight, people are protected. When they’re not, risk compounds quietly until it explodes.” – Matt Reinhold

If we take hearing conservation seriously, then we have to take recordkeeping seriously. Not as an afterthought, but as the backbone of the program.

Final Thought

Most companies already have the intent to protect their people. What they’re missing is the structure to back it up. Solid, centralized, digital recordkeeping provides that structure and turns compliance from a liability into an asset.

“Soundtrace was built to bring that audit-grade discipline into hearing conservation. We eliminate the gaps so safety leaders can prove compliance and protect their people without scrambling.” – Matt Reinhold

— Matt Reinhold, COO, Soundtrace