Guidelines to Industrial Noise Control
Industrial soundproofing treatments are often more difficult to prescribe than Commercial or Residential treatments. The reason is that the majority of industrial sound sources are not encloseable, forcing combinations of "source" driven and "path" driven treatments that can combine to deliver better control over the noise without interrupting the process being performed.. The "step down" set of treatments outlined below provide the framework for most any application for factory noise. Your final solution could be a combination of any or all of these sound proofing treatments. Read through and click to the section that best represents your starting point. |
I. Enclosure Treatments
The most dramatic impact you can have on an industrial sound control treatment is to consider a full or partial enclosure of the individual sound sources that are creating the noise. Start by making a list of the various sound sources, and highlight any of them that are stationary and fully or partially encloseable. By targeting the "source" of the noise before it is released into the air, you trigger stronger decibel level drops than any "path" driven treatment will deliver. There are a variety of options available to you for a successful sound enclosure treatment. While we recognize that the majority of your machinery is probably unencloseable, start here regardless.
The second step in the process is to target isolated areas of your industrial plant that could possibly be housing more intense sound than other areas. We can outline this part of your plant with a set of barrier products designed to cordon off the noise and prevent it from spilling out to the rest of your facility. This protects employees outside the targeted noise zone, while the use of our Airborne Absorption products can help protect employees inside this target zone.
The invisible culprit on a factory floor are the transparent sound vibrations that move structurally throughout your facility. While your ear picks up the airborne noise in the room, much of the noise is first traveling down through the legs of your machinery and spreading throughout your factory. Controlling the contact points between the machines and your floor can have a dramatic impact on lowering your exposure levels.
This set of treatments is where the majority of our industrial clients arrive. After all enclosure, barrier and isolation treatments are explored, treating the "path" of the noise to reduce background reflections is often the most practical, yet least effective. By lining your surrounding walls or ceilings with absorption panels or baffles, you can limit the exposure levels to your employees by collapsing the reverberations in the room and triggering reasonable decibel level drops.
Remember that it is quite often the case that there is no "right" answer, but rather a set of options available to you based on your noise source. While we target 85 dBa, we also work within the guidelines of what is practical for your application and what falls within your budget.
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