Noise criteria are constantly changing and it is important to stay up to date. The following provides information on some of the upcoming changes. The Qld legislation is reviewed every 10 years, so the existing 2008 documents will be revised with new Environmental Protection (Noise) Policy and Environmental Protection Regs due in 2018. The World Health Organisation has been updating noise criteria and this will be one of the topics for discussion at a conference in Zurich, Switzerland in Mid 2017. The Mining Guideline for Qld includes noise criteria and vibration criteria for blasting and is presently being reviewed. The NSW Industrial Noise policy consultation period closed at the end of 2015. Other recent changes are the aircraft noise standard AS2021 updated in 2015, and the recommended noise levels and reverberation times standard AS/NZS 2107 updated in 2016.

Find out more above current noise criteria and vibration criteria here , or contact us.

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A noise expert is often required to provide expert evidence regarding a matter that may proceed to court. Projects can require a noise expert in a number of situations including: appealing against a town planning decision from Council, seeking approval for a Liquor License, or negotiating an agreement between parties. Traditionally these matters were settled in the Planning and Environment Court or similar setting, however a large number of matters are now resolved via mediation between the parties and experts. Meetings between the experts and preparation of joint expert reports are used to clearly list the points in agreement and points in dispute. Should the matter proceed to a hearing, a noise report is prepared addressing the unresolved issues and the noise expert gives evidence as an expert witness to assist the court to reach its finding. Matters may range from:
• A new residential development near a transport corridor;
• An entertainment venue;
• A new quarry or industry proposed for land near an existing residential area;
• Extensions or changes in trading hours for retail developments;
• Animal noise from kennels or other animal facilities affecting neighbours; Or
• A 600 person workers camp being developed in a rural area.

The key to addressing these matters is to have good technical knowledge, thorough understanding of the relevant noise and vibration policies and their limitations, and the ability to provide clear opinions in a manner that is readily understood by all parties including the client, lawyers and judge. Find out more here or contact us today.

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In mid 2016 Acoustics Noise Vibration visited the University of Exeter in South West England. The university has a strong Law faculty, and arrangements were made to inspect the Law facilities – in particular the Moot Court. The Moot Court is a space designed as a court room to enable students to experience working in a court room environment. The university staff were helpful in arranging access and provided background on the facilities. The site visit was very timely given Acoustics Noise Vibration is presently undertaking the acoustic design for the University of Queensland’s Law Faculty. The project involves a major refurbishment of the existing law facilities in the Great Court at the St Lucia Campus of the University of Queensland.

The visit to the University of Exeter was a valuable benchmarking exercise, providing a useful perspective on the acoustics of educational facilities in Australia and overseas.

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The way we describe noise depends on its level and characteristics. If noise is constant then it is easy to say that the noise is at a certain level. For example a fan may produce a steady level of 55dB(A) at a monitoring location. However many noise sources are not constant, but still need to be described in a useful way to allow comparison with noise criteria. Noise parameters have been developed to describe fluctuating noise levels. Common parameters include: Lmax = the maximum noise level, Lmin = the minimum noise level, Leq = the level with the same energy as the actual fluctuating noise level, L1 = the level exceeded for 1% of the time, L10 = the level exceeded for 10% of the time, and L90 = the level exceeded for 90% of the time. Experience has shown that certain parameters are more useful for describing particular noise sources. For example, the L90 is often used to describe the background noise level, the L10 may approximate the average maximum noise level for certain noise sources and is used to describe road traffic noise and music levels, the Leq is used to describe a wide range of noise sources as it captures the energy associated with the noise source. It is common to use a combination of parameters to characterise a noise source. For example, an industry with some peak events may be described using the Lmax levels to measure the peak events, and the Leq to capture the total noise level. The character of the noise may include tonal or impulsive components, and these can make the noise more noticeable.

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Brisbane City Council’s, City Plan 2014 has now been in operation for over 12 months, and developers and consultants have experienced the nuances of the document. The noise aspects of the plan include some familiar assessment methods and some new, more prescriptive approaches to development. For residential development the “Background Plus” approach has been used to set noise criteria for constant noise sources such as air conditioning plant and ventilation fans. This approach has been used successfully in Australia for over 25 years, and effectively limits the noise source to a level equal to or marginally above the existing background levels at the noise sensitive receiver. One of the significant changes has been the requirement for facades of residential buildings. If a proposed residential building is located in a particular zone then the façade must achieve a noise reduction of 30dB. The Acceptable Outcome listed in City Plan 2014 to meet this requirement is glazing with an acoustic rating of up to Rw35. In practical terms this means that buildings may require heavier glazing than was required for a building in the same location under the previous City Plan. The logic behind this approach is that Council is expecting these zones to become vibrant “noisy” areas in the future. Hence regardless of the present noise levels, the façade needs to be designed to allow for these future higher external noise levels. Depending on the design of the building, it may be possible to reduce the glazing required to meet the specified noise reduction of 30dB.

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The purpose of these blogs is to provide information for people who have an interest in acoustics, noise or vibration. This may be as part of your work or as a hobby. A range of topics will be covered based on our experience over the past 30 years. We trust you will find the blogs of interest and look forward to working with some of you on future projects.

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