Industrial noise management solutions for industrial operations
Manage your noise compliance with ease
Whether your operation is a refinery or a timber mill, operational noise is one of your biggest challenges. You need to balance growth while reducing noise impacts on local communities. Determining your noise emissions can be particularly difficult if your operations are adjacent to other industries or in industrial complexes.
Vanguard Technologies has developed a solution that can help you manage noise emissions in real time. We can provide valuable predictive insights into your operations by integrating readily available data (such as weather, noise, and SCADA) so that you can see your noise contribution quickly and accurately and use this information to help reduce operational risks.
Talk to us about:
Real-time noise monitoring with alerts/alarms
With our noise monitoring technology, you can monitor performance in real time, set thresholds based on compliance limits to trigger immediate alerts, and implement immediate, automated remediation action or prevent regulatory thresholds from being breached.
Integrate operational data and weather forecasts, model impacts, and explore mitigation options
Integrate available operational data and weather forecasts to deliver integrated real-time noise modelling that can both analyse and predict potential impacts, and test potential mitigation work to see what its effects will be in the real world.
The right formula for optimal production depends on the correct data
Solutions = timing, weather, proximity + Nexus + experience
Formulas can be ‘iffy’ if some of the variables are unknown—these unknown factors can interfere with otherwise sound suppositions, theories, and extrapolations. The key to accuracy is starting with the correct data and understanding the factors through which that data can and should be analysed. If you can’t trust the data, then that’s almost the same as not knowing or having the data. Without accurate data, you may retreat to a ‘safe zone’, often well inside the regulatory guidelines, which leads to conservatism in decision-making and results in conservative yields.
The key to achieving optimal results when looking for industrial noise management solutions is data that can be relied upon. And reliable data depends on the quality of the measurement tools and understanding how to use them.
We need to understand the problem before we can solve it
Typically, there’s more than one way to approach a problem; however, in industry we’re always looking for the best answer. Why? Because the difference between the best answer and one that’s merely correct can be measured in millions of dollars or more.
One of our customers was faced with the challenge of operating optimally in an area bound by regulatory noise restrictions. Previously, progress had been impeded by variable results, some of which had pushed the noise levels outside acceptable dB limits or cast doubts over the true number. We needed to outline and test a number of approaches. The critical questions we faced were:
1. What were the sources/causes of these variations?
2. How could they be accurately taken into account when modelling scenarios?
3. Having stabilised the data, what action can be taken after analysis?
Our task was to propose ways in which their activities could continue during their various hours of operation without exceeding acceptable noise levels.
Nexus for planning, modelling, and analysis
Nexus was made for this type of complex, multi-tiered problem solving. In the scenario faced by our customer, we needed to consider several factors, all of which were easily and simply accounted for with Nexus’ integrated solution. Once we’d accurately captured noise levels in real time, we came up with a range of administrative approaches. Previously, variances outside the allowable noise levels were caused by (or at least contributed by) meteorological events, other naturally occurring environmental activity, and transport and haulage operations. Nexus enables your site-based team to recognise, evaluate, and nullify the effects of conditions that may hamper your operations. In this case the customer proactively recognised what and how activities needed to change, which resulted in the necessary adjustments to schedules. The aim, as always, was to establish and maintain optimal productivity, regardless of the planned activities undertaken.
Nexus was developed and configured to gather, record, and present facts in a format that is:
1. Easy to collect
2. Easy to collate
3. Simple to interpret.
Because of the quality of the data that was captured and the accuracy of Nexus, several alternative plans could be formulated and tested against the desired outcomes. These involved:
1. Accurately providing situational awareness of near-term issues
2. Variable proximities between operations and the nearby town, taking into account meteorological conditions
3. Adaptive management approaches, which were based on both scheduled activities and forecast weather.
The customer could secure the best results using the third approach because the Nexus integrated solution did not solely rely on weeks or months of readings. This time could be best spent undertaking core operations as opposed to either operating sub-optimally or not at all.
To learn more about how we can tailor activities around your specific operational needs, including for industrial noise management, contact us on 1300 839 899 or via email at info@vanguardtech.com.au