Every year the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research publishes its Annual Report. This is a preview of the chapter on ISVR Consultancy Services for the year May 1998 - April 1999. The Unit operates on a commercial basis, with full-time engineering and support staff and an extensive pool of measurement equipment for site and laboratory investigations. It maintains close links with ISVR Research Groups, and manages the ISVR's main test chambers, comprising anechoic and reverberation rooms. The Unit generated a trading surplus in 1998-99 and staff numbers have increased with the recruitment of two engineers, Reuben Peckham and Brian Dennis.
Projects are client-confidential.
The following review illustrates the range of work undertaken and identifies some general technical and business trends within the consultancy activity. Environmental noise Many projects involve the assessment of noise from proposed industrial or leisure-related developments affecting nearby residential areas. A number of such assessments have been carried out in the vicinity of sites to be used for mineral extraction or associated uses such as asphalt manufacture, landfill or waste recycling. Other projects include the prediction and assessment of noise from night clubs, a chicken farm and a vehicle repair operation. Other investigations are concerned with proposed new residential developments on sites close to existing noise sources.