Noise, in most simple terms, is the presence of unwanted sound. Noise has been known to impact human health by causing, stress, annoyance, reduced immune response and even heart diseases in extreme cases[i]. As people spend about 90% of their time indoors[ii], noise inside a building can lead to dire impacts on the health and wellbeing of the occupants. The inability of built environments to provide satisfactory acoustic comfort is also known to impact employee productivity, retention and turnover rate. According to a recent study conducted by Oxford Economics, 89 % of the surveyed employees (312) in Australia reported a lack of quiet working space which affect their productivity, satisfaction and well-being.[iii]
Satisfactory acoustic comfort entails provisions to minimise the external noise as well as the diverse frequency noise generated from the building interiors. B4i provides consulting services for the assessment and management of acoustic comfort at planning stage as well as post-development.
Planning and Environmental Acoustics
Australia has robust noise regulations which are applied at the planning stage. Certain councils require a comprehensive assessment of environmental noise that can impact the development or can be generated from the development.
It is imperative to understand the process and the legal requirements to assess the sound levels and predict the impact of and on any development.
At B4i, we have experienced assessors who can help with assessing the impact of environmental noise from various sources including traffic, railway and industry.
Buildings
There is an increasing concern regarding the ingress of noise in new and old development which is a particular issue in many residential developments.
B4i provides post-occupancy evaluation of sound levels for various developments including Multi-residential / Apartment buildings, Offices, Educational buildings and Mixed use buildings.
The quantitative assessment can include measurements of parameters including:
- Sound levels
- Sound frequency
The qualitative assessment involves deployment of post occupancy evaluations or indoor environmental quality surveys to obtain occupant feedback.
References:
[i] WorkSafe Victoria, Compliance code- Noise, 2018. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/218085/ISBN-noise-compliance-code-2018-03.pdf
[ii] Australian Government, Department of Environment and Energy. Indoor air. http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/air-quality/indoor-air
[iii] Oxford Economics and Plantronics, Managing Noise: Hear, be heard and focus Survey Results- Australia, 2017