Winvic attended The Green Apple Awards presentation ceremony at the Houses of Parliament to collect an Environmental Best Practice trophy on 20th November 2023.
The award recognises the contractor’s successful use of combined noise and dust monitoring equipment that has Artificial Intelligence (AI) integrated. The revolutionary environmental technology has not been previously utilised in the UK construction sector.
Through use of this technology, Winvic has seen a greater focus on potential noise and dust nuisance impacts, which has resulted in a reduction in complaints from the sites’ neighbours in comparison to sites utilising conventional noise monitoring equipment. Should any environmental noise be reported on a site using the equipment, the Winvic operational team can rely on the technology to correctly classify the source, negating the need for manual and time-consuming identification.
Each noise monitor not only captures audio clips when any noise exceedance limit is detected, but it also identifies different sources of noise – for example sirens, vehicles, birds or machinery. Through the integrated artificial intelligence, sounds are automatically analysed and categorised as noise being from:
- Construction activities
- Impact sounds
- Music
- Vehicles
The recordings are automatically stored on a cloud-based system that is accessible to Winvic’s operational teams for playback and investigation. Real time environmental noise and dust emission data and weekly performance reports can be accessed at any time but are automatically emailed to key team members for review and action. Furthermore, the apparatus is equipped with a 4G SIM card, allowing a text and email with the corresponding sound recording to be immediately sent to nominated team members if a noise exceeds the set level. This allows for corrective action to be implemented quickly.
A total of eight monitoring units have been in use. Two were placed on four of Winvic’s multi-room sites, due to their city centre locations near residential areas. The noise and dust limits were set by Winvic in conformance with local authority guidelines.
Paul Thomas, Winvic’s Head of Environment, said: “Identifying the source of potential environmental noise nuisance impacts through conventional analyses of noise monitoring data has previously been difficult and time consuming. Therefore, we wanted to explore up-to-the-minute environmental noise monitoring systems that would assist with reducing onerous data analysis and the potential impacts upon local communities.
“The AI-ready innovative technology we selected – UK sector first – is an incredibly effective measure in minimising the potential impact of noise and we’re proud to be at the forefront of ethical construction practices and always considerate to the wider community and the environment during our projects. Being awarded a Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice is fantastic news – we’re delighted to be ‘Doing It Right’.”
As a winner of a Green Apple Award, Winvic will become a Green World Ambassador and a trophy will be presented for this achievement next spring. Winvic’s Environmental Best Practice award entry will also be submitted to the Green World Environment Awards.
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