SERVICES

COMPLIANCE MONITORING OF NOISE EMISSIONS AND GROUND VIBRATION

The monitoring of noise and vibration is required for most of our projects. With an extensive range of noise and vibration monitoring equipment, ATP can provide well maintained and calibrated units for projects throughout Australia.

Noise Monitoring

ATP Consulting has a large number of noise monitoring equipment suitable for any required purpose. Equipment can be provided within 24-hours in the wider area of South-east Queensland and Northern New South Wales. We also services regional areas throughout QLD, WA, NSW and NT, using our local associates to provide a cost effective service.

Typical noise monitoring services include:

• Transport noise measurements (road traffic, railway or aircraft noise), for external building designs of dwellings located within transport noise corridors.

• Construction noise monitoring (used for compliance to noise criteria from Environmental Management Plan (EMP), or noise limits specified under DA conditions).

• Commercial noise monitoring (compliance with DA conditions or in response to complaint investigations).

• Industrial operations (industrial plant or extractive industries - noise monitoring for compliance with ERA License conditions, or as part of complaint investigations).

Vibration Monitoring

Vibration monitoring is typically required for all projects involving the construction of infrastructure such as roads, railways and bridges. ATP can provide vibration monitoring for small or large scale vibration related issues.

Typical vibration monitoring services include:

• Major infrastructure project (construction vibration monitoring for compliance with criteria specified in Environmental Management Plan (EMP), or with vibration limits specified by the regulatory authorities for the specific project, or in response to complaints related to nuisance or alleged building damage).

• Small scale projects (site specific vibration measurements in accordance with relevant standard specified by the regulatory authorities for the specific projects or in accordance with the ERA License conditions).

• Industrial operations (industrial plant or extractive industries - vibration monitoring for compliance with ERA License conditions, or as part of complaint investigations).

Following all noise and/or vibration monitoring periods, ATP provides analysis of monitoring data in the required format, presenting the methodology, tabulated and graphical results and assessment of compliance for the relevant noise or vibration criteria with recommendations for noise and vibration control (if required).

DA APPLICATION SUPPORT

ATP Consulting Engineers provides innovative, cost effective and practical noise control solutions in support of development approval (DA) applications for residential, commercial and industrial developments.

Residential Developments

ATP Consulting Engineers has extensive experience in acoustic assessments for traditional 'greenfield' residential developments near major road and railway corridors or under airport fly-paths. Our services include:

• Site specific road, railway or aircraft noise measurements using in-house noise measurement equipment.

• Noise propagation modelling using advanced software (SoundPLAN) for 3D representation of the development and its surroundings.

• Assessment of road, railway or aircraft noise impact with consideration of relevant noise criteria as specified in Local Planning Documents and State Environmental Legislation (QLD, NSW, WA, NT).

• Innovative design of noise control measures including: - landscaped earth-mounds; strategic location and orientation of buildings to maximise shielding effects; use of short length acoustic screens to achieve noise control with enhanced visual interest for the development, and use of traditional noise barriers (timber or composite materials).

• Provision of well structured acoustic reports in a format expected by the regulatory authorities with unambiguous conclusions and recommendations for noise control.

If the development is a high-rise building in an established urban environment, in addition to the noise measurements, and noise propagation modelling ATP Consulting Engineers will provide the following services:

• Assessment of road, railway or aircraft noise impact on each floor of the building irrespective of the number of floors (from 3 to 300 floors) with consideration of relevant noise criteria as specified in Local Planning Documents and State Environmental Legislation (Qld, NSW, WA, NT).

• Acoustic design of the building envelope to protect the internal noise amenity from transport noise or from the existing commercial activities including urban entertainment activities.

• Noise propagation modelling and assessment of noise impact from mixed use developments where parts of the high-rise building may be dedicated to commercial activities (hospitality or retail) and parts are residential apartments.

• Innovative design of noise control measures including: - use of canopies and landscaped terrain features as noise control measures in a compact mixed use developments and strategically located acoustic screens to achieve noise control with enhanced visual interest for the overall development.

• Provision of well structured acoustic reports in a format expected by the regulatory authorities with unambiguous conclusions and recommendations for noise control.

Commercial Developments

Where the commercial developments are proposed near the customer base in an urban environment, ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following services:

• Site specific background noise measurements to determine the existing noise amenity and to establish a representative noise assessment criteria.

• Noise propagation modelling using advanced software (SoundPLAN) for 3D representation of the commercial development including location of any delivery docks, mechanical plant and equipment and car parking areas relative to the surrounding land uses.

• Assessment of the noise emissions associated with the typical activities at the commercial development based on development layout provided and with consideration of any existing noise control measures.

• Innovative design of noise control measures including: - strategic location and orientation of commercial buildings to maximise shielding effects; use of canopies and acoustic screens to achieve noise control with enhanced visual interest for the development, and use of traditional noise barriers (timber or composite materials).

• Provision of well structured acoustic reports in a format expected by the regulatory authorities with unambiguous conclusions and recommendations for noise control.

Industrial Developments (Industrial Plants or Mines & Quarries)

Industrial plants, mines and quarries are developments that attract major scrutiny by the regulatory bodies and often are subject of opposition by residents and other stakeholders. From experience on major industrial projects, ATP Consulting Engineers is aware that industrial developments can be established and operated in relative proximity to sensitive areas if the potential acoustic constraints (noise, vibration and blasting) are considered in the early stages of project planning. In cooperation with the project planners, civil and mechanical engineers, ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following services:

• Identification of the acoustic constraints on the industrial development with consideration of: - the proposed activities; effective hours of operation; the plant and equipment to be used or the extractive method to be applied; location of delivery and haulage routes; and location of the sensitive areas.

• Site investigations and establishment of background noise and vibration monitoring stations for determination of the existing acoustic amenity in the area considered to be in a proximity to the development or its delivery/haulage routes.

• Noise propagation modelling using advanced software (SoundPLAN) for 3D representation of the industrial development including any static and mobile plant, existing and future resource extraction boundaries, auxiliary equipment (such as generators, and conveyor belts), delivery/haulage routes and nearest noise/vibration sensitive land uses.

• Assessment of the noise/vibration impacts on the sensitive land uses with consideration of the relevant noise criteria as specified in Local Planning Documents and State Environmental Legislation (Qld, NSW, WA, NT).

• Innovative design of noise control measures including: - use of acoustic screens and enclosures close to the dominant noise sources to reduce large scale engineering noise control; strategic location and orientation of industrial buildings to maximise shielding effects; use of extracted overburden to create landscaped mounds; and use of traditional noise barriers (timber or composite materials).

• Provision of well structured acoustic reports in a format expected by the regulatory authorities with unambiguous conclusions and recommendations for noise control.

CREATING HIGH QUALITY ACOUSTIC AMENITY

The quality of the internal noise amenity in residential and commercial buildings reflects the value of the building. ATP Consulting Engineers can provide holistic building acoustic services with consideration of the exterior building envelope; partition walls sound insulation specifications; control of reverberation and speech intelligibility by treatment of reflective surfaces; building services noise control; and sound insulation performance testing.

Building Acoustics - Design

At the design stage, ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following services:

• Review of overall building envelope with consideration of the proposed construction materials and their suitability for the acoustics of the development site (without high sound insulation rating of the building envelope, the interior acoustic design is futile).

• Establishment of internal noise criteria applicable to the residential, commercial, educational, health, community or entertainment building under design.

• Design specifications for construction of the partition walls and floors to ensure compliance with the project design criteria either based on compliance with BCA or based on project specific higher rating of sound insulation.

• Acoustic design specifications of residential, commercial, educational and industrial building aiming for Green Star rating.

• Modelling of sound propagation and transmission in enclosed spaces to optimise interior acoustic amenity.

• Calculation of reverberation time in internal spaces of residential, commercial, educational, health, community or entertainment buildings.

• Design of sound reverberation treatments with consideration of use of the internal spaces, occupancy rates, room geometry and design objectives;

• Review of sound insulation performance of proposed materials, particularly with consideration of alternative materials and construction techniques and with consideration of imported prefabricated partition wall components.

• Provision of well structured acoustic design specification report in a format that can be readily incorporated into the detailed design drawings for the proposed building or can be submitted as an appendix for reference during construction.

• Form 15 RPEQ Design Certification.

ATP Consulting Engineers are always available to respond to any questions, enquiries or problems encountered at detailed design or during construction and can provide 'troubleshooting' advice on other projects.

Building Acoustics - Testing

A well designed building, with recognition of importance of sound transmission insulation, requires relatively limited post-construction testing for compliance with the design objectives. However in case of inadequate sound insulation or on projects involving building conversion or retrofitting, an extensive range of sound insulation testing may be required. Post-construction, ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following services:

• Sound transmission testing through partition walls and floors using in-house noise measurement equipment.

• Impact sound testing through partition walls and floors.

• Reverberation time measurement and investigation of acoustic performance of interior spaces.

• Holistic review of the buildings considered for retrofit to determine the acoustic performance of the building envelope components.

• Testing of the sound transmission through existing walls and floors to determine sound insulation rating in case of atypical construction.

• Investigation of sound transmission through partition walls and floors (including impact sound testing) as part of noise complaint investigations.

• Pre-purchase acoustic investigations and advise.

• Form 16 RPEQ Certification after completion of acoustic testing for airborne and impact sound transmission.

ATP Consulting Engineers are available to respond to any questions, enquiries or problems encountered on retrofit projects or if noise transmission is a concern in high-rise residential or commercial buildings.

CONTROL OF MECHANICAL NOISE EMISSIONS

Control of mechanical noise emissions from heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), plumbing, and electrical distribution systems as well as lift shafts and other building services have to be considered at the early design stage of the project.

Failure to properly address the potential airborne/structure-borne noise and vibration at building design stage can result in nuisance for residents/occupiers and very costly retrofits and modifications. Mechanical noise control has to be considered early at the design of residential, commercial, industrial, health & education, entertainment and recreational buildings and facilities.

ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following mechanical noise control services:

• Design of sound insulation for HVAC, plumbing, electrical distribution, lift shafts and other building services.

• Airborne/structure-borne measurements and data analysis to determine sound power level and sound characteristics (tonality, modality, impulsiveness).

• Design of silencers and attenuators for HVAC and exhaust/discharge systems.

• Design of acoustic enclosures and vibration isolation systems for roof mounted/ground based HVAC systems.

• Investigation of point discharge noise emission characteristics on sewerage systems (dry/wet well ventilation).

• Water/sewerage pump stations acoustic enclosures and ventilation acoustic attenuators.

• Structure-borne/vibration investigation for garage roller doors, and design of control solutions.

• Investigation of any annoying buzzes, clicks, drips, thumps and shaking in residential, commercial and industrial buildings.

PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL COURT

Loss of amenity (a common expression that often includes noise, vibration and lighting nuisance) is often raised as a reason for refusal of developments. Behind the ‘loss of amenity’ often there are other underlying and more practical issues such as perceived loss of property value, or simple inconvenience from increased urban, commercial or industrial developments.

Therefore, it is very important that the expert witness addressing these issues, have full understanding of the project background, the background and position held by all stakeholders in the court case and the reason for the court case in addition to full understanding of the technical and legal aspects of the case.

ATP Consulting Engineers have experience as an expert witness in the Planning and Environment Court in Queensland and in Western Australia including noise (aircraft, transport, quarry, dog barking and noise from educational facilities) and lighting issues.

ATP Consulting Engineers provides the following expert witness services:

• Review of the case from a technical and legal (town planning) position.

• Consideration of the project background, the background and position held by all stakeholders, and the reason for the court case.

• Support in the preparation of court submissions and attendance to expert conclaves and tribunals.

• Additional acoustic/lighting investigations and preparation of technical reports.

• Negotiation of settlements before court proceeding.

• Taking a stand in a court proceeding.