Demolition Noise Monitoring with John F Hunt

Cirrus Environmental has enjoyed a long alliance with John F Hunt Demolition going back over many years, so much so, the company’s Health, Safety & Environmental Department has accumulated almost an historic arsenal of Cirrus equipment that charts the journey of  demolition noise monitoring over the years.

An acoustic consultant from John F Hunt installing a noise monitor in London for demolition noise monitoring

About John F Hunt Demolition

The Essex-based limited company was established in 1982 and works with developers, industrialists, contractors and local authorities throughout the private and public sectors. The majority of its
ongoing sites are currently in or around our crowded capital, London, and it has grown to become one of the UK’s largest and most trusted demolition companies.

With each square metre coveted in the Capital, every project there has its own unique environmental noise issues to contend with. Fortunately Senior Health & Safety Manager Keith Kelsey and his team have a host of Cirrus Environmental kits to work with, including the Invictus Noise Monitor, the MK:427 Noise Sensor, the CR:811B and Optimus CR:1710. All of these have been used over many years for demolition noise monitoring.

Specialising in safe city demolition, asbestos removal and deconstruction of town centre commercial buildings, high rise tower demolition, industrial demolition of process plants and explosive demolition, much of John F Hunt’s work is carried out in densely populated areas, where the utmost consideration is required to the surrounding environment.

This is where the Cirrus Environmental technology comes into its own, offering accurate, real time noise measurements with state of the art software and remote alerts that takes the uncertainty out of environmental noise measurements.

Read more about John F Hunt Demolition and Environmental Management.

Demolition Noise Monitoring Equipment Used

The Invictus and the MK427 Noise Sensor are the mainstay of Keith’s demolition noise monitoring arsenal.

Unlike a conventional Sound Level Meter, the Noise Sensor simply converts the noise level in decibels into an industry standard 4-20mA output. The pure-analogue electronics are highly reliable and operate without any user intervention. No specialist acoustic knowledge is required – simply power-up the noise sensor and the measured noise level is continuously fed to the output. With the 4-20mA output, very long cable lengths can be used without reducing the accuracy of noise measurements.

The Invictus also stands out as it is a purpose-designed environmental noise measurement instrument. Its versatile functionality means it can be used on its own as a portable environmental noise
monitor or combined with other instruments and sensors to form part of a larger, more comprehensive noise measurement and management system.

For medium and long term noise monitoring applications, the Invictus can be combined with a secure enclosure for wall or mast mounting. Its large, clear colour touch screen allows the instrument to be deployed quickly whilst allowing the user to see the exact status of the system.

The Invictus is simple to set up and deploy whilst providing a wide range of noise measurement parameters. It is supplied with the Noise-Hub2 software package, which has a comprehensive set of analysis tools.

What Keith Kelsey of John F Hunt Says…

“We have found them to be very reliable and user friendly to set up. They may go into storage for a few weeks but it tends to be back to back usage on one site or another as we are very busy at the moment.” said Keith.“We are finding the recording function very handy,” he continued. “It records any peaks accurately and so we can use it to discount noise that would not be related to our sites. We have just finished using them at a site in Fenchurch Avenue which is in a very densely populated area in the City of London, so it’s good to have that kind of data as evidence to investigate any complaints.”

“I think people today are more aware of their environmental rights so are more likely to complain now than in the past. They may not be sure of the exact legislation but they will be quicker to contact us if they are not happy about noise levels. It is also about perception, what one person finds a nuisance perhaps wouldn’t concern someone else; so our equipment shows categorically when we are working within the time and noise limits set by the current standards, Local Authorities or legislation.”

Continued Support

Keith and his team also recently attended one of the Cirrus Environmental training workshops which helped to consolidate their understanding of the Invictus to get the most out of their demolition noise measuring equipment.

They also know the Cirrus Environmental technical team is only one call away if they need to double check something or report an issue.

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