ANMS Conference Debrief
11.10.2010 | HMMH |
by Mike Carr
Eugene Reindel and I recently attended the 10th Annual Airport Noise Mitigation Symposium (ANMS), hosted by San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California. ANMS is the only U.S. conference pertaining directly to the issues relating to airport noise mitigation. The theme this year played off of the San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge; Building a Bridge to Compatibility.
This year’s conference was a great success and enjoyed by all (from what I heard). This is in no small part due to the great job of the Symposium’s planning committee which was co-chaired by Michael McCarron of San Francisco International Airport, and Carla Kell-Smith of C. Kell-Smith & Associates, Inc. The agenda had a great mix of presentation styles and topics from across the industry. Mix that with a humorous, facetious, yet educational keynote address on the history of Sound Insulation from Carl Rosenberg of Acentech, a Napa/Sonoma Valley wine tour, and golf tourney overlooking the bay and you might just have a hit.
As for the actual session, topics ranged from FAA roundtable discussions, airport land acquisition, adding a green/sustainable focus to your program, and my personal favorite… Sound Insulation and Testing (although I’m biased). One topic of particular interest, which kept sneaking into sessions and conversations, was the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) update to the Guidelines for Sound Insulation of Residences Exposed to Aircraft Operations (Guidelines).
A session directly discussing the ACRP Update to the Guidelines document was presented by Michael Payne of The Jones Payne Group. Michael Payne, who is the Principal Investigator for the Update, offered the following perspective on the purpose and need for the Update:
While there is much useful information in the two previous versions, much of it needs to be updated to reflect current costs, codes and “Best Practices”.
The Approach for the update plans to:
Build upon the two previous versions by maintaining that which is useful and relevant while updating and expanding the Guidelines in key areas such as:
- Energy performance and sustainability
- Community Outreach
- Improvements in Products
- Current Code and other Regulatory Requirements
- Bidding methodologies and project costs
Michael’s presentation sparked a decent amount of discussion among attendees; I look forward to seeing the updated Guidelines as they are issued. The final submittal is expected in Fall/Winter 2011, so look for it sometime after.
On a side note, special congratulations are also in order for Michael Payne, as he was this year’s recipient of the Randy Jones Award for Excellence in Airport Noise Mitigation.
HMMH has had the opportunity to be involved in the ANMS since nearly the beginning, providing sponsorship, chairing or moderating sessions, presenting paper, and participating as members of the planning committee. This was my first year of involvement, both in attending the conference and participating on the planning committee. I’m looking forward to participating and seeing all of your shining faces at the 11th annual ANMS in the ‘Lou (NO NOT THE LOO! St Louis!).