Western Sydney is entering a significant period of industrial growth.
Across the Western Sydney Aerotropolis, investment is flowing into advanced manufacturing, logistics, distribution, data centres and other major industrial facilities. As that development accelerates, so does the need to consider how operational noise will be managed within an increasingly busy industrial and urban landscape.
For Wallmark Sales Director Brad Hewines, acoustic infrastructure is becoming an important part of that picture.
“Western Sydney is changing incredibly quickly. We’re seeing major industrial facilities and infrastructure being developed alongside an entirely new city,” Brad said.
“As that density increases, noise management becomes an important part of how those facilities are planned and how they operate over the long term.”
Different industries bring different noise profiles
Modern industrial sites can contain multiple noise sources operating simultaneously.
Transformers can introduce persistent low-frequency and tonal noise. Cooling systems, fans and mechanical plant may operate continuously. Manufacturing facilities combine fixed machinery and materials handling, while logistics operations introduce loading activity, refrigeration plant and heavy vehicle movements.
That acoustic profile influences the infrastructure required to control it.
“An industrial site doesn’t have one generic noise source,” Brad said.
“You can have equipment with completely different acoustic characteristics operating across the same facility. The response needs to be designed around the actual noise environment and the way the site will operate.”
Planning for the industrial interface
As development intensifies across Western Sydney, industrial facilities will increasingly operate alongside other employment, commercial and surrounding land uses.
Acoustic modelling establishes how noise is expected to travel and the performance required to manage it. Translating those requirements into a built barrier introduces another set of considerations — barrier position and height, foundations, services, drainage, access, equipment layouts and construction sequencing.
“Once the acoustic requirements are established, the barrier still has to work with everything else happening on the project,” Brad said.
“Those interfaces are much easier to resolve when acoustic infrastructure is considered as part of the overall site.”
Badgerys Creek: supporting the next phase of Western Sydney
Wallmark recently completed an acoustic barrier for Holcim Australia’s new concrete batching plant at Badgerys Creek, developed to supply concrete into the rapidly growing Western Sydney region.
Wallmark designed and constructed a DuneWall® acoustic barrier incorporating NATA-tested composite panels with an Rw 28 acoustic rating and hot-dip galvanised steel posts. Its modular construction provided an efficient installation methodology and a durable, low-maintenance solution for the industrial environment.
“Badgerys Creek is a good example of the infrastructure that sits behind industrial growth,” Brad said.
“The plant will support development across Western Sydney, while acoustic infrastructure helps support the long-term operation of the facility itself.”
As the Aerotropolis continues to grow, the same challenge will emerge across manufacturing, logistics, data centres, utilities, energy infrastructure and other major industrial developments.
For project teams, the opportunity is to understand the operational noise environment early and integrate the required acoustic infrastructure into the broader site design.
Western Sydney is building the facilities that will power its next phase of growth. The infrastructure that allows those facilities to operate successfully will be just as important.
Planning acoustic infrastructure for an industrial project?
Talk to Wallmark about turning your project’s acoustic requirements into a practical, engineered barrier solution.
