Markets

Cross-Spectrum Acoustics (CSA) provides noise, vibration and acoustics consulting services in several market areas, including:

Transit, Freight, and High-Speed Rail:

Our staff have taught the NTI/FTA training courses on transit noise and vibration across the country for the past 10 years.  Mr. Meister is one of the authors of the Federal Transit Adminstration’s guidance manual on noise and vibration.  Mr. Singleton prepared the General Assessment spreadsheet  used and distributed by the FTA.

CSA has experience on projects ranging from preliminary assessments to environmental impact statements to final design of systems.  We have experience with all types of transit modes, including: light rail transit (LRT), bus rapid transit (BRT), streetcar, heavy rail, commuter rail, intercity and high-speed rail, and freight rail systems.  CSA staff have provided noise and vibration consulting on transit projects at locations throughout the US, including:

CSA staff have conducted noise and vibration assessments for both the FRA and STB, including the UP-SP merger, the Conrail merger with NS and CSX, the CN-IC merger, and numerous projects for the Alaska Railroad.  Mr. Meister also helped to author the FRA’s locomotive horn noise rule, and design the FRA’s horn noise model, used to assess noise at grade crossings.  More recently, CSA staff worked on the St. Louis Park freight rail relocation project, which involved shifting freight traffic onto a lightly used corridor through a residential neighborhood, and the Springfield (IL) Rail Consolidation project, which involved rerouting and consolidating freight traffic through Springfield to minimize impacts to the community.

CSA staff have also worked on high-speed rail projects around the country, including projects in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Nevada and New England.

Construction:

CSA has extensive experience with construction noise and vibration.  Both of our Partners were involved in the Central Artery project in Boston, the largest public works project in the nation at the time.  Working on a project of this magnitude gave us unparalleled experience with construction equipment, mitigation measures and community response to noise, especially at night.

We have used our experience  to analyze construction noise on large transportation projects, stone processing operations, demolition and even residential excavation. We know from our experience that noise mitigation on construction projects may entail significant costs and project delays so we work with stakeholders to recommend effective measures that can be implemented quickly by contractors at minimal cost.

Architectural Acoustics:

CSA has experience on a wide variety of architectural acoustics projects for learning spaces, office environments, auditoriums, and transit spaces. We have performed analyses of speech intelligibly, sound isolation between spaces, and. structure-borne noise caused by MEP sources. We can measure acoustical paramters such as  reverberation time (RT60),  field sound transmission class (STC) and speech transmission index (STI) to help resolve interior acoustical problems. We use customized computer models and reference literature to predict future sound levels and to recommend appropriate mitigation measures.

Community Noise:

CSA has worked on a wide range of community noise projects, from measuring HVAC exhaust noise and chicken crowing to power plants and car washes. We’ve also performed industrial noise measurements to determine compliance with OSHA hearing conservation regulations. CSA staff have significant experience in assisting developers with their permit applications and helping community groups solve noise problems by recommending cost-effective noise mitigation measures.

Wind Turbine Noise:

CSA has experience with numerous wind turbine noise projects.  We have worked for both wind turbine project developers and community groups in assessing the noise effects of wind turbines and applying the appropriate set of criteria to estimate any impacts.

Our consultants are well versed in the complex set of noise issues related to wind turbines.  We can assist with siting issues, pre-construction noise measurement programs, modeling of noise effects of wind turbines on local communities using state of the art computer programs and post-construction noise monitoring to determine compliance with noise regulations.

Research and Development:

CSA staff have assisted a number of manufacturers of audio and industrial equipment to characterize and improve the acoustical performance of their products. We have assisted clients in the design of audio transducers, flow silencers, vibration isolators  and analysis systems. We have also used our measurement systems that signal-processing methods to overcome high-noise environments. We specialize in using commerical off-the-shelf products to create precision measurement systems at minimal cost.

Audio and Recording Systems:

Through Cross-Spectrum Labs, we offer microphone and sound level meter verification services for manufacturers, hobbyists and professionals.