How to Strengthen Noise Control in Urban Construction Sites?

Building construction noise refers to the sound that interferes with the surrounding living environment during the construction process. In the city, building public facilities such as underground railways, highways, bridges, underground pipes and cables and construction sites for industrial and civil buildings all use power machines with different performances, making the relatively quiet environment places with serious noise pollution. Some construction sites are adjacent to residential buildings, which will cause great interference to the lives of residents.

With the progress of the project and the replacement of construction procedures, different construction machinery and construction methods are used at the construction sites. For example, there are earth blasting, trenching, leveling and site cleaning up, snoring, piling, etc in basic engineering; In the main project, there are vertical steel skeleton or reinforced concrete skeleton, lifting components, mixing and pouring concrete, etc. Material and component transport activities are frequently carried out throughout in some construction sites. 

In addition, there are various kinds of knocks, impacts, the collapse of old buildings, and the shouts of people. Therefore, the noise sources are diverse and often change. The noise received by on site operators is 10 to 20 decibels. The noises they are exposed to are not less than workers operating in a noisy workshop. The construction machinery is mostly open-air operation, unobstructed around, and some machines need to move often, lifting and installation work requires aerial work. Therefore, some noise in building construction has the characteristics of suddenness, impact, and discontinuity, which is especially easy to cause people's troubles.

Harm to people caused by noises:

1.Building noise is a hazard to hearing. If people work and live in a noisy environment for a long time, hearing fatigue will inevitably occur. Then it will have a great impact on your hearing. Tinnitus may occur, it will also make people's hearing decline, communication obstacles, etc. And if the noise is too loud, its powerful sonic shock may affect the eardrum of the human ear, causing serious symptoms such as tympanic membrane congestion, bleeding or perforation. Some even cause deafness in both ears. Therefore, long-term noise interference will seriously affect people's health.

2. Interfere with people's normal work breaks. The presence of noise can seriously affect people's normal rest. For example, some construction sites in order to catch up with work will choose to work overtime at night to carry out construction work. The roar of large machines and the loud voices of people will seriously affect the rest of nearby residents, cause their insomnia, affecting their normal sleep quality. It will make impossible for adults to work in the workplace with full energy the next day, and children can't concentrate on listening in class. In addition, some people will feel irritated and tempered due to the inability to sleep, affecting their normal interpersonal relationships. In addition, if staying in such kind of environment for a long-term can cause some fetal dysplasia, even deformed development.

Noise control measures:

1.Control noise at the noise source

There are many common measures to reduce noise at construction sites, such as: avoid unnecessary engine idling, turn off the device when it is not in use; Keep the transport roads in the site well maintained and reduce their steep slopes; Start up in sequence but not start at the same time when starting the device and vehicle.

2. Improve existing equipment

Reduce equipment noise by improving equipment or by improving equipment sound reduction. However, such methods must be implemented after consulting the manufacturer. Equipment suppliers have spare parts available for all production equipment. They know how to reduce the noise of the equipment they produce, and inform the buyer of these experiences.

For stable continuous noise, such as noise generated by diesel generators, we can reduce noise by installing a more efficient exhaust muffler system or replace the ordinary hood by designing a hood with a soundproof layer. The alternative hood should not cause the engine to overheat and not overly affect routine maintenance operations. In some cases, an electric motor can be used instead of a diesel engine, thereby reducing noises. Impact noise during steel structure construction is a hazard, we should minimize direct metal-to-metal contact.

3. Pay attention to equipment use and material placement

All equipment should be used in accordance with the supplier's instructions, care should be taken to keep field devices away from noise sensitive areas. If possible, install and uninstall should also be away from these areas. Need special attention when working at night, quiet work should be done as much as possible during that time period. Machines such as cranes that are intermittently operated should be shut down at the working interval or run as less as possible. The machine should not appear unnecessary idling, this will not only generate noise but also constitute waste. Handle the material as lightly as possible, the surface of the moving material should be laid with elastic material. When the construction site is in a residential environment, it is forbidden for trucks to drive in and out during inconvenient time for residents.

4. Noise transmission control

1) Increase noise transmission distance

a. The most effective way to control noise is usually to increase the distance between the noise source and the noise sensitive zone. This method may not be feasible when working in confined areas, such as railway engineering. 

b. Fixed equipment such as compressors and generators should be placed away from noise sensitive areas.

2) Set shield

In the field where the distance between the noise source and the receiver cannot be increased, you can consider placing the shield. Maximize the use of shielding, keep the shield as close as possible to the noise source (like a fixed device) or noise receiver. Setting noise shielding can sometimes hinder the line of sight, but can significantly reduce the noise level. Planting shrubs and trees can provide a good psychological comfort, but the effect on reducing the noise level is small unless these vegetation covers a large area. At the project planning stage, you should determine how to set up the shield if possible. Because we often find that the site layout itself in the construction can provide very effective shielding. For security reasons, when you need to set a temporary wall around the site, it can be designed according to the noise barrier. Setting noise shielding between the noise source and the receiver is both physiologically and psychologically beneficial.

5. Personnel training for noise scenes

Training the construction workers to use the appropriate technology to reduce noise on site. Construction personnel should meet the following requirements through training:

1)Normal use and maintenance tools and equipment.

2)Avoid unnecessary noise when manually operating and operating equipment.

3)Specific personnel learn to use noise measurement equipment.

4)If the noise generated by the equipment exceeds the standard, report to the superior in time..

5)Do not damage or abuse ear protectors provided, and timely report the damage and loss of such equipment.