Attendance:
- Paul Schwarz DC
- Luis Pereira DC
- Mark Scaife WSP
- Sarah Huskie WSP
- Jason Hird Gyproc/SG
- Muhammad Shah Acoustic Logic
- Dimitrios Doutsios Acoustic logic
- Edward Adamcyzk PMK
- Thomas Bailess PMK
- Hani Maher Intercool
Agenda Covered;
1. Green Building Regulations (GBR)
- As of the 1st of January these regulations will be in place which may mean more acoustic work for Dubai
- UPDATE - Dominic Parkinson of WSP met Mr Kamal at DM who advised that they will accept an acoustic report as compliance and confirmed that acoustics is not high on their agenda. He did however state that he is approachable and open to dialogue with us with regard to amendments and updates and if MEAS wanted to write a section on compliance testing he is open to it.
- Paul Schwarz of Design Confidence met another DM representative at a recent conference who approached Paul and stated that noise was being recognised as an issue in his Department.
Action; PS and DP to arrange and attend a meeting with Pauls contact. DP to put forward an action plan on producing an MEAS Compliance Document at the next meeting.
2. Dubai Tourism (DCEM) complying with new GBR
- Hotels apparently need to demonstrate that walls and floors meet with acoustic standards; a technical definition has not given by the DCEM. Hotel groups are now asking acousticians for assistance in complying with this standard but what the standard is is not clarified. Hence hotels using international best practise.
- UPDATE - The checklist states the following with respect to acoustics: ‘Effective Soundproofing. Certificate present to confirm decibel levels agreeable’
- It appears that although DTCM have released this latest version and are undertaking stricter inspections to determine compliance, this is still pretty haphazard and inconsistent. It’s not enforceable by law but non-compliance will affect the star rating of the hotel and this in turn affects the daily room rates.
- Although compliance with Operator Standards will meet this requirement in most cases the possibility of MEAS drawing up a standard in conjunction with DTCM should be investigated.
Action: For discussion at the next meeting. Jason Hird will also be presenting Gyproc MEs research on Hotel Operators and their approach to acoustics at the next meeting.
3. Expo 2020
- UPDATE: the Metro red line extension to the new airport is currently out to Tender with the potential for noise and vibration assessments.
Action; On-going review at next meeting
4. Changes to current noise regulations
- Updates to the new regulations are now available on DM website
- It was noted that Qatar rail are taking complaints of construction noise seriously and there appears to be a growing trend of companies being approached to investigate complaints in Dubai.
Action; No specific action to be taken, just a potential general trend occurring in the market.
5. Estidama detailed reports (asked by one of the members)
- UPDATE – Some assessments and measurements are now being undertaken by companies within the membership.
Action;
- Maybe to present something on this at a conference?
- DM need to be approached, anyone could ask around to see who at DM or Lootha Gas? Environmental Planning- Mathew Plumridge or the presenter of the Big 5 Green Building seminar (see Dominic P)
6. AOB
- Concern has been raised regarding Suppliers, who are members of MEAS, offering consultancy services. To be discussed further at the next meeting.
- Student membership – It was agreed that students should be invited to attend MEAS meetings/presentations with numbers limited on a first come first served basis. PS and SH to add known students to the mailing list.
- Case studies/presentations – It was agreed that we would like more case studies and presentations either following the quarterly meeting or on separate occasions. This could count towards CPD Points. SH to organise and nominate people for future meetings.
- Code of Ethics – All to review the attached Code of Ethics and revert to SH with any comments/recommendations for changes.
Next meeting:
9am 1st September 2014 followed by a presentation from Jason Hird of Gyproc ME