Heavy plant
Heavy machinery, held to its noise and vibration limits.
From 19 MW gas turbines to hospital gensets, we assess, design, and verify noise and vibration control for the equipment most building acousticians avoid.
The problem this solves
Industrial noise carries regulatory, community, and occupational consequences at the same time: a plant exceeding its boundary limit, a substation drawing complaints, a factory floor over its exposure limits, a generator room transmitting vibration into occupied floors. These problems demand measurement rigor and machinery experience that generalist consultancies rarely carry.
What we deliver
Near-field and far-field noise assessments for gas turbines, diesel gensets, and power plants. Generator room acoustic design: composite wall assemblies, floating floors, intake and exhaust silencers, and anti-vibration mounts. Factory noise attenuation to WHO, OSHA, and national occupational regulations. Machinery vibration impact assessment on structures. Substation and utility boundary compliance.
Method and standards
Machinery vibration severity is classified per ISO 10816 and ISO 20816; human exposure to vibration in buildings is assessed per BS 6472; occupational noise exposure follows ISO 1999 alongside WHO and OSHA regulations. Boundary and community assessments connect directly to our survey and 3D modeling work.
| Assessment | Standard or regulation |
|---|---|
| Machinery vibration severity | ISO 10816, ISO 20816 |
| Human exposure to vibration in buildings | BS 6472 |
| Occupational noise exposure | ISO 1999, WHO and OSHA regulations |
| Outdoor propagation and boundary prediction | ISO 9613-2 |
Instrumentation: calibrated Class 1 sound level meters, multi-channel FFT analyzers, accelerometers and laser Doppler vibrometers.
How this scope is appointed: directly by the plant owner or operator, as a sub-consultant to the design team, or as an independent assessment where a boundary limit or a complaint is in question.
Not sure whether your problem is a boundary limit, a vibration path, or an occupational exposure limit? Describe the symptom.
Proof
Near-field and far-field measurement of jet aircraft engine test cells in Dhahran for BAE Systems and the Royal Saudi Air Force. Noise survey of two 19 MW gas turbine units in Yemen against national limits. Factory noise attenuation to WHO regulations at the SABIC SPADC facility. Generator room design for four 2,000 kVA gensets at Middle East Airlines headquarters and a 2,000 kW generator room at the Lubumbashi substation in the DRC. Community impact assessments for the EDL Zahleh power plant and the Nabatiyeh wastewater treatment plant.
Questions we are asked
Can you assess an operating plant without shutting it down?
Yes. Near-field and far-field survey methods are designed for operating conditions.
What vibration standards apply to machinery on structures?
ISO 10816 and ISO 20816 for machine condition, BS 6472 for human exposure in buildings. We assess to both.
Do you cover occupational noise inside the facility?
Yes. Factory and plant-floor noise is assessed against WHO and OSHA occupational regulations with attenuation designed to bring exposure within limits, as delivered at SABIC.
Related services: Environmental Noise Assessment Acoustic Testing and Commissioning
Send the machinery list and a site boundary and we will scope the assessment.