Technical explanations and field-informed perspectives from On-Site Acoustic Testing. Explore the science, purpose, applications, and limitations of acoustic and environmental measurements, secure-facility verification, RF shielding, and relevant standards. Articles explain what these disciplines establish and why independent assessment matters; they are not instructions for conducting tests or substitutes for project-specific professional evaluation.
Browse by Subject
- Secure Facilities & ICD-705 — SCIF and SAPF acoustic verification, construction considerations, and project-specific acceptance criteria.
- Architectural Acoustics — Sound isolation, impact noise, building assemblies, and performance ratings.
- RF Shielding & Testing — Shielding effectiveness, RF verification, and measurement methods.
- Environmental Noise & Vibration — Industrial, community, HVAC, data-center, and vibration investigations.
- Standards & Regulations — Technical standards, measurement practices, and important revisions.
- From the Field — Practical observations and lessons from field testing and troubleshooting.
Technical Reference Resources
For permanent measurement references and definitions, explore the Reference Library, the Acoustic Standards Directory, and our Measurement Capabilities & Methods.
Latest Articles
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Data Center Noise and Vibration: Why Operating Conditions Change the Answer
How data-center operating conditions affect environmental noise, vibration, and the interpretation of field measurements.
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SCIF and SAPF Doors: Why Installed Acoustical Performance Matters
Why installed SCIF and SAPF doorway acoustics depend on more than laboratory door ratings.
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Why RF Shielding Fails at Doors, Penetrations and Interfaces
Why doors, joints, and service penetrations can limit the shielding effectiveness of a completed RF enclosure.
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Speech Intelligibility, Speech Privacy and Why They Are Not Opposites
How speech intelligibility differs from privacy, and why STI, STIPA, and CIS have different applications.
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What a Failed Acoustic Test Really Means—and What It Does Not
What a field-test failure establishes, why it does not identify the cause, and how independent verification supports remediation.
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Why Intermittent Noise Complaints Need More Than a Sound-Level Reading
Why brief noise readings may miss intermittent sources, tones, low-frequency effects, and changes across operating conditions.
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RF Shielding Effectiveness: What Field Testing Establishes for Secure Facilities
What RF shielding effectiveness means, why frequency and whole-enclosure performance matter, and when independent field verification is appropriate.
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STC, ASTC, IIC and AIIC: Why Laboratory Ratings and Installed Buildings Differ
What laboratory and field sound-isolation ratings establish, why flanking paths matter, and when independent acoustical verification is necessary.
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How Loud Is Too Loud? Noise Exposure, Hearing Damage and Hearing Protection
A practical guide to OSHA and NIOSH noise limits, hearing damage, common workplace and community noise exposures, and earplug and earmuff ratings.
