MIL-STD-1474, “Design Criteria Standard – Noise Limits,” has just been updated. The new Revision E is available and represents a major re-write of this important standard. The document is used in U.S. military procurement to specify the noise limits for material purchased by the DoD (Department of Defense) – when in use. In addition, it provides the user with the various test requirements for testing noise levels to make sure products and systems meet MIL-STD-1474 levels.
Other standards provide you with hearing damage risk and hearing conservation requirements. The MIL-STD-1474 provides you with a set of design criteria only. And you’ll be expected to provide goods to the government that emit the lowest feasible noise level! This is because there can be any number of pieces of equipment in use in any given military operation. The combination of all these noises can be harmful.
What’s new in the MIL-STD-1474 E? You may be used to those black lines in the margins of updates to military specifications and standards. There’s too many changes in this new issue to make that possible. However, you will want to note that community annoyance requirements have been deleted. Why? There are too many local codes and other requirements. Since regulations differ in various jurisdictions (communities, states and countries), it was not feasible as of this issue to try to address the issue comprehensively.
MIL-STD-1474 E is a 123-page standard. It has the usual Scope, Referenced Documents and Terms and definitions sections to start. Sections 4 and 5 provide you with both general and detailed requirements. Section 6 covers the usual notes.
The majority of the document is comprised of 6 Appendices. Appendix A covers steady-state noise requirements for use in personnel-occupied areas. Appendix B covers impulsive noise requirements for the same. Appendix C is on aural non-detectability requirements. Appendix D covers aircraft noise requirements. Appendix E is for shipboard equipment while Appendix F gives you the requirements for shipboard compartment noise.
You can purchase copies of this standard in both paper format and for pdf download from Document Center Inc. Just order at our website www.document-center.com. The purchase will come with our complimentary notification service for alerts on future releases. Another service to consider is our Standards Online multi-user subscription service. The professional edition is currently in the works to be released in the next month or so. It will have a docdiff tool so you can compare one edition of a standard to the previous edition. This can take the place of those lines in the margins that are missing in this update.
Remember, Document Center Inc. has been working with Mil Specs and Standards since 1982. We’re a small, woman-owned business located in Silicon Valley. Make us your Standards Experts!