Acoustic Consultants Sydney

Licensed venues and cafes

At GHD, our acoustic consultants have extensive experience in providing independent advice, assisting clients to navigate the legislative process, to identify operational constraints and opportunities associated with their venue. We aim to assist our clients to achieve compliant, well-managed and regulated licensed premises and cafes.

Acoustic assessments provided by GHD vary in scope depending upon the needs of the client, the nature of the proposed development or altered management action, and legislative requirements.

Child care centres

As the population increases, the need for child care centres becomes more important. It is becoming common place for many of these child care centres to be located within residential areas and close to sensitive receivers. As such, acoustic assessments are required by councils throughout the greater Sydney area to deal with the noise emission associated with the operation of child care centres.

GHD can provide advice for clients seeking to operate a child care centre to reduce noise emissions from the operation of the child care centre and achieve compliance with council regulations.

Gyms and lifestyle

It is commonplace in for newly constructed gyms and lifestyle fitness commercial operators to share common partitions or separated walls with adjacent sensitive residential or commercial receivers. When music, equipment and weights are part of the scenario, it is critical to ensure any operations are acoustically assessed to identify and mitigate against any offensive noise impacts.

GHD has provided assessment and advice for many gyms and lifestyle operators ensuring compliance with the local and legislative acoustic operational requirements; often situated near adjacent sensitive receivers.

Commercial building acoustics

Noise in a building can significantly affect how it functions and the general wellbeing of occupants. It is important that potential noise issues be identified and addressed to meet client expectations, contractual and legislative requirements, and to avoid the potentially substantial expenses associated with noise control retrofits.

GHD provides a range of building acoustic services for all types of developments from individual dwellings to large scale residential, childcare, commercial, mixed-used developments, hotel, industrial, Defence, health and educational facilities. Our acoustic engineers have the ability to guide and assist architects and developers throughout the entire design process to achieve the design requirements.

Music events and festivals

Management of large scale music events and festivals is critical to ensure that they are run in a safe and legal way. Impacts on local surrounding communities needs to be managed so that their acoustic impact can be minimized as much as possible. GHD can provide noise assessments, management plans and event noise monitoring in order to strategically manage the impacts of such events to adjacent sensitive stakeholders in an appropriate manner.

• Attended noise measurements of subject noise
• Assessment of offensiveness and intrusiveness
• Preparation of a letter or report for lodgement to council
• Provision of management practices and mitigation measures for offensive noise resolution

Building services

Mechanical services noise can be a major issue in both residential and commercial premises. Plant rooms, lift shafts, air-conditioning and ventilation systems all have the potential to generate significant airborne and structure-borne noise within buildings. GHD can review drawings and assess noise and vibration impact from the mechanical services (including any rooftop plant and equipment). This assessment includes any internal and external noise and vibration impact. Mitigation measures will also be provided to help achieve acoustic compliance with the internal acoustic criteria, EPA and other statutory requirements. Assessment of mechanical services will also include lift noise and vibration assessment.

Road noise intrusion

GHD provides advice on acoustic treatments of exposed facades with consideration to applicable state regulations and guidelines, Development Control Plans, Australian and international standards. GHD has provided planning and design advice for several development types, including:

• New single dwellings
• Extension to existing dwellings
• Multi-storey residential apartment blocks
• Aged care facilities

Early planning can reduce the need for extreme acoustic specifications, particularly when external noise levels are high.

Rail noise and vibration

Residential dwellings situated in proximity to airports / airfields, or under pre-existing flight paths, are subjected to intrusive levels of aircraft noise. It is hence often a council requirement for residential developments, either extensions or new dwellings, to obtain an aircraft noise intrusion assessment in order to ensure bedrooms and living areas appropriately designed. GHD has serviced numerous residential developments across a spectrum of locations, development sizes and airport scales, to review, model and assess aircraft noise impacts. Recommendations are selected to ensure identified living and sleeping areas are acoustically treated to protect the acoustic amenity and health of their occupants.

Aircraft noise intrusion

Residential dwellings situated in proximity to airports / airfields, or under pre-existing flight paths, are subjected to intrusive levels of aircraft noise. It is hence often a council requirement for residential developments, either extensions or new dwellings, to obtain an aircraft noise intrusion assessment in order to ensure bedrooms and living areas appropriately designed. GHD has serviced numerous residential developments across a spectrum of locations, development sizes and airport scales, to review, model and assess aircraft noise impacts. Recommendations are selected to ensure identified living and sleeping areas are acoustically treated to protect the acoustic amenity and health of their occupants.

Inter-tenancy acoustic testing, advice and certification

Inter-space noise control pertains to practically every residential and commercial multi-storey building. While compliance with the Building Code of Australia (BCA) provisions for sound insulation is critical in residential buildings, inter-space noise control is also important in any building comprising noise sensitive spaces, for privacy purposes or to address mechanical plant noise propagation.

Offensive noise and complaints

By their very nature, businesses or activities established for the benefit of the surrounding community are often located in residential zones. This often leads to intrusive acoustic impacts where noise emission from the operator itself affects the amenity of the surrounding residences it is positioned to serve. In such cases, offensive noise may be resolved through appropriate communication and management measures, and sometimes may require engagement with the local council or regulatory authority. GHD can assist in such cases of residential offensive noise, and can include the following:

• Attended noise measurements of subject noise
• Assessment of offensiveness and intrusiveness
• Preparation of a letter or report for lodgement to council
• Provision of management practices and mitigation measures for offensive noise resolution

Master planning and strategy

The rate of urban sprawl for major cities across Australia poses a risk for adverse acoustic amenity impacts for sensitive land uses. This often occurs when sensitive land uses are often situated adjacent to significant infrastructure, industrial areas or commercial zones. When policies, governing agencies, local councils and technical specialists operate in harmony, effective acoustic planning can take place. This not only protects the acoustic health of existing and future key stakeholders, but also facilitates a smooth approval pathway. GHD has worked with various council and state governing bodies providing planning and strategic services, including:

• Master plan and strategy consultation
• Workshops and training seminars
• Technical peer review
• Major development acoustic assessment

Expert witness and legal proceedings

• Planning Panels and Tribunals (including NSW Land and Environment Court)
• Magistrates Courts
• Supreme Courts

GHD has also been involved in conferences or conclaves, where the purpose is for the experts to have a comprehensive discussion of issues relating to their field of expertise. The ultimate aim is to form a common view to identifying key issues and areas of agreement and disagreement (contentions).

New roads and upgrades

With urban populations continuing to rise, it is vital to ensure that supporting road infrastructure is developed to keep up with this growth. As a result road traffic noise can have a significant impact on the communities, and a balance needs to be reached between providing efficient road transport infrastructure and minimising the adverse environmental effects of road noise. GHD can provide assessment and site specific mitigation controls for existing and future road developments and upgrades, including:

• New and redeveloped roads
• Noise barrier analysis and design
• Post Construction Noise Assessment (PCNA)
• At receiver mitigation treatments

Rail infrastructure

Prior acoustic and vibration assessment for rail infrastructure is critical to facilitate the transition and implementation into future rail networks, whilst also ensuring that the environmental amenity of sensitive land uses and stakeholders is protected. GHD can provide assistance with:

• Baseline noise and vibration monitoring
• New and redevelopment rail line modelling
• Light and Heavy rail (passenger and freight)
• Substations
• Stations and station carparks
• Operational noise assessment stabling yards and maintenance facilities
• Baseline noise and vibration monitoring

Airports

In an ever more connected world, airports are becoming an increasingly vital component in Australia’s transport network. As a result, airports and runways are encroaching closer to residential land uses, and air traffic is becoming more frequent. Strategic assessment and planning is hence a crucial stage of air transport infrastructure development, as it ensures future airports are integrated suitably with surrounding urban land uses. GHD Acoustic’s has worked previously in this sector, including the following services:

• Airport design
• ANEC studies and guidance AirServices ANEF endorsement
• Local council strategic advice for airports
• Airport terminal design advice

Assessment

GHD has provided a number of acoustic assessments for industrial developments and activities. Our assessments are used to predict noise levels from industrial developments to nearby sensitive land uses so that our clients may implement best-practice noise mitigation measures where impacts have been identified. Industrial noise assessments have been prepared for submission to a variety of regulatory bodies, including local council, NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA); and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE).

Compliance monitoring

If it often a requirement for industrial developments or activities that compliance noise monitoring be carried out on a regular basis to ensure noise emissions are under specified limits at nearby sensitive land uses. This is often a requirement for Environmental Protection Licenses (EPLs) for scheduled activities under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. GHD has conducted numerous noise compliance monitoring surveys for industrial sites across NSW; both in urban areas rural locations. Compliance can then be assessed against regulatory requirements taking into consideration site specific noise enhancing effects such as topography, noise characteristics and meteorological effects.

Occupational noise

Occupational noise induced hearing loss is a major compensable industrial disease and entails substantial economic and social costs. GHD conducts occupational noise assessments with consideration to the relevant statutory standards. Occupational noise can be assessed for the following:

• Machinery noise in and around buildings
• Vehicle operators e.g. truck cab, crane operator
• Sound intensity measurements for complex noisy environments
• Noise contour mapping of large areas e.g. coal wash plants, ore processing plants and aircraft hangars
• Detailed noise measurement results for items identified as possessing excessively high noise levels with consideration to the relevant standards
• Recommendation of actions plans and suitable hearing protection and hearing protection signage
• Recommendations of in-principle engineering noise controls, if necessary.

Mitigation

Where noise impacts from industrial activities and sites exceed relevant environmental or occupational noise limits, a combination of strategies and techniques is often required to reduce noise to compliant levels. A detailed understanding of noise generating activities, processes and equipment is needed so that noise impacts can effectively be mitigated. With effective engagement and a thorough understanding of each situation, GHD has worked with numerous clients for industrial sites, providing effective mitigation solutions that quantifiably reduces noise as much as feasibly and reasonably possible whilst considering all stakeholders and operators, including:

• Physical noise barriers or attenuation design
• Provision of quieter equipment, processes or vehicles
• Best practice management measures

Environmental

Noise monitoring services are often required for a variety of purposes, ranging from environmental baseline quantification to operational compliance assessment. GHD has undertaken numerous noise monitoring exercises, ranging from operator attended noise measurements, long-term unattended noise measurement programs, and continuous construction noise compliance monitoring. GHD has conduct these exercises to address consent or compliance requirements for submission to council, NSW EPA, and various state regulatory authorities.

Underwater noise

Underwater noise has the potential to cause temporary or permanent auditory damage to marine megafauna, such as whales and dolphins. GHD has the capabilities to undertake underwater noise monitoring and modelling, creating appropriate buffer zones to protect marine fauna from excessive noise, such as from marine construction works. These capabilities include:

• Baseline and compliance noise monitoring
• 3D underwater noise modelling
• REF and EIS underwater noise assessments
• Design of underwater noise mitigation measures

Acoustic camera

GHD’s acoustic camera has proven to be a valuable tool in noise when identifying faults for acoustic separation improvement. With the capability to visualize noise through its microphone array, it can pinpoint specific areas of fault, which can later be treated to improve acoustic performance. It has aided in highlighting flanking paths and acoustic leakage in building acoustics situations.

Vibration

It is often the case that any development, operation or construction is situated un-isolated to adjacent sensitive receptors. This can lead to excessive vibration that is root cause to additional regenerative noise, structural integrity issues and human comfort health impacts. GHD has undertaken numerous vibration monitoring exercises in a variety of scenarios, including the following:

• Ongoing construction vibration monitoring
• Rail pass by sample vibration monitoring
• Industrial equipment and HVAC monitoring
  
  

Assessment

Noise associated with construction is an inevitable part of a growing world and needs to be appropriately managed to ensure the amenity of all surrounding receivers is appropriately protected. GHD can provide construction noise assessment that provides the most appropriate site-specific feasible and reasonable work practices in order to minimise noise impacts, whilst also streamlining the assessment and approval pathway, reducing time spent dealing with complaints at project implementation stage.

Noise and vibration monitoring

As part of construction management plans, on site monitoring is often a requirement in order to ensure environmental noise and vibration levels are consistent with predictions. GHD can provide attended monitoring surveys prior to specific construction activities, or unattended noise and vibration monitoring for a variety of construction sites and locations. Results can be presented in weekly summary reports, and SMS notification to site managers can be established for site specific noise and vibration trigger levels.

Management plans

Construction noise and vibration management plans (CNVMPs) can be provided prior to the commencement of construction activities. CNVMPs can be provided based on anticipated construction activities, and can be relied upon by construction contractors to ensure environmental amenity of surrounding sensitive receivers is protected. They are often in response to regulatory requirements from local council consent conditions, NSW EPA environmental requirements, or NSW Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs).

Blast management

GHD provides services for the preparation of all forms of blasting noise and vibration management plans and environmental noise and vibration impact statements. GHD’s blast management services include:

• Airblast overpressure and vibration impacts
• Flyrock impact and buffer distance assessments
• Noise and vibration compliance procedure preparation
• Blast Management Plans and Blast Control Plans