An acoustic audit can be carried out by ITS from its competence center based in Lyon (Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne region) throughout France (and also in neighboring countries), where a situation requires an analysis to make out a report, for the evaluation of its conformity with respects to reference documents or to assess the possibilities for improvement.
Concerning noise at work, sound level measurements may be carried out e.g. at the machine operator station, in the case of a production workshop (in particular: industrial) in which it is desired to quantify noise exposure of workers.
If the walls of the room are not sufficiently covered with absorbing materials to minimize the undesirable effects of sound level amplification, the measurement of the decrease of sound level by doubling the distance to the source may be carried out by ITS to bring to light this phenomenon, using appropriate equipment including a sound generator and a sound level meter, both properly calibrated.
The same applies to other premises in companies, such as meeting rooms, canteens, a fortiori if they are open spaces for which there is reason to be concerned with acoustic comfort. Specific characterization of acoustic performance is then based on the measurement of a parameter called reverberation time, the methodology used being common to a large number of ordinary rooms (e.g. for sports halls or intended to accommodate children in kindergartens or educational establishments), for which insulation in relation to airborne noise may also, in certain cases, motivate the acoustic audit, just as the noise of equipment in other cases (e.g. noise from air conditioners, ventilation networks).
In any case, the measurement results can be compared by ITS to reference values: sometimes provided by the Client because specific, but mostly from databases in the possession of ITS which has up to date versions of standards and regulations applicable in France as well as in countries being members of the European Union. The acoustic audit report prepared by ITS is a particularized, exhaustive, precise, detailed content (like all ITS services, the acoustic audits proposed by ITS are carried out in accordance with the ISO 9001 standard).
One of the major advantages of entrusting an audit to ITS lies in the fact that ITS can also, when necessary, propose orientations of soundproofing solutions, depending on the context: noise reduction of machines and equipment (e.g. by the means of enclosures or of buildings with reinforced insulation, of silencers), limitation of sound propagation (e.g. by means of screens, noise barrier walls), and in the case of rooms, acoustic correction.
In addition to acoustic audit, ITS is able to prescribe (wisely) remedies for observed acoustic disorders, both in industry and in the construction sector, and to define realistically the gains that can be expected at the end of various actions, as well as the related costs, in relation to companies specialized for implementation.