ANC Conference 2024 – Q&A with Create’s Jody Blacklock and Mat Tuora

On Wednesday 3^rd July, members of our Acoustics team took part in the Association of Noise Consultants Annual Conference at Crown Plaza, Birmingham. The Annual Conference included a panel and discussion throughout the day, followed by the 2024 Awards and dinner that evening, presented by Tom Wrigglesworth and members of the ANC Board including Chair, Louise Beamish.

There were three panels throughout the day, and our Principal Acoustic Consultant Mat Tuora was tasked with moderating and asking the questions to the various speakers. Technical Director of Acoustics, Jody Blacklock was also present on the Construction Noise panel as one of the speakers. Throughout the day the pair spoke about their experiences of working in the industry, pitfalls which are often encountered and some real-world scenarios which have been overcome through prudent advice and innovative solutions.

We caught up with Jody and Mat to find out about this year’s conference and their experiences, here’s what they had to say.

Mat, you spent a notable amount of time compiling the evidence base required for us to join the ANC when you first arrived at the business. So, what was it like to moderate and take responsibility for asking questions?

Mat – Joining the ANC as a full member was a big moment for our Acoustics team and ever since we have taken proactive steps to increase our involvement with the association, assisting in a number of areas. So being asked to moderate and ask questions for this year’s ANC Conference was a very positive experience. I can’t say public speaking is necessarily my speciality, but I felt very supported and would be happy to do it again. I can even see myself putting my name forward to Chair a session at next year’s event.

Jody, I believe this is your first time as a speaker on a panel, how was your experience?

Jody – Yes, this was my first experience of talking to that many acoustic consultants in one go! As Chair of the Eastern Branch of the Institute of Acoustics, I am used to standing up and talking, but this was at a whole different level. Fortunately, this year the AV system played ball with all speakers and the presentation went rather well, I feel.  I am certainly up for presenting at another ANC Conference in the future.

Great, it sounds like you both enjoyed the experience. What were the three panels?

Mat – Alec Korchev of Clarke Saunders chaired a panel on Aligning acoustics with the Net Zero Agenda. Heulwen Peters of SRL chaired Internal Acoustic Environments and Vicky Wills of Atkins Realis chaired a panel on Construction Noise. Jody sat on the Construction Noise panel and provided some very informative responses to the questions posed.

What key topics did you focus on and discuss with your fellow acousticians?

Jody – I talked about the difficulties that construction noise and vibration can have on existing receptors when constructing a new development. Several real-life experiences were highlighted along with the importance of ensuring that due diligence is always followed.

Mat – I used the time to catch up with a few others on the progress of the new STEM project the ANC are working on which I am leading on the Volunteer Support Team and the Sustainability Group which I sit as vice chair on, and Jody is in the Development Team.

Jody, as a Chartered Engineer with over two decades of experience, how much of an impact do you think the ANC can have on fellow professionals and the industry in the future?

Jody – You make me sound old!  I believe organisations such as the ANC can have a significant impact on our industry. By coming together every year and sharing our experiences, we can learn from others. There is a strong feeling that we need to continuously improve our industry, be it through updating British Standards, Building Regulations or just improving best practice. This can be done via proactive working groups and communities, such as the ANC. As for the industry in the future, both Mat and I are working on an exciting STEM outreach program called Project Reverb.  At the moment, I can’t say more than that but watch this space. Hopefully it will help to encourage more students to follow in our footsteps.

Mat as a younger acoustician, what do you think the biggest challenges are that the industry will face in your lifetime and how can the ANC help these to be successfully overcome?

Mat – I think understanding the importance of acoustic design is an ongoing challenge the industry faces. There is a general attitude that sound does not impact people, and that if people are bothered, they should just get over it. However, any developer who has developed a site in a noisy area or cut corners on the internal design will understand people are quick to complain when they feel they are impacted by high noise levels or can clearly hear their neighbours. As part of our role as consultants, we need to be aware that educating our clients on the risks of high or intrusive noise is part of our responsibility. I also think our industry, along with many others, needs to carefully consider how our work impacts our planet.  Development is becoming more reliant on mechanical plant to remain viable, despite being able to be powered through electricity, this is still a significant amount of material which needs to be maintained serviced and eventually replaced, where in some cases a passive more sustainable solution may be viable. This doesn’t just apply to plant, but building design and the approach we take needs to be more sustainable as a whole.

What would you say were some of the highlights of the conference?

Jody – I would say that for me, one of my favourite parts of the day was networking with likeminded individuals, but also the awards presentations were at an excellent standard again this year. My favourite project won in its category whilst also picking up the Best Presentation award. Kudos to Mark Scaife of CDC – very well deserved. Whilst I’m on that topic, well done to all the winners this year and to those projects shortlisted.

Mat – I very much enjoyed Tom Galikowski’s talk on protecting museum and gallery artwork. I also liked Jorge De Avillez’s work on predicting vibration in wooden frame structures. I delight in seeing the more novel work that other consultants are working on. The talk on High Speed 2 and the work surrounding that was also very interesting.  The logistics involved in delivering a project of that scale are something that many consultants do not face on a day-to-day basis, and indeed may never face in their career. The consultants presenting were clearly aware of the challenges that arise on these large infrastructure projects.

What topic would you like to see mentioned or focused on more next year?

Jody – One of my greatest passions and bug bears is Noise at Work. So many companies knowingly expose their employees to excessively high noise levels which is not only bad for their health, but also bad for the company as well, be it for financial reasons, through settlement payments, or fines from the HSE or lost productivity through sickness, etc. Most of the time there are some simple procedural changes which can be implemented which could reduce their noise exposure dramatically. Personally, I don’t think that this topic gets enough air time.

Mat – Anything novel regardless of the size of the project interests me. I always enjoy work involving listed buildings or auditorium design. I would also like to see more involvement from other consultants in other industries. There are some major design hurdles we must overcome to reverse the damage we are doing to our planet, and we only have a chance of doing that by working together and not in isolation. Developing new methods of construction and not simply copying and pasting unsustainable design solutions across the country will be key, and talking about this more openly at events such as these is a first step.

Many thanks for taking some time to talk to us today, it is clear from your answers that the ANC are more relevant than ever and becoming a recognisable force in the world of acoustics, promoting and recognising excellence amongst UK acoustic consultants.

For more on the Association of Noise Consultants and this year’s awards, visit www.association-of-noise-consultants.co.uk