NOISE MONITORING
VOLUME CONTROL: TACKLING EVENT
NOISE MONITORING Live events inherently produce noise levels that are higher than normal
and can attract unwarranted attention at volumes no louder than environmental background levels of traffic. Noise is an easy target, and it’s important that
organisers can monitor the sound produced by their event to mitigate complaints and potential disruption. Symphotech explore the best ways to do this.
Events must comply with the requirements of the noise council guidelines which the local authorities set as their licensing requirements, and this can be a minefield for organisers. Last year we worked with X Music Festival for the first time who, following a series of previous noise complaints, called upon our team to help them make certain that the event met license conditions and festival noise control obligations.
Along with a noise plan for the event, we took regular noise readings at all three stages as well as four sensitive areas off-site, and fed our readings back to our team, positioned at the sound desk, with the frequencies causing the problem when noise levels became too loud.
Organisers also have a responsibility to ensure Noise at Work regulations are being met. According to the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, in an environment where workers are normally exposed to sound levels of 80 dB(A) or over, employers are obliged to warn staff of the dangers of cumulative sound pressure hearing loss, and provide them with ear protection. You can also ensure the safety of your workers by making sure staff are rotated, getting proper breaks and wearing appropriate ear protection.
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You have to also consider noise levels for the audience. With a whole day of music with no breaks, it’s important that your guests aren’t left with ringing in their ears. There is a happy medium, it has to be a reasonable level for people to enjoy it, but there is a point when it becomes so loud that it can be damaging. Unlike workers, the audience has no specific legislation protecting them from exposure to extremely high noise levels, however the HSE lay down strong recommendations that the A-weighted equivalent continuous sound level over the duration of the event (Event LAeq) in any part of the audience area should not exceed 107 dB, and the C-weighted peak sound pressure level should not exceed 140 dB. It also suggests that the audience and loudspeaker separation distance should never be less than 1m.
Before your event, a Noise Risk Assessment should be created and local residents must be notified a month in advance and given a contact number for the person to whom complaints can be made. The sound data we collect is logged and sent to the local council so they get a tamper proof document with a recording of noise levels in and around the event, which gives them piece of mind that
it’s being carefully considered and, if needs be, can be used to support cases which may end in court.
There are also occasions when the local authority request unrealistic noise limits and we can help in the planning stages to resolve these issues. We recently experienced this when planning for a series of shows at Aintree Racecourse, where we discovered that the background noise levels of the road outside the nearest resident were higher than the limit set on the license conditions. Through evidence acquired by logging the traffic noise, we were able to negotiate higher limits to the music levels on the license.
With so much to consider when putting on a live event, keeping your noise levels under control doesn’t have to be complex. Having noise monitoring specialists on hand to help with pre-event planning and onsite monitoring is vital for the wellbeing of your workers and attendees. Noise monitoring experts can help strike the perfect balance by ensuring the enjoyment of your guests isn’t compromised, whilst making sure local residents don’t miss out on their beauty sleep, and the organiser isn’t fined and their licence revoked.
symphotech.co.uk www.tomorrowshs.com
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