Elements and Performance Criteria
- Confirm scope of noise management activities with supervisor
- Review legislative, regulatory and licensing requirements and approvals that apply to site/project/program.
- Review current noise monitoring plan, including objectives, known issues, specified management activities and any required changes.
- Review previous noise monitoring records and reports, if available.
- Confirm that noise monitoring sites, sampling and measurement methods, instrumentation and workplace procedures are in accordance with relevant standards and guidelines.
- Clarify own scope of responsibility/authority for achieving specific outcomes and the roles of other key personnel.
- Identify resources available to conduct noise management activities.
- Organise noise management activities
- Develop a consolidated schedule to ensure all activities can be conducted efficiently with the available resources.
- Develop checklists/clear work instructions to enable personnel to perform assigned tasks efficiently and with minimal errors.
- Ensure that personnel who conduct monitoring are competent to undertake their assigned tasks.
- Ensure noise monitoring equipment is regularly calibrated and maintained and that adequate stocks of consumables are available.
- Conduct, or arrange for, regular site inspections to monitor the effectiveness of noise control/reduction actions (if relevant to site/project/program).
- Advise relevant personnel when specified noise control/reduction actions are not being implemented effectively (if relevant to site/project/program).
- Conduct, or arrange for, additional monitoring/inspections after atypical events, legitimate complaints or government requests.
- Verify noise data
- Identify relevant job instructions, data and technical records in workplace information management system.
- Confirm that technical records provide sufficient information to ensure traceability for the monitoring activities involved.
- Compare monitoring data with expected values and identify any outliers.
- Inspect data records to identify any gaps and to check the integrity of data entry, transfers, alterations and calculations.
- Notify manager when data is incomplete, or contains significant errors, and clarify what action to take.
- Determine if results are acceptable and within expectation
- Compare results with expected values, relevant standards and/or statutory limits and identify any significant differences or trends.
- Check the reliability of results by examining data/results from repeat measurements or other monitoring sites.
- Assess the significance of any documented observations of atypical environmental or meteorological conditions.
- Check that all adjusted data and calculations are free from error.
- Check that estimations of uncertainty are reasonable and consistent with the relevant standard, if relevant.
- Report results that meet workplace data quality standards and are consistent with expectations.
- Investigate/rectify unexpected or unacceptable results
- Examine records of pre-use checks and calibration performance to ensure that the monitoring instruments used meet specifications and workplace requirements.
- Establish whether human, environmental and/or meteorological factors could have affected the reliability of results.
- Check for obvious errors in measurement positions and/or techniques.
- Report unexpected results that meet workplace data quality standards.
- Identify possible root causes of unacceptable results and appropriate preventative/corrective actions.
- Report investigation outcomes and recommendations for improvements in accordance with workplace procedures.
- Seek manager’s advice when challenges are beyond own technical competence or when input from environmental specialists may be required.
- Keep management informed about noise performance
- Maintain noise records
- Ensure all noise records are legible, accurate and satisfy workplace/legislative requirements.
- Store noise records to enable easy access and review by authorised personnel in accordance with workplace procedures.
- Regularly review noise records to identify any significant trends and impacts.
- Identify any problems with the maintenance and security of noise records and resolve them promptly.