The Challenge
Evaluating how a proposed helipad on the roof of the San Francisco General Hospital would affect the surrounding community, while also considering federal, state and local guidelines.
The Strategy
HMMH:
- Conducted noise measurements in the community and hospital during helicopter demonstration flights to determine overall noise levels
- Designed a noise modeling effort using the FAA's Integrated Noise Model (INM) Version 7.0 to determine cumulative noise effects of the operations based on forecast uses, helicopter types, and flight tracks
- Examined how abrupt changes in terrain elevation impacted noise
- Evaluated the potentials for speech interference and sleep disturbance for receivers located near helicopter flight paths
- Determined durations for speech interference and percentages of potential awakenings in the hospital community
The Solution
HMMH was able to evaluate several potential alternatives to reduce community noise exposure.
