Goodrich Carbon Brake Facility
Spokane, WA
Scope
Goodrich manufactures carbon brake pads for use on commercial, regional, business aircraft, and military aircraft/helicopters. SSA was contacted to provide a full service contract to assess, engineer, and work with a contractor to install necessary treatments throughout their facility.
Process:
Starting in the furnace deck where typical noise levels were 93 dB(A), we established a goal to reduce the noise levels to below 85 dB(A), about half as loud. Taking frequency-specific sound level measurements on blowers, compressors, and piping, we were able to use these measurements to design barrier systems for the space. Noise dosimeters were distributed to key personnel and worn during the entire 10-hour day to document employee exposure to noise at select locations within the furnace deck.
Results
The results of these treatments met all elements of our goals achieving 82 dB(A). Personnel were retested during the same shift experiencing an average of a 10 decibel reduction.
Additional History:
During our initial meeting with the project manager, we learned that Goodrich had a recent negative experience with a firm that had taken a lot of measurements, but had not provided recommendations to lower the noise levels. Since the completion of this space, three more spaces have been through the same process, all with different issues, but all with the same excellent results!