News

So, you’ve completed the RHE course on neighbour noise investigation and maybe our course on nuisance and you’re wondering what’s next!  Well, expanding your noise-related skills might just be the direction for you.

New for 2022, RHE has stepped into an area normally reserved for colleges and universities by offering a new modular course that’s suitable for everyone wishing to develop their skills relating to environmental noise measurement, assessment and control.

Delivered by Alan Whitfield (BSc MSc MPhil MCIEH MIOA CEnvH), formerly of Derby and also Birmingham universities, this comprehensive online course is an excellent foundation in acoustics. It comprises a series of eight modules that are studied over a number of weeks. If taken as a whole, the training equates to a total of 20 hours of CPD activity and is broadly equivalent to a certificate of competence in environmental noise assessment.

The course begins by expanding on your existing school-level mathematics and physics skills to allow you to get to grips with how sound is propagated, calculated, measured and controlled. You will also develop your understanding of how sound affects the human body, both in terms of possible physical and sensori-neural damage. Time will also be devoted to investigating why the human ear is frequency selective and how this influences our response to noise.

The behaviour of sound generated by a range of sources will also be examined, along with the way in which different factors affect its transmission in the atmosphere, across the ground and through structures. This will enable you to develop an understanding of its characteristics and decay over distance.

The course also develops your competence in the use of a sound level meter (commonly abbreviated to SLM) and a noise dosimeter. You will discuss the possible sources of error in their use and the importance of calibration and traceability. Pulling these strands together, you’ll then become proficient at recording accurate environmental noise measurements under a variety of conditions and situations.

Finally, the course refreshes your legal knowledge regarding environmental noise control and equips you with the skills not only to accurately assess environmental noise but also to apply the most appropriate legal remedy.

Previous attendees have commented:
“Alan was absolutely brilliant … He was very knowledgeable, friendly and a good teacher! He made some complex subjects very digestible and interesting.”

“ … He was clearly passionate and extremely knowledgeable on the subject, kept everyone’s attention and was happy to answer questions, book in separate calls with attendees who needed extra help and was even happy to continue to be a point of contact/sounding board beyond the course – probably the best trainer I’ve ever had.”

“Alan was great, … knowledgeable and able to impart the required info.”

Dates for the next course are fast approaching, with Module 1 on Tuesday 24 May. Click here to find out more.