Determination of noise levels in the intensive care unit of the Coimbra Hospital and University Centre

Noise Solver for Refurbishment Construction Site Design

“…The World Health Organization (WHO), recognising the risk due to the noise exposure, recommends a maximum noise level for hospital environments in the range of 45 dB (but not exceeding 80 dB which is the said maximum). Unfortunately, this level is exceeded every day, even in the order of 20dB, as confirmed by the measurements carried out in Austrian and Spanish hospitals (Castro et al, 2013). In Italy, according to the UNI 8199-1998 and UNI 8199-2016 standards, even lower exposure levels are used, requiring that the acceptable noise levels do not exceed, e.g., 30 dB for the hospital rooms e 40 dB for the visitor areas (Uguccioni, G. 2005), as reported in Table 1.…”

“…Definition and settings of noise sources (Castro et al, 2013) related to construction activities (see Figure 2). Within the Unity3D model, we can insert noise sources according to what is reported in the construction project, characterizing each one according to the sound level produced (e.g.…”

“…Definition and setting of receptors (Castro et al, 2013) (see Figure 2): within the Unity3D model we can include daily hospital activities that work as receptors. Each of these receptors is set to visually highlight the impact through a colour coding from high risk (Red) to acceptable (Green) (see Figure 3);…”

CONVIS: A tool enabling uninterrupted operation during refurbishments of complex buildings

“…The risk of noise exposure is real and for this reason the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum noise level e.g. for hospital environments in the range of 45 dB (but not exceeding 80 dB which is the said maximum; see Castro et al 2013). However, some analysis highlight that the level of noise recorded exceed these recommended levels: In Austrian hospitals, for example, a level of 65 dB has been observed, while Spanish hospitals may have as much as 55 dB in practice (see again Castro et al 2013).…”