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Acoustic Camouflage reduces complaints to less than zero!
This is an exciting, innovative and low cost solution to a range of difficult environmental noise problems where sound with “character” could cause complaints. Based on research into the subjective response of people to noise characteristics, the Psychological Silencing system uses speakers to generate a diffuse sound field with a sculpted signature that “camouflages” the nuisance features in the noise from the perception of potential complainants. It's a strange experience to encounter sound that you don’t consciously hear making those you found annoying disappear... Installed at Edgware Road tube station during nighttime track maintenance work, it didn't just help to reduce complaints to zero, it also elicited emails from previous complainants complimenting the company on the effectiveness of their noise management. This innovative technique has wide application both for long term or temporary environmental noise problems. Contact us for more information or download the technical note here [215kb pdf] >

Fan Noise Control is now local - everywhere on the planet...
We have just completed a fan noise control project in the USA totally by email. This is a very large power station fan on which vast sums of money had been spent on noise reduction to no avail. We solved the problem for a few £thousand by email in a week! The way we diagnose and solve fan noise problems is not only unique, it is also fast, low cost and ideally suited to help EHOs solve fan problems - almost instantly, wherever you are. Contact us with the details - and in many cases it can be solved via email >

..and the local CIEH fan workshops are not only profitable (£), but are also profitable (doing more with fewer resources)...
The recent local Fan Noise Control Workshop we ran for the NW branch of the CIEH was only around a third of the cost of conventional centralised training. Over 90% of the delegates rated the content as excellent, saying that it would change the way they tackle noise problems. Contact us for more details of our training workshops >

Dealing with noise problems and complaints - technical short-cuts
Maintaining high quality services with less money and fewer people

• Large fans; a problem for several years; sorted within weeks at 90% lower cost and with energy savings
• Roof-top chillers: an 18 month problem; report within 2 weeks, 1 month for implementation.
• Press shop: 2 years of problems; £thousands wasted; c 2 months to solve at less than cost of the solicitors....
• Office air conditioning plant: c 1 year of complaints and EHO visits; solved in 1 week by email.

The following are some of the techniques we use to achieve these rapid results.

• Use calibrated audio recordings to evaluate timings, character etc. These can also be edited and replayed to complaints and noise producers to diagnose subjective issues. If you don't have recording facilities for site visits, then you are missing out on a seriously powerful, simple tool to cut the time you spend dealing with noise very substantially. It will cost you the princely sum of around £100 to add this facility...
• ...to most existing sound level meters (re-using old meters), effectively upgrading your existing equipment at negligible capital cost. Is there any other way to cut the time spent dealing with noise by 30%-70% across the whole department for a few £hundred?
• Narrow band frequency analysis is usually a must except for the simplest noise problem diagnoses. Combined with recordings (see above - or from nuisance recorders), it not only allows you to identify sources (low frequency noise complaints, fans, chillers etc) very quickly, but also helps you avoid time consuming mistakes. This facility would cost you as little as £500 (see below).
• One authority has invested in 15 of our noise nuisance recorders as part of a very effective cost saving exercise....
• Get a second opinion from us early in the process for potentially time consuming noise control projects. It won't cost you anything, and could save you months...
  

Contact us to pick our brains about noise projects, for training options or to discuss any of the above in more detail >

Narrow Band Frequency Analysis for all
New Group Scheme means that everyone can afford time saving noise analysis
Low freq - yes/no; hums, whines, source identification, project times cut by c80%.... Narrow band analysis is just so useful. Our newly launched Group Scheme means that if a number of local authorities club together, we will provide them with a group licence that can reduce the cost of acquiring all these advantages to as little as £500, making the most of budgets and cutting EHO investigation times. Contact us for more details on how you can make these savings >

Noise Best Practice Update: Summer 2009

Get the Definitive Evaluation of BAT and BPM - typically reducing costs by 50%-80%...
Save time, resources and money - and avoid court cases...

Remote Control of Noise - clear your desk of noise problems
Save hassle and resources by "exporting" many of your noise problems via this new approach...

Green Fan noise control that saved Corus £1 million - BAT for fans
Award winning technology that reduces fan running costs in addition to the noise...

New Music and Entertainment Venue Noise Assessment Workshop
Noise risk assessment in pubs, clubs and other venues made simple (and even profitable)...

Best Available Technology, BATNEEC and Best Practicable Means - the definitive evaluation
In most cases, the suggested noise control technology does not constitute BPM...
Once a noise nuisance has been established, just what does constitute BPM for environmental noise control? Company consultants may claim mitigation costs are too high to be practicable - but usually the suggested noise control technology is not best practice. Our BPM definitions across a wide range of applications typically reduce the costs by 50% - 80% compared with alternative evaluations. This is a game changer for councils, saving time, resources and money - particularly where a court case (which might otherwise be lost) is a possibility that can almost invariably be avoided. Contact us to discuss particular new or existing projects - or download the technical note >

Remote Control of Noise by phone and email - at no cost
Where BAT noise control information is made available, most noise problems can be - and are - resolved within weeks, reducing your work-load and benefiting everyone.
Many noise problems drag on for months - and even years - due to issues with the diagnosis and the imagined potential extent and cost of the mitigation required. These delays come at a high cost to both the EHO and to the perpetrator (time, bureaucracy, legal fees etc). They also come at a serious cost to the complainants who continue to suffer the noise nuisance unnecessarily. The solution is to get a second (or even, perhaps, a first) definitive opinion on BAT by email. We have developed a huge database of Best Available Technology engineering noise control solutions that can be used to solve problems at a fraction of the expected cost (e.g. our award winning fan noise control technology). Where this BAT information is made available, most noise problems can be - and are - resolved within weeks to the benefit of all concerned. Use our 3 step Remote Control process to acquire this initial evaluation - and a second opinion - at no cost... Contact us to resolve many of your long-standing noise problems - or download the technical note >

Fan Noise Control Technology that saved Corus £1 million - and reduced their running costs
Our Rushlight Award winning technology saved Corus £1 million and reduced fan running costs by c £250,000 p.a. compared with conventional techniques. Used across the UK, it would save the output of several power stations in CO2 emissions. Consequently it is best practice for many fan noise problems - good for noise and good for the environment. It's also quick and easy to install with minimal down-time on anything from large power station fans down to small extract units. Download the technical note > - or contact us if you would like to discuss a particular fan noise problem.

New Music and Entertainment Venue Noise Assessment Workshop
The right approach turns the evaluation and policing of the new noise regulations that now apply to the entertainment and music industry into a quick and efficient process. This new and highly practical one day (2 CPD point) workshop includes a host of case studies and "live" examples - " very well presented and illustrated - avoiding any techno-babble - very good practical demos and discussion of ways to resolve specific real-life situations..." It is also possible to include environmental noise issues in the same workshop. In addition to the high quality content (taken from the IOSH certified course), this is also by far the most cost effective training available as it is always local. You can even off-set some or all of the costs by running the workshop in-house and inviting paying delegates from other authorities in the area. Contact us to discuss the options for your training needs or download the programme >

Noise Best Practice Update: Spring 2009

Noise abatement notice - noise control costs reduced by 80%
Get a second opinion as to Best Available Technology and compliance with BPM....

Yoghurt-based burner noise control
The only known example of yoghurt-based noise control - and at only 1% of the cost of non- yoghurt based alternatives...

Cheap and effective noise control by email
A photo and a recording solves long running chiller noise complaint problem by remote control

Copy what we do and save £000s on noise meters
Spend £200 to give virtually any sound level meter the facilities of a top-end piece of kit..

Save (considerable) time and money acquiring and processing noise recordings...
Auto-analyse recordings from any recorder - cut listening time by 90%

Tonal noise analysis in the office and installed on a netbook for c £1200...

Noise nuisance recorders - all the quality, but just half the cost...

Factory abatement notice - noise control innovations define BAT and comply with BPM
Our second opinion saved 80% of the cost - and provided lower noise levels...

Northern Packaging were delighted when we came up with an alternative to the proposed £150,000 conventional noise control scheme costing only £25,000. They were even more delighted to find that hearing protection was no longer required, meeting their mandatory occupational noise responsibilities for free...

This typical project result highlights that fact that an innovative engineering approach is required if a company is to have any hope of implementing Best Available Technology or complying with BPM. The case study is at www.invc.co.uk/services/environmental-noise.php - or contact us direct if you'd like a second opinion on a particular project.

Yoghurt-pot reduces burner noise by 16dB
The classic 116Hz low frequency drone from a duel fuel burner on a Heinz site was eliminated by fitting a sculpted yoghurt pot inside the burner head instead of fitting large silencers and turning the building into an enclosure. This is a surreal example of the power of engineering diagnosis and control (pot-noodle-pots were too big..) - and the fact that yoghurt is good for you... Case study (with sound) is at - www.invc.co.uk/services/noise-control.php#burnercombustion

Remote control of garage chiller noise from EHO recording by email
An EHO recently contacted us over this long running noise complaint problem (after failed attempts at control), providing us with photos and a noise recording by email. Following analysis, we then forwarded detailed recommendations to the company that solved the problem at a cost of a few hundred pounds. This Remote Control of Noise process provides EHOs with access to quick, low cost solutions to many common noise problems. Contact us for more information or take a closer look at - www.invc.co.uk/services/noise-vibration-analysis.php#remotecontrol

Copy what we do and save £000s on noise meters
You can copy the approach we use and convert any existing simple sound level meter into a £6000+ top of the range piece of kit by buying a £200 digital recorder off the net. This allows you to make calibrated recordings on site and then analyse at your leisure back in the office (avoiding the “I wish I’d got that information whilst on site” feeling). We have tested and use the 2 models shown here - the M-Audio Microtrack and the Marantz PMD620. Contact us, or more information is available at www.invc.co.uk/products/products-recording.php

Save (considerable) time and much money acquiring and processing noise recordings...
... with options for tonal analysis and noise nuisance recorders at half the cost...
No-one likes processing a seemingly endless stream of recordings. The latest version of the NoiseMaster and iPlayer software (almost) does it for you. It will analyse batches of sound files from any recorder and provides accelerated listening facilities that allow you to complete an hour's work in only a few minutes - paying for itself within days. It can also be used as an alternative to, or an upgrade for the software supplied with your sound level meter or current recording system. Contact us, or more information and a demonstration video is available at www.invc.co.uk/products/products-recording.php

Tonal noise analysis in the office and installed on a netbook for c £1200...
FrequencyMaster has been been chosen by all the Environment Agencies in the UK and Ireland
You can now get the easy to use, fully featured FrequencyMaster tonal noise analysis system installed on a netbook for around c £1200. Not just a recorder and analyser, but also a rather nice little hand-held PC...

The software can also be installed in the office to analyse sound recordings from any recording system - or even your old DAT recordings. Contact us, or more information and a demonstration video is available at www.invc.co.uk/products/products-recording.php

Noise nuisance recorders - all the quality, half the cost...
“...we bought several as we can’t afford to have EHOs wasting their time on site...”
The echo noise nuisance recorder is a rugged, easy to use device that provides high quality complainant recordings at half the cost of competing systems. Coupled with the software, it the most cost and time effective system available. Contact us, or more information and a demonstration video of the system in action is at www.invc.co.uk/services/local-authorities.php

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Direct Links
noise control audit - digital noise assessment - noise competency training - noise training - product noise control - fan noise control - VWF (Vibration White Finger) - Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV) assessment - HAV competency training - HAV database (HAV-Base) - Whole Body Vibration (WBV) measurement - environmental noise control - noise nuisance - environmental noise monitoring - production line testing (noise and vibration) - noise nuisance / annoyance recorders - frequency analyser and noise analyser software

Industrial Noise & Vibration Centre
889 Plymouth Road, Slough Berks SL1 4LP
Tel: 01753 698800 Fax: 01753 567 988
email:consult@invc.co.uk