{"id":210727,"date":"2025-01-07T14:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T19:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?p=210727"},"modified":"2025-01-17T14:09:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T19:09:26","slug":"construction-noise-vibration-regulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/construction-noise-vibration-regulations\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting sensitive sites: Noise and vibration rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Todd Busch<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Urban<\/a>
Photo \u00a9dhvstockphoto\/courtesy bigstockphoto.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the United States and Canada, three places are uniquely regulated by government authorities for construction noise and\/or vibration. These include the City of New York, the State of California, and the City of Toronto. The regulations require studies before construction activity and\/or noise and vibration monitoring during construction. The underlying objective of these regulations represents either a commitment to avoiding damage \u2028to structures in proximity to a construction site or the reduced probability of public annoyance.<\/p>\n

The Province of Ontario has introduced an Environmental Protection Act<\/em> (EPA<\/em>) that defines a \u201ccontaminant\u201d as any solid, liquid, gas, odor, heat, sound, vibration, radiation, or combination resulting directly or indirectly from human activities that may cause an adverse effect. As such, a statutory basis exists for extending the depth and breadth of regulation that applies to construction noise and vibration.<\/p>\n

This is not just about the nuisance factor of industrial noise\/vibration but also about the more overt health effects that may accrue from human exposure. Representative of such adverse effects are elevated blood pressure, heart rates, and sleep disturbances. Current regulations do not consider the potential for significant and adverse impacts on healthcare facilities, research laboratories, and microelectronics manufacturing operations, where sensitive instrumentation and equipment may be used. In these cases, the noise and\/or vibration control requirements should often be much more restrictive.<\/p>\n

City of New York<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"View<\/a>
The City of \u2028New York has enacted a local law whose objective is citywide \u2028mitigation of construction noise. Photo \u00a9holbox\/courtesy bigstockphoto.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Local Laws of the City of New York for 2005, No.113, Noise Control Code<\/em> and Construction Rule of January 18, 2007.<\/p>\n

The City of New York has enacted a local law whose objective is citywide mitigation of construction noise.2<\/sup> To comply, every construction site with activity must submit a Construction\u00a0\u00a0 Noise Mitigation Plan (CNMP) to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The permit holder for construction work is expected to offer a formal noise mitigation training program to benefit supervisors.<\/p>\n

The contents of the CNMP include a self-certification explaining that construction equipment has noise emissions that achieve the average manufacturer\u2019s operating specifications at peak loading. The DEP uses stipulated software for assessing noise complaints, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Roadway Construction Noise Model (RCNM), published in January 2006. The RCNM and the Construction Rule\u2019s contents use a defined set of noise emissions for a wide range of construction equipment. Within the Construction Rule, authorized work hours range from 7 a.m. to \u20286 p.m. on weekdays, with the possibility of securing after-hours times through a permit. The DEP has the power to require additional noise mitigation. The contractor is expected to coordinate work hours to minimize the predicted noise impact on schools, hospitals, places of worship, and homes for the aging.<\/p>\n

Businesses in the construction industry, commercial, cultural, and manufacturing establishments producing plainly audible sound above the sound of the immediate vicinity should become familiar with Local Law 113: Noise Code<\/em>. The Construction Rule provides a set of stipulations for noise mitigation in conjunction with the presence of any of five defined classes of construction equipment:<\/p>\n