Nadirah Darus

Disparities in Generated Noise Between Predictions and Measurements from Construction Sites

In order to avoid excessive noise exposure and to improve construction environmental performance, noise should be predicted at the planning stage and appropriate mitigation measures should be implemented. There are various noise prediction methods that have been practiced by the respected parties. The simplest and most recommended method of noise prediction is the procedure of BS 5228-1:2009. However, previous studies have claimed that this method was inaccurate because of several factors. Therefore, this study attempts to assess the difference between the prediction using this method and the noise obtained from the measurement. The study was conducted by measuring noise emissions from earthwork, piling work and structural work at selected measurement stations, investigating the individual noise emission of construction equipment and predicting construction noise using the measured data. Several related variables were also measured to identify their effects on outdoor sound propagation. The results of t-test showed that all the stations have the significant disparities between prediction and measurement. The highest over prediction of 5 dBA was due to the use of several moving machines during operation processes and high noise emission level of machines. Consequently, this affects the distance between the sound source and the measurement station (geometry factor).