Rapid growth of industrial infrastructure has elevated concerns about compatibility of industrial noise with nearby residences. Reliance on inadequate regulations and/or misapplied “cookbook” criteria, exacerbated by the confusion common to public discourse, can lead to dramatic gaps between expectations and actual community reactions. To help address these challenges, this course seeks to deepen insight through an overview of the history of US environmental noise criteria, the development of our current engineering standards and guidelines, and the dose-response relationships underlying them. The objective is to improve compatibility forecasts for continuously operating industrial noise sources like power plants, gas compressor stations, and data centers, in order that discussions, debates, and decisions related to planning and noise control design be accurately informed.

Emphasis will be given to the critical role of normalization factors (e.g., rural, suburban, or urban setting, and tones), along with suggested normalization factors for 24/7 operation, low frequency noise, and feelable vibration/rattles. Finally, we’ll consider ramifications for prediction software, field measurements, long-term monitoring, manufacturers’ data, auditory demonstrations, regulations, test standards, engineering licensure, and the profession of noise control engineering.

Who Should Attend
Those seeking a comprehensive approach to planning and promoting a facility that is compatible with its surroundings. Those seeking to replace myths and fictitious lore that contribute to and perpetuate avoidable conflicts with accurate information. The course is especially well suited to engineers and consultants new to the field of noise control, especially those working in firms lacking a credentialed noise control professional. Familiarity with technical descriptors such as dBA, dBC, proportional octave bands, Leq, Ldn, etc. is assumed.

David Nelson, INCE Bd. Cert, INCE Fellow — Author / Presenter
Mr. Nelson recently retired from a 41-year career in noise control, including 28 years as owner and principal consultant at Nelson Acoustics. His wide-ranging areas of activity include IT equipment large and small, industrial equipment, industrial workplaces, power plants, gas compressor stations, data centers, community response to noise, sound quality of consumer products and commercial equipment, spaceflight hardware, fan-cooled equipment, computer-based measurement systems, and more. Many of these projects involved rediscovering, mining, and applying largely-forgotten wisdom from earlier generations of noise control leaders. He has taught customized courses for clients including ALCOA, NASA, Cisco, John Deere, Ingersoll Rand, Rheem, NIOSH, INCE, ACGIH, Semi-Therm, addressing an equally wide range of audiences, and continuing at present through the Noise Control Master Class online series.