Are you having a compliance issue? The importance of the Ambient Noise Study
If you are reading this there is a chance you are having issues defending your operations to a community or governing body and are experiencing some compliance issues. Perhaps you are having trouble refuting a complaint against your operation since you can’t definitively quantify your impact on the surrounding area? Maybe you feel you have put up enough noise control products to be in the clear yet can’t prove that you aren’t increasing sound levels beyond a reasonable threshold? Or the area you are working in has specified levels you have to meet but seem unrealistic based on your current sounds levels? Did you complete an Ambient noise study?
Importance of Ambient Noise Studies
Ambient sound level surveys are the foundation of a good neighbor policy on noise impact and an effective way to begin your assessment of risks for future locations. An Ambient noise study is a pre-operation sound study that is completed using sound level meters to measure current background sound levels. Typically ambient noise studies are completed over a 24 to 72 hour period of continuous monitoring. Additionally ambient noise studies should be captured with at least 24 hours of data occurring during a Saturday or Sunday so as to also establish weekday versus weekend data, which can be quite different is some cases. Here are just a few of the advantages of completing an ambient sound study:
Advantages of Ambient Noise Studies
- Establishment of sounds level prior to your operation, helping better identify your impact on the community
- Ability to quantify changes in sound levels when compared against real-time data from the field
- Access to higher operational sound levels as many ordinances are based on an added value to the ambient sound levels, so when ambient noise conditions are higher than the default level then you are granted a higher threshold to operate within
- Identification of false positives, evidence to substantiate complaints that may arise during your operations
- Can generate goodwill within communities as you are showing your concern to research your impact prior to start operations in an area
Ambient noise studies can be a cost-effective tool to help evaluate the current sound in the area and prevent future noise complaints. Contact TruHorizon to proactively measure the ambient sound levels and prevent complaints on your sites!