Acoustic protection is one component of the technical requirements governing Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs). On-Site Acoustic Testing provides field acoustic testing, design review and remediation support for secure facilities, including SCIF, SAPF and VTC projects.
This article summarizes practical acoustic-testing considerations. Project requirements should always be confirmed against the applicable governing criteria, project documents and direction from the Authorizing Official (AO).
Current IC Technical Specification
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence publishes the Intelligence Community Technical Specification for Construction and Management of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. The publicly available IC Technical Specification, Version 1.5.1 (PDF), dated July 26, 2021, includes acoustic protection requirements in Chapter 9. Applicable requirements and acceptance criteria should be confirmed against the approved project documents and direction from the Authorizing Official (AO).
Sound Group 3 and Sound Group 4
The IC Technical Specification establishes Sound Group 3 and Sound Group 4 acoustic-protection levels. For instrumented testing using Noise Isolation Class (NIC), the specification identifies NIC 40 for Sound Group 3 and NIC 45 for Sound Group 4.
Sound Group 3 is the baseline identified for SCIF perimeter construction, while areas involving amplified conversations, including conference centers and VTC rooms, are identified for Sound Group 4 construction. The required condition for a particular project should be established from its approved security and construction documentation.
Instrumented Acoustic Testing
Our ASTM E336 field airborne sound isolation guide illustrates the source-room and receiving-room measurement arrangements used for ASTC and NIC. For ICD-705 Sound Group work, the controlling technical specification and project criteria determine how measurements are performed, evaluated and reported. Related field procedures for building-envelope sound isolation are covered separately in ASTM E966 façade testing.
The technical specification requires acoustic testing to verify the required protection and permits instrumented testing using NIC. In practice, secure-facility testing may require measurements at multiple perimeter walls, doors, windows, openings and other potential sound-transmission paths rather than treating an entire facility as a single partition.
For a detailed description of OSAT’s field-testing service, see SCIF, SAPF and VTC secure-facility testing.
Doors, Penetrations and Transmission Paths
Acoustic performance can be limited by more than the nominal wall construction. Doors, seals, penetrations, ducts, utility pathways, junctions and other discontinuities can become controlling transmission paths. Field measurements are useful both for acceptance testing and for diagnosing a facility that does not achieve the required result.
Design Review and Remediation
Testing late in construction can identify deficiencies, but earlier review can reduce the likelihood of difficult remediation. OSAT can support projects with acoustical plan review, field measurements and acoustic modeling.
Related Secure-Facility Testing
Acoustic testing addresses sound transmission and speech security; it is distinct from RF shielding verification. Where both are required, OSAT also provides RF shielding testing and field verification.
Secure-Facility Acoustic and RF Testing Capabilities
OSAT provides field testing for SCIFs, SAPFs, secure conference rooms, VTC facilities, and associated building assemblies. Selection of a metric depends on the governing criteria and project requirements: ASTC, NIC, OITC, and OINIC are not interchangeable and no single rating establishes compliance across every transmission path.
- ASTC (Apparent Sound Transmission Class): in-situ airborne sound isolation measurements of walls, doors and partitions in accordance with applicable ASTM E336 field testing procedures.
- NIC (Noise Isolation Class): field evaluation of sound isolation for the Sound Group criteria and other project-specified secure-room applications; see our SCIF, SAPF and VTC testing services.
- OITC (Outdoor-Indoor Transmission Class): evaluation of exterior-noise isolation where required by the project; see our building acoustics testing services and façade, window and door testing.
- OINIC (Outdoor-Indoor Noise Isolation Class): field assessment of exterior-envelope noise isolation under applicable ASTM E966 methods.
- RF shielding verification: separate radio-frequency shielding effectiveness evaluation where required by a facility’s security design or project specifications, including IEEE 299-related field testing. RF testing is a distinct discipline and is not replaced by acoustic compliance testing.
Support Through Design, Construction and Acceptance
Preconstruction consulting and plan review: OSAT reviews planned construction details, wall and ceiling assemblies, door and frame interfaces, penetrations, HVAC paths and other potential flanking routes before they become expensive field defects. See acoustical plan review and assembly modeling.
Mock-up assembly testing: testing of representative walls, doors, seals, assemblies and critical junction details before production installation to identify achievable performance and necessary changes.
Final acceptance testing: on-site measurements of specified boundaries and assemblies, with reporting tied to the applicable criteria and project-defined acceptance requirements.
Defect identification, remediation guidance and retesting: when assemblies fail, OSAT helps identify leakage paths and installation defects, advises the project team on potential corrective measures, and performs follow-up testing to document results. Common issues include door alignment, perimeter seals, thresholds, unsealed penetrations, ducts and unintended flanking paths.
Military and Government Project Experience
OSAT has provided testing at military and government installations including:
- Aberdeen Proving Ground — Maryland
- Andersen Air Force Base — Guam
- Beale Air Force Base — California
- Camp Humphreys — Republic of Korea
- Cape Canaveral — Florida
- Dannelly Field Air National Guard Base — Montgomery, Alabama
- Dyess Air Force Base — Texas
- Edwards Air Force Base — California
- Eglin Air Force Base — Florida
- Eielson Air Force Base — Fairbanks, Alaska
- Fort Belvoir — Virginia
- Fort Bragg — North Carolina
- Fort George G. Meade / National Security Agency (NSA) — Maryland
- Hurlburt Field — Florida
- Idaho National Laboratory — Idaho
- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst — New Jersey
- Langley Air Force Base — Virginia
- Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune — North Carolina
- National Academy of Sciences — Washington, DC
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Morgantown campus — West Virginia
- Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth — Texas
- Naval Air Station Lemoore — California
- Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu — California
- Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) — Cuba
- Naval Station Norfolk — Virginia
- Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay — Georgia
- Naval Support Activity Bahrain — Bahrain
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region II Office — Atlanta, Georgia
- Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard — Hawaii
- Presidio of Monterey — California
- Randolph Air Force Base (Joint Base San Antonio) — Texas
- Redstone Arsenal — Alabama
- Ron de Lugo Federal Building — St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Schofield Barracks / Fort Shafter — Hawaii
- Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base — Birmingham, Alabama
- Tinker Air Force Base — Oklahoma
- Tyndall Air Force Base — Florida
- U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Clay Kaserne — Wiesbaden, Germany
- U.S. Coast Guard Douglas A. Munro Headquarters Building — St. Elizabeths Campus, Washington, DC
- Vandenberg Space Force Base — California
These are among numerous installations where OSAT has conducted testing.
These projects demonstrate OSAT’s experience testing secure facilities for military and government clients. See our military and government services and project experience pages.
Discuss an ICD-705 Acoustic Testing Project
For pricing and planning, provide available drawings or an accurate count of the walls, doors and other partitions requiring testing, along with the applicable Sound Group and project requirements.
