Snapshot

Noise is a major issue in the construction process, affecting workers on site and the surrounding community. There are regulations to meet and limits to stay within. Night works can become major causes of social friction. Traditional noise assessments have often been desk-based and made without reference to specific features of a project’s site, meaning they quickly prove inaccurate. If noise becomes a site issue, delays and costs can quickly mount.

SNAPshot, from Arup’s digital and acoustics teams, brings peace of mind and greater accuracy to this vital process. Finally there’s a tool that makes accurate, up-to-date noise assessments something any contractor can carry out for themselves.

Here’s how:

SNAPshot is a cloud-based, rapid, customised noise assessment and reporting tool, which allows construction site personnel such as site engineers and environment managers to quickly carry out assessments against project specific criteria to inform decision making and fast-track works approvals.

Noise assessments anyone can carry out

SNAPshot bridges the gap between the acoustic consultant undertaking the detailed preliminary site noise assessment, and what’s really happening on dynamically changing construction sites, enabling the site engineers and environmental coordinators to take control of simple noise assessments themselves.

Predictive models that help you make better decisions

You can quickly undertake ‘what-if scenarios’ of various equipment combinations, locations and work hours with easy visual identification of compliance or management requirements. You can explore noise issues before they happen.

Simple to use

SNAPshot is a simple, intuitive, yet powerful, web-based interface to the project construction noise model. This allows the project environmental managers and project engineers to directly interact with the noise model inputs (site equipment and their locations) and immediately see the output results (noise impacts on local residential and commercial receivers). This gives the modelling power to the site team who have the best understanding of the site equipment, where the works will be undertaken and timing.

SNAPshot creates instant reports for the selected work scenarios, suitable for submissions directly to approval authorities.

Key features

• Every assessment can be customised to reflect your project’s specific requirements
• You get visual feedback on compliance or management requirements for every individual sensitive receiver
• Visualisation of noise contributions for each piece of equipment at every receiver
• You can vary the quantity and operating time of each equipment type
• You can vary the criteria and management requirements by receiver type and time period
• The ability to set criteria from fixed noise levels or relative to background noise levels
• Provision of noise predictions in accordance with accepted noise propagation standards (e.g. Concawe, ISO 9613)
• Incorporation of external or internal receiver assessment, by applying custom outside-to-inside sound level differences for each receiver
• Capability to apply any required noise weighting - dB(A), dB, dB(C) etc.
• Instant assessment reports documenting the works scenarios, noise impacts at affected receivers and potential mitigation actions.

SNAPshot will change the way you deal with noise on-site, improving relations between contractors, suppliers, workers and the local community. It puts you truly in control of site noise for the first time.