It can certainly be said that since joining RBA in July 2018, I have thoroughly enjoyed what has been both an interesting and challenging experience during my first four months. I am currently completing an industrial placement year as part of my BSc Music Technology degree at Birmingham City University between my second and third years of study. This will be the first of three posts about my experience working with RBA that I will share throughout the year.
I have already had experience in so many different areas including building services noise assessments, testing and analysing sound insulation, and looking at differing constructions for greater acoustic benefit. I have learnt that whilst providing the best acoustic qualities, it is also important to liaise with professionals from other fields including mechanical/electrical engineers and architects to suit the overall requirements of the project.
Some personal highlights so far at RBA have been both in and out of work. A particular project of interest has been working on the Havering Estate Regeneration project in Romford, whereby a new residential development is proposed at Waterloo Road. This required survey measurements of noise and vibration from the nearby road and rail networks to be taken to help inform our decisions on sound insulation requirements of the external building fabric. Due to the large scale of the development, it was beneficial to create a computer model of the site using the CadnaA software platform to accurately represent the noise incident at different areas of the building façades. Although I took a while to learn how to use the program, my queries were kindly answered by the more experienced staff, allowing me to take advantage of its capabilities.
I have also enjoyed getting to know the team outside of work such as during the RBA poker night, where I got to see everyone’s true colours – I look forward to the next one!
