SS 657 : 2020

(ICS 13.140)

SINGAPORE STANDARD

Code of practice for workplace noise control

(Formerly CP 99)
 SS 657 : 2020
(ICS 13.140)

SINGAPORE STANDARD
Code of practice for workplace noise control

Published by Enterprise Singapore

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this Singapore Standard may
be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and microfilming, without permission in writing from Enterprise Singapore.
Request for permission can be sent to: [email protected].

© Enterprise Singapore 2020

ISBN 978-981-48-9495-1
 SS 657 : 2020

The content of this Singapore Standard was approved on 11 May 2020 by the Quality and Safety
Standards Committee (QSSC) under the purview of the Singapore Standards Council.

First published as CP 99, 2003

First revision and re-designated as SS 657, 2020

QSSC consists of the following members:

Name Representation

Chairman : Er. Go Heng Huat Individual Capacity

Deputy
Chairman : Mr Seet Choh San Singapore Institution of Safety Officers
Advisor : Mr Chan Yew Kwong Individual Capacity
Secretary : Ms Dorothy Er Singapore Manufacturing Federation –
Standards Development Organisation
Members : Er. Goh Keng Cheong Housing & Development Board
Er. Hashim Bin Mansoor Building and Construction Authority
Assoc Prof Hoon Kay Hiang Nanyang Technological University
Mr Koh Yeong Kheng Association of Small & Medium Enterprises
Mr Lee Kay Chai The Singapore Contractors Association Ltd
Prof Lee Pui Mun Singapore University of Social Sciences
Mr Lim Kee Huat Society of Loss Prevention in the Process
Industries
Mr Steven Nah Association of Process Industry
Er. Ngiam Tong Yuen Individual Capacity
Mr Ong Liong Chuan Individual Capacity
Mr Perianan Radhakrishnan Singapore Welding Society
Assoc Prof Simon Poh Siew National University of Singapore
Beng
Mr Derek Sim Association of Singapore Marine Industries
Mr Harnek Singh Individual Capacity
Mr Birch Sio Singapore Manufacturing Federation
Mr Alvin Soong Kheng Boon Land Transport Authority
Mr Tan Kay Chen The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
Mr Daniel Tan Kuan Wei Individual Capacity
Mr Jonathan Wan Individual Capacity
Mr Wong Siu Tee JTC Corporation
Mr Winston Yew Workplace Safety and Health Council
Co-opted
Member : Dr Lee Tong Kooi Individual Capacity

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QSSC set up the Technical Committee on Workplace Safety and Health to oversee the preparation of
this standard. The Technical Committee consists of the following members:

Name Representation

Chairman : Mr Seet Choh San Individual Capacity

Secretary : Ms Dorothy Er Singapore Manufacturing Federation – Standards
Development Organisation
Members : Mr Chow Choy Wah Singapore Institution of Safety Officers
Er. Veronica Chow Occupational and Environmental Health Society
Ms Delphine Fong Hung Ying SPORT Singapore
Assoc Prof Goh Yang Miang National University of Singapore
Mr Kareemkhan Mahaboob Building and Construction Authority
Khan
Mr Bernard Kwok Hon Mun Ministry of Manpower
Mr Mohamed Aliffi Bin Ismail Association of Singapore Marine Industries
Mr Terence Ng Meng Hai Housing & Development Board
Mr Sze Thiam Siong SETSCO Services Pte Ltd
Mr Jonathan Tan Aik Leong The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
Mr Andrew Tan Hock Seng Land Transport Authority
Mr Yeo Kim Hock The Singapore Contractors Association Ltd

The Technical Committee set up the Working Group on Industrial Noise Control to prepare this
standard. The Working Group consists of the following experts who contribute in their individual
capacity:

Name

Convenor : Er. Chui Heng Tak

Deputy
Convenor : Mr Tan Kia Tang
Secretary : Mr Arthur Goh
Members : Er. Chong Lee Mei
Ms Evelyn Koh
Mr Lem Chee Meng
Dr Lim Chiak Hwee
Mr Eric Loo Song Poh
Mr Eric Ng Teck Sing
Mr Ng Zhihan
Mr Ong Yong Seng

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The organisations in which the experts of the Working Group are involved are:

Absolute Instrument Systems Pte Ltd

Association of Singapore Marine Industries
ChemTech Speciality & Engineering Industries
Environmental Engineering Society of Singapore
Ministry of Manpower
The Singapore Contractors Association Ltd
Singapore Institution of Safety Officers
The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
TÜV SÜD PSB Pte Ltd

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Contents
Page

Foreword 8

1 Scope 10
2 Normative references 10
3 Terms and definitions 10
4 Principles of noise control 14
5 Noise risk management 15
6 Duties and responsibilities 22
7 Noise exposure limits and control criteria 25
8 Noise control for new plants 27
9 Noise hazard management at workplaces 28

Annexes
A General acoustic considerations for a plant layout 32
B Damping 39
C Noise control for vibrating surfaces and material handling 42
D Vibration control as a noise control measure 44
E Silencers and noise control for high-velocity fluid flow 52
F Shock isolation 60
G Machine enclosures 64
H Partition walls 70
I Noise barriers 75
J Room absorption 79
K Active noise control 82
L Personnel enclosures - Cabins 83
M Basic classes of materials 85
N Sample noise hazard identification checklist 93
O Noise exposure / Dose calculation chart 94
P Noise control measures 95
Q Noise monitoring and measurements 96
R Ultrasound 98

Tables
1 Permissible exposure limits for noise 18
2 Risk rating based on LAeq,8h or noise dose 20
3 Recommended action for different risk ratings 21
4 Recommended and preferred design noise levels 27

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5 Stages in noise control for new plants 28

A.1 Source location and directivity factor 33
A.2 Adding sound pressure levels 35
A.3 “A” weighting factors 35
A.4 Examples of substitution for noisy equipment 37
D.1 Damping ratio for materials 49
G.1 Factors per cycle 67
H.1 Plateau height for some common partition wall materials 71
H.2 Computation of (τ x S) for transmission loss calculation 73
J.1 Computation of room absorption (A = α x S) for reverberant noise reduction calculation 81
L.1 Computation of (τ x S) and (α x S) for noise reduction calculation 84
M.1 Transmission loss of common materials (in dB) 86
M.2 Approximate velocity of sound in certain media at 21°C 88
M.3 Examples of mounting of absorbing materials 91
M.4 Typical sound absorption coefficients of common materials 92
Q.1 Standard octave bands 96
Q.2 Top 20% noise exposed persons within a 95 % confidence level 97
Q.3 Settings for noise dosimeters 97
R.1 Permissible exposure limits for ultrasound 98

Figures
1 Noise risk management process 16
2 Hearing protection signage 22
A.1 Relative sound pressure level versus distance from the source 33
A.2 Correction factor due to background noise 36
B.1 Graphs of loss factor ratio vs thickness ratio for a free-layer treatment 40
D.1 Transmissibility of a vibrating system 47
E.1 Diagram of a sound absorbing plenum 54
E.2 Geometry of an expansion chamber silencer 55
E.3 Reactive resonator 56
E.4 Commercially available pneumatic silencers 58
F.1 Rectangular acceleration pulse 60
F.2 Half-sine acceleration pulse 61
F.3 Versed sine pulse 61
F.4 Shock transmissibility for the undamped spring-mass system as a function of the
product of angular natural frequency ωn and effective duration τr 62
H.1 A partition wall separating receivers from noise source 70
I.1 Noise barrier (indoor) 76
I.2 Noise barrier (free field) 77
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K.1 Active noise control system 82

M.1 Transmission loss of acoustic energy through a panel 87
M.2 Sound absorption of different types of absorber 90

Bibliography 99

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Foreword

This Singapore Standard was prepared by the Working Group on Code of practice for industrial noise
control set up by the Technical Committee on Workplace Safety and Health under the purview of QSSC.

It is a revision of Singapore Standard CP 99 : 2003 “Code of practice for industrial noise control” and
has been re-designated as SS 657 : 2020.

The summary of changes is as follows:

a) Inclusion of noise risk management;

b) Inclusion of ultrasound;

c) Expansion of plant planning to include new plants and noise hazard management at
workplaces;

d) Inclusion of Annex N for sample checklist on noise hazard identification;

e) Inclusion of Annex O for Noise exposure / Dose calculation chart;

f) Inclusion of Annex P for list of noise control measures;

g) Inclusion of Annex Q for noise monitoring and measurements;

h) Alignment with current industry practices.

For more information on the protection of site personnel against noise-induced hearing loss, refer
to SS 602, “Code of practice for noise control on construction and demolition sites”.

It is presupposed that in the course of their work, users will comply with all relevant regulatory and
statutory requirements. Some examples of relevant regulations and acts are listed in the Bibliography.
The Singapore Standards Council and Enterprise Singapore will not be responsible for identifying all of
such legal obligations.

The following sections of the standard were reproduced / adapted with the kind permission of the
organisations shown below:

 The annexes, except for Annex F, Annex O, Annex N, Annex Q and Annex R, were reproduced
from Guidelines for Noise Control and Vibration 2003, Ministry of Manpower.
 The sample checklist for noise hazard identification in Annex N, Workplace Safety and Health
Council.
 Figure O.1 on partial noise calculation chart, Acviron Acoustics Consultants Pte Ltd.
 Table R.1 is adapted with permission from ACGIH®, 2019 TLVs® and BEIs® book. Copyright
2019. (See “Statement of Position Regarding the TLVs® and BEIs®” at
https://www.acgih.org/tlv-bei-guidelines/policies-procedures-presentations/tlv-bei-position-
statement and “Policy Statement on the Uses of TLVs® and BEIs®” at
https://www.acgih.org/tlv-bei-guidelines/policies-procedures-presentations/tlv-bei-policy-
statement)

Acknowledgement is made for the use of information from the above publications. The inclusion of these
pictures and diagrams does not connote any endorsement of product/services and/or design concept
by the Working Group and Enterprise Singapore.

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Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this Singapore Standard may be the
subject of patent rights. Enterprise Singapore shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all of
such patent rights.

NOTE

1. Singapore Standards (SSs) and Technical References (TRs) are reviewed periodically to keep abreast of technical
changes, technological developments and industry practices. The changes are documented through the issue of
either amendments or revisions. Where SSs are deemed to be stable, i.e. no foreseeable changes in them, they will be
classified as “Mature Standards”. Mature Standards will not be subject to further review, unless there are requests to review
such standards.

2. An SS or TR is voluntary in nature except when it is made mandatory by a regulatory authority. It can also be cited in
contracts making its application a business necessity. Users are advised to assess and determine whether the SS or TR is
suitable for their intended use or purpose. If required, they should refer to the relevant professionals or experts for advice on
the use of the document. Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Standards Council shall not be liable for any damages
whether directly or indirectly suffered by anyone or any organisation as a result of the use of any SS or TR. Although care
has been taken to draft this standard, users are also advised to ensure that they apply the information after due diligence.

3. Compliance with a SS or TR does not exempt users from any legal obligations.

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Code of practice for workplace noise control

1 Scope
1.1 This standard provides guidance and recommendations on risk assessment, monitoring and
control of workplace noise. This standard is applicable to all workplaces where persons are exposed or
likely to be exposed to excessive noise.

1.2 This standard does not cover community noise and environmental noise such as noise from
construction, public entertainment and transportation. For environmental noise control at construction
and demolition sites, refer to SS 602.

2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this standard. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.

IEC 61672-1 Electroacoustics Sound level meters. Part 1 Specifications

IEC 61252 Electroacoustics – Specifications for personal sound exposure meters
SS 549 Code of practice for selection, use, care and maintenance of hearing protectors

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