Sifting through all the noise.
Nicholas Sylvestre-Williams runs his own acoustical engineering company to help assess and control noise levels at pits and quarries
Q: What is your position and what are your responsibilities?
A: I am a partner and owner of Aercoustics Engineering Limited, an acoustical engineering consulting company based out of Toronto, with about 50 people based in our main office. I’m responsible for preparing Noise Impact Studies for existing and proposed pits and quarries. For new sites, this means meeting the team and understanding the plan. The next step is developing the model to determine the optimum extraction process.
Noise is often a very contentious issue and its effect can impact neighbours hundreds of metres away, so I make every effort to minimize that impact on people while maximizing the flexibility and operations of the aggregate site.
Once the report’s prepared and submitted, this is often the long period of waiting for the review(s) and it includes responding to the MNR, the towns, the regions, the conservation authorities, the public and the NGOs. It can take years for a single application and more often than not, things end up at hearings, where I provide expert testimony in my field of acoustics, noise and vibration.
A lot of existing sites also need acoustical audits, so in spring, when things are getting up and running, my team and I are often out to multiple sites in a week, taking measurements and ensuring that facilities are operating in accordance with their noise controls.
Q: What is it about your job that other people wish they got to do?
A: I’ve visited a countless number of pits and quarries across Canada – I often joke that I’m paid to hike in beautiful Ontario countryside and talk to people, while also taking noise measurements. Noise is a challenging issue for a lot of people. It’s not just about how loud something is, but the effect it has on someone. I often tell the story that a person can sleep next to a loud road, but a ticking clock can keep someone up, so it’s not about volume but how you react to the noise.
I have a good understanding of how noise affects people but I’m always learning something new every day about what is and isn’t an issue.
Q: What do you find most challenging in your work?
A: A lot of people are confused by the field of acoustics, noise and vibration. It’s not an intuitive field (we joke that 2+2=5 because it’s true: 2dB+2dB is 5dB). It’s most challenging talking to the public, who often have preconceived notions about noise. When you try to explain to someone what 45 dBA sounds like, they often have no understanding of what that means. Analogies and metaphors only go so far. And no matter how hard you try, it’s always an uphill battle explaining to someone how a piece of equipment that’s very loud when you stand next to it, can be quiet when you’re far away and shielded.
I’m often viewed as a “bad guy” because I’m typically hired by the aggregate operator, but as a professional engineer, my duty is first and foremost to the public. I often try to explain to people that my interest isn’t making the site do anything they want, but to find a compromise that minimizes the impact of the site as much as possible, while also allowing its operation.
Q: Describe your typical day on the job and how the work you do contributes to your company.
A: The nice part of my job is that there’s no “typical” day. There are days I’m out in the field walking around taking measurements. There are days I’m in front the computer developing acoustic models and writing reports. There are days I’m in meetings with producers and planners. There are even days I’m in court providing expert testimony at the OMB/LPAT. These days, I work with a team of engineers, so a lot of time is spent on training them and involving them in my projects.
Q: How did you get interested in this field/this work?
A: I started my career in the field of general environmental engineering at an environmental consulting firm. I was fortunate to quickly get into the area of acoustics, noise and vibration and realized it was the perfect mix of technical and field work. When I later joined Aercoustics in 07, I worked closely with my old bosses, who specialized in the aggregate field. One of my early and largest projects was the proposed Mega-Quarry, which kicked off right when I joined. It was an ambitious project by the proponents and cemented (pun intended) my interest in this field. The sheer scale of the project and the complexity of the modelling was fascinating, and the public’s reaction, while predominantly negative, was equally influencing in my decision to specialize in the field of environmental acoustics.
Q: Detail your past or ongoing education and how it is relevant to your job.
A: I did my undergraduate in engineering physics at Queen’s University, originally thinking I would study materials. Once I started working however, I found the field of acoustics, noise and vibration was a perfect mix of being very technically challenging while not getting too bogged down in the abstract. While continuing working, I chose to do graduate studies in mechanical engineering, specializing in acoustics. My Master’s project work involved quite a bit of outdoor measurements to determine the impact of the ground (grass and soil) on the propagation of sound outdoors.
I’ve always focused on continuing education and, for a number of years, I aimed to always present at conferences. I’m most proud of a presentation I did in New York City in 2012 on Haul Route Noise analysis. These days, I spend a bit more time helping and teaching. I’ve helped OSSGA in its environmental committee over the years, in courses and presentations, and even organizing tours for Ministry staff, explaining what acoustics is and how it impacts people.
Q: Where do you see the industry going in the next few years?
A: What’s really great to see is the change in equipment. Looking at a CAT 980D vs. a 980H, the sound levels are significantly quieter. I still remember going out to measure my first tower-enclosed drill and being amazed at how (relatively) quiet it was compared to older equipment. OEMs are seeing the benefit of quieter equipment and that only makes my job easier.
The most amazing change is adapting technology. At our office, we still have files and reports of studies done for Blue Circle Industries in the ‘80s. The work was all done by pen and paper. When I started in this field, calculations were predominantly done in Lotus and/or Excel but were quite rudimentary, and not a lot of scenarios could be analyzed. I still remember when we bought the first graphical computer modelling software and could take weeks of work down to days. Today, we can create incredibly detailed computer models that can predict and refine an almost infinite number of scenarios.
What’s also amazing is the monitoring technology that’s been developed. In the past, noise issues were entirely reactive, i.e., you got a complaint, and only then did you try to figure it out and remedy the situation. Today, we have noise monitoring technology that utilizes predictive algorithms that can incorporate weather predictions and know if there’ll be problems long before a complaint can even occur. In another decade, I believe that all sites will likely incorporate monitoring and we’ll do-away with spot-checks and one-time audits.
Q: What advice would you give to others looking for a career in the aggregate industry?
A: The aggregate industry is made up of an incredible variety of people. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many different people in all aspects. In school, I had no idea the industry even existed, much less the associate industry that exists to support the primary aggregate sector.
In hindsight it’s naïve, but now I look around and realize just how much aggregate goes into every single thing see and use. I suppose people still have the image of Fred Flintstone and think the industry hasn’t evolved much, but that’s as far from the truth as we are from the dinosaurs. The aggregate sector is at the forefront of technology – from using drones for aerial mapping, to active noise and vibration monitoring, to progressive environmental protection technology – there is literally a place for anyone who wants to be a steward of our environment.