Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00426:reg:0:p12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00426
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 0 (pt 12/20)
Character Range: 53200–56188

to be without risks to the health and safety of persons.

Design of plant
Regulation 59: A designer of plant must design the plant so that its noise emission is as low as reasonably practicable.
Designers must provide information on the noise emission values of the plant (for example, data on sound power level or sound pressure level), the operating conditions of the plant when the noise emission is measured and the methods used to measure the noise emission. They must also provide information on any conditions required for safe use.
This information must be provided to manufacturers, importers and suppliers.
If you design plant you should consider:
    * preventing or reducing the impact between machine parts
    * replacing metal parts with quieter plastic parts
    * combining machine guards with acoustic treatment
    * enclosing particularly noisy machine parts
    * selecting power transmission which permits the quietest speed regulation; for example, rotation-speed-controlled electric motors
    * isolating vibration-related noise sources within machines.
You should also design:
    * good seals for doors for machines
    * machines with effective cooling flanges that reduce the need for air jet cooling
    * quieter types of fans or placing mufflers in the ducts of ventilation systems
    * quiet electric motors and transmissions
    * pipelines for low flow speeds (maximum 5m/sec.)
    * ventilation ducts with fan inlet mufflers and other mufflers to prevent noise transfer in the duct between noisy and quiet rooms.
Methods of maintenance and servicing should be taken into account in noise control design.

Design of buildings and structures
Designers of buildings and structures must take noise control into account from the beginning of the planning process and minimise the noise transmitted through the structure to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable.[2]
For new buildings designers should consider:
    * the effect on noise levels of building reverberation, the building layout and location of workstations relative to any plant
    * selecting the frame, floor and machine bases so that all sources of disturbance can be provided with effective vibration isolation. Heavy, noisy equipment requires rigid, heavy bases. It is also possible to isolate machine bases from direct contact with the rest of the building frame (see Figure 2)
    * isolating noise sources such as plant rooms
    * designing acoustic treatments for noisy areas, for example, cover ceilings (and walls in the case of very high ceilings) with sound-absorbing material, use floating floors
    * using flexible construction joints as building elements
    * designing walls, floors, windows and doors to provide the necessary sound transmission loss
    * covering floors of office areas with carpets.

Figure 2 The vibrations of an elevator drive are isolated from the building structure.

Sound insulating separate rooms
With automation of processes, remote