Subspace-based methods have been effectively used to estimate enhanced speech from noisy speech samples. In the traditional subspace approaches, a critical step is splitting of two invariant subspaces associated with signal and noise via subspace decomposition, which is often performed by singular-value decomposition or eigenvalue decomposition. However, these decomposition algorithms are highly sensitive to the presence of large corruptions, resulting in a large amount of residual noise within enhanced speech in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) situations. In this paper, a joint low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition (JLSMD) based subspace method is proposed for speech enhancement. In the proposed method, we firstly structure the corrupted data as a Toeplitz matrix and estimate its effective rank value for the underlying clean speech matrix. Then the subspace decomposition is performed by means of JLSMD, where the decomposed low-rank part corresponds to enhanced speech and the sparse part corresponds to noise signal, respectively. An extensive set of experiments have been carried out for both of white Gaussian noise and real-world noise. Experimental results show that the proposed method performs better than conventional methods in many types of strong noise conditions, in terms of yielding less residual noise and lower speech distortion.

Transmission of vibroacoustic energy from an internal combustion engine (ICE) to its surroundings largely depends on how it is mounted, on available transmission paths and on the construction of the vehicle body and/or its surrounding structures. This is especially true in low speed engines in enclosed areas which generate perceptually weak noise, but strong low-frequency waves which energy has a negative impact on human health, comfort and driving safety especially in prolonged exposure to the source. The primary aim of the article was to analyse components of the ICE unit which had a determining impact on the reduction of low-frequency waves. Thus, the structurally transmitted noise from the ICE to its surrounding structure (body of the passenger vehicle) was analysed. The results of the vibroacoustic measurements were compared to modal analysis in order to determine possible resonance sources in the vehicle body and/or for assessing the influence of the vehicles safety gear on the generated vibroacoustic energy transfer into the cabin area of the passenger vehicle. Measurements were made for a passenger vehicle at rest and operating in its most common operational speed as well as for the stationary ICE of a cogenerate unit (CGU). Measurements and FFT analysis were used for the detection of the vibroacoustic energy sound pressure level (noise) and mechanical vibration. Firstly, the low-frequency noise sources were determined and their direct effects on the human body were investigated. Finally, this paper suggests some measures which may contribute to the reduction of undesirable vibroacoustic energy in enclosed areas.

An acoustic emission method (AE) is widespread and often applied for partial discharge (PD) diagnostics, mainly due to its ease of application as well as noninvasiveness and relatively high sensitivity. This paper presents comparative analysis of AE signals measurement results archived under laboratory conditions as well as on-site actual AE signals generated by inside PDs in electrical power transformer during its normal service. Three different PD model sources are applied for laboratory research: point to point, multipoint to plate and surface type. A typical measuring set up commonly used for on-site transformer PD diagnostics is provided for the laboratory tasks: piezoelectric joint transducer, preamplifier, amplifier and measuring PC interface. During the on-site research there are three measuring tracks applied simultaneously. Time domain, time-frequency domain and statistical tools are used for registered AE signals analysis. A number of descriptors are proposed as a result of the analysis. In the paper, at- tempt of AE signals descriptors, archived under laboratory condition application possibilities for on-site PD diagnostics of power transformers during normal service is made.

In the paper, a noise map service designated for the user interested in environmental noise is presented. Noise prediction algorithm and source model, developed for creating acoustic maps, are working in the cloud computing environment. In the study, issues related to the noise modelling of sound propagation in urban spaces are discussed with a particular focus on traffic noise. Examples of results obtained through a web application created for that purpose are shown. In addition, these are compared to results obtained from the commercial software simulations based on two road noise prediction models. Moreover, the computing performance of the developed application is investigated and analyzed. In the paper, a flowchart simulating the operation of the noise web-based service is presented showing that the created application is easy to use even for people with little experience in computer technology.

This paper describes the development phases of a numerical-experimental integrated approach aimed at obtaining sufficiently accurate predictions of the noise field emitted by an external gear pump by means of some vibration measurements on its external casing. Harmonic response methods and vibroacoustic analyses were considered as the main tools of this methodology. FFT acceleration spectra were experimentally acquired only in some positions of a 8.5 cc/rev external gear pump casing for some working conditions and considered as external excitation boundary conditions for a FE quite simplified vibroacoustic model. The emitted noise field was computed considering the pump as a ‘black box’, without taking into account the complex dynamics of the gear tooth meshing process and the consequent fluid pressure and load distribution. Sound power tests, based on sound intensity measurements, as well as sound pressure measurements in some positions around the pump casing were performed for validation purposes. The comparisons between numerical and experimental results confirmed the potentiality of this approach in offering a good compromise between noise prediction accuracy and reduction of experimental and modelling requirements.

In the present work, an approach to obtain a design method for the size of the plenum chamber cross-section of a marine gas turbine air supply system has been investigated. Flow in ducts makes noise which is very high in the turbine inlet part because of the large amount of flow. Therefore, this phenomenon should be considered in the design process. A suitable approach to design the duct is proposed (considering acoustic and aerodynamic performance at the same time). In this method, an air supply channel system of the marine gas turbine has been categorized into three sections according to the requirements of the aerodynamic and acoustic; inlet, plenum chamber, and outlet channels with circular cross-sections. The geometrical dimensions of inlet and outlet channels have been determined using the plane waves theory about a channel, in which the effects of flow is ignored. Space limitations of battleships at the dominant frequency have been considered. Then, the optimized size of the mid-channel section, in terms of both aerodynamic and acoustic requirements, using numerical methods and regarding the effects of flow has been calculated. Various 3D turbulent flows inside the plenum chamber have been considered, in which large eddy simulation turbulence model is utilized. Ffowcs, Williams and Hawkings models are used for the sound propagation process based on the Lighthill integral equation. The validity of the simulation has been checked by comparing results (sound pressure level) with experimental data obtained from a chamber. The comparison revealed the acceptable errors for a variety of frequencies. The results disclosed that the performance of channel system aerodynamic decreased when the fraction of plenum chamber cross-section to inlet/outlet channel cross-section increased. With an increase in the cross-section size at first Acoustic performance is improved and then worsen. Six different cases of marine gas turbine air supply system configurations have been presented, in which the limitation of the battleship space is considered. Examining and comparing the acoustic performance of different cases of the air supply channel system, it was found that the amount of sound pressure level, around the air supply channel system, and the high-pressure sound area can move along the air supply channel system. Additionally, deviations from plane waves considering the effects of flow have been inspected in all cases. The reason for this deviation is the effects of the airflow through the channel system and quadrupole sources in the production of sound in the channel system, which causes higher modes.

The paper presents experimental research carried out to determine the possible actions to reduce the noise generated by trams in a highly urbanised area. A few design strategies affecting tram ride quality have been presented – especially in the aspect of the acoustic phenomena. Main sources of the noise in trams were characterised. The paper includes selected results of comprehensive studies of tram noise in the pass-by test based on the authors’ research methodology. The tests were carried out on various types of trams to recognise the acoustic phenomena characteristic for the rolling stock in a selected tram system. The results of the measurements were analysed both in the field of amplitudes based on noise maps and in respect to frequencies based on noise spectra. The results indicated the rolling noise as important issue demanding taking some actions in order to reduce its level. In this area, elements for the application of individual attenuation solutions, i.e. at the source and during propagation, were presented. The results of the measurements were used as input data to the assumptions of the noise attenuation passive system, which was the final outcome of the study. Dedicated external dampers were used in the case of wheel and rail pairs, where the dominant power of the noise is emitted. The acoustic properties of the bogie area and the bogie side covers were redeveloped to hamper the noise propagation, which is a novel application. The presented results indicate measurable benefits from the applied solutions on the tram noise reduction.

In this study, the effect of the emergence angle of a source array on acoustic transmission in a typical shallow sea is simulated and analyzed. The formula we derived for the received signal based on the Normal Mode indicates that the signal is determined by the beamform on the modes of all sources and the samplings of all modes at the receiving depth. Two characteristics of the optimal emergence angle (OEA) are obtained and explained utilizing the aforementioned derived formula. The observed distributions of transmission loss (TL) for different sources and receivers are consistent with the obtained characteristics. The results of this study are valuable for the development and design of active sonar detection.

Q235 steel is widely used in engineering and construction. Therefore, it is important to identify the damage mechanism and the acoustic emission (AE) response of the material to ensure the safety of structures. In this study, an AE monitor system and an in situ tensile test with an optical microscope were used to investigate the AE response and insight into the damage process of Q235 steel. The surface of the specimen was polished and etched before the test in order to improve the quality of micrographs. Two kinds of AE responses, namely a burst and a continuous signal, were recorded by the AE monitor system during the test. Based on the in situ test, it was observed that the damage of Q235 steel was induced by the crystal slip and the inclusion fracture. Since the crystal slip was an ongoing process, continuous AE signals were produced, while burst AE signals were possibly produced by the inclusion fracture which occurred suddenly with released higher energy. In addition, a great number of AE signals with high amplitude were observed during the yielding stage and then the number and amplitude decreased.

In this paper, the authors analyse the propagation of surface Love waves in an elastic layered waveguide (elastic guiding layer deposited on an elastic substrate) covered on its surface with a Newtonian liquid layer of finite thickness. By solving the equations of motion in the constituent regions (elastic substrate, elastic surface layer and Newtonian liquid) and imposing the appropriate boundary conditions, the authors established an analytical form of the complex dispersion equation for Love surface waves. Further, decomposition of the complex dispersion equation into its real and imaginary part, enabled for evaluation of the phase velocity and attenuation dispersion curves of the Love wave. Subsequently, the influence of the finite thickness of a Newtonian liquid on the dispersion curves was evaluated. Theoretical (numerical) analysis shows that when the thickness of the Newtonian liquid layer exceeds approximately four penetration depths 4δ of the wave in a Newtonian liquid, then this Newtonian liquid layer can be regarded as a semi-infinite half-space. The results obtained in this paper can be important in the design and optimization of ultrasonic Love wave sensors such as: biosensors, chemosensors and viscosity sensors. Love wave viscosity sensors can be used to assess the viscosity of various liquids, e.g. liquid polymers.

The aim of this acoustic study is to analyse the phoneme [t] produced by school children surgically operated on for the cleft palate or cleft lip, in order to examine their vocal characteristics, to provide speech therapists with numerous concrete analyses of voice and speech, to effectively support them and to prevent some serious outcomes on their psychological and academic development. The motivation for this study was mainly stemming from the difficulties that Algerian schoolchildren with clefts encounter in the pronunciation of this phoneme. To carry out the study, several acoustic parameters were investigated in terms of the fundamental frequency F0, the first three formants F ₁, F ₂, and F ₃, the energy E ₀, the Voice Onset Time (VOT), the durations [CV] and [V] of the subsequent vowel [a]. For the analysis, further important parameters in the field of pathological speech were deployed, namely the degree of disturbance of F ₀ (jitter), the degree of disturbance of intensity (shimmer) and the HNR (Harmonics to Noise Ratio). Results revealed disturbance in the values of F ₁, F ₂, and F ₃ and stability in the values of F ₀. Another important reported aspect is the increase in the value of the VOT due to the difficulties in controlling the plosives’ successive closure and release.

The large variability of communication properties of underwater acoustic channels, and especially the strongly varying instantaneous conditions in shallow waters, is a challenge for the designers of underwater acoustic communication (UAC) systems. The use of phase modulated signals does not allow reliable data transmission through such a tough communication channel. However, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), being a multi-carrier amplitude and phase modulation technique applied successfully in the latest standards of wireless communications, gives the chance of reliable communication with an acceptable error rate. This paper describes communication tests conducted with the use of a laboratory model of an OFDM data transmission system in a shallow water environment in Wdzydze Lake.

Most of the Indian cities and towns have been facing serious traffic noise pollution due to urbanization, substantial growth of new vehicles, inadequate road network, etc. Automotive traffic, railroads, and air traffic are the most common sources of noise pollution in cities, with vehicular traffic accounting for around 55% of overall metropolitan noise. Prolonged exposure to such loud noise causes anger, stress, mental diseases, discomfort, hypertension, concentration problems, and sleeplessness. This study aims to investigate the effects of COVID-19 societal lockdown on changes in the noise pollution levels before, during, and after the lockdown period in various industrial, commercial, residential, and silence zones in Bengaluru, India, in light of the recent imposition of COVID-19 societal lockdown. According to data acquired from the KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Control Board) online portal, the average noise levels before and during lockdown were determined to be in the range of 59.4 dB to 70.9 dB and 58.2 dB to 62.7 dB for different zones. During the lockdown, all commercial, industrial and educational activities were closed to limit the spread of infection, resulting in usage of private and commercial transportation declining dramatically. Reduction in the noise level was observed during the lockdown in all monitoring stations of Bengaluru, except for Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, where the noise level didn’t decline because of a COVID emergency. Maximum reduction was observed in the commercial area (11.56%) followed by industrial areas (8.34%). The result further indicated that only the industrial area experienced an increase of 8.41% in noise level, while other areas experienced a reduction in a noise level during the early post-lockdown. During the mid and late post-lockdown periods, most locations experienced a rapid spike in the noise intensity.

Study of musical-acoustic influences, which are used to improve the functional state of a person, as well as her/his neurophysiological or psychological rehabilitation, is very relevant nowadays. It is related with a large number of conflict situations, significant psychological and informational overloads of modern human, permanent stress due to the pandemic, economic crisis, natural and man-made disasters. This work examines the effect of listening to low-frequency music on the percentage of alpha, beta, delta, and theta waves in the total spectral power of the electroencephalogram in the frequency band 0.5–30 Hz. To obtain rhythms of the brain the spectral analysis of filtered native electroencephalogram was used. For statistical analysis of neural oscillations the Student’s t-test and the sign test were implemented with usage of the Lilliefors normality criterion and the Shapiro-Wilk test. Statistically significant differences were identified in alpha, theta and delta oscillations. For the beta rhythm presented music did not play any significant role. An increase in the activity of the alpha rhythm in the temporal (for 2.20 percentage point), central (for 1.51 percentage point), parietal (for 2.70 percentage point), occipital (for 2.22 percentage point) leads of the right hemisphere and the parietal (for 1.74 percentage point) and occipital (for 2.46 percentage point) leads of the left hemisphere and also of the theta rhythm in the temporal leads of the left hemisphere (for 1.13 percentage point) were observed. The downfall of delta rhythm in the frontal lead of the left hemisphere (for 1.51 percentage point) and occipital in both hemispheres (for 1.64 and 1.33 percentage points respectively in the left and right hemispheres) was detected. These may indicate that listening to low-frequency compositions helps to restore the brain in physiological conditions at different functional overload levels, decrease the level of emotional tone, and promote relaxation.

The risk of human exposure to finely-dispersed aerosol particles being airborne indoors is determined by the size and the number concentration of particles, the intensity of an aerosol emission source, the air filtration and ventilation efficiency, etc. The emphasis in this article is on behaviour patterns of aerosol particles when exposed to ultrasonic and electrostatic fields in different conditions of air temperature and relative humidity. Wood flour having sizes of interest (characteristic particle diameter about 10 μm) is chosen as a model aerosol. The article considers a physical and mathematical model presenting the evolution of aerosol particles in external fields, taking into account the moisture content and the temperature of a dispersive medium. The efficiency of ultrasonic and electrostatic precipitation in different relative humidity and temperature conditions in an enclosed space was studied using optical measurement methods of particle size and concentration.

The acoustic vector sensor (AVS) is used to measure the acoustic intensity, which gives the direction-ofarrival (DOA) of an acoustic source. However, while estimating the DOA from the measured acoustic intensity the finite microphone separation (d) in a practical AVS causes angular bias. Also, in the presence of noise there exists a trade off between the bias (strictly increasing function of d) and variance (strictly decreasing function of d) of the DOA estimate. In this paper, we propose a novel method for mitigating the angular bias caused due to finite microphone separation in an AVS. We have reduced the variance by increasing the microphone separation and then removed the bias with the proposed bias model. Our approach employs the finite element method (FEM) and curves fitting to model the angular bias in terms of microphone separations and frequency of a narrowband signal. Further, the bias correction algorithm based on the intensity spectrum has been proposed to improve the DOA estimation accuracy of a broadband signal. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed bias correction scheme significantly reduces the angular bias and improves the root mean square angular error (RMSAE) in the presence of noise. Experiments have been performed in an acoustic full anechoic room to corroborate the effect of microphone separation on DOA estimation and the efficacy of the bias correction method.

The performance of binaural processing may be disturbed in the presence of hearing loss, especially of sensorineural type. To assess the impact of hearing loss on speech perception in noise regarding binaural processing, series of speech recognition measurements in controlled laboratory conditions were carried out. The spatial conditions were simulated using dummy head recordings played back on headphones. The Intelligibility Level Difference (ILD) was determined by measuring the change in the speech reception thresholds (SRT) between two configurations of a masking signal source (N) and a speech source (S), namely the S0N90 condition (where numbers stand for angles in horizontal plane) and the co-located condition (S0N0). To disentangle the head shadow effect (better ear effect) from binaural processing in the brain, the difference between binaural and monaural S0N90 condition (so-called Binaural Intelligibility Level Difference, BILD) value was calculated.

Measurements were performed with a control group of normal-hearing listeners and a group of sensorineural hearing-impaired subjects. In all conditions performance of the hearing-impaired listeners was significantly lower than normal-hearing ones, resulting in higher SRT values (3 dB difference in the S0N0 configuration, 7.6 dB in S0N90 and 5 dB in monaural S0N90). The SRT improvement due to the spatial separation of target and masking signal (ILD) was also higher in the control group (8.1 dB) than in hearing-impaired listeners (3.5 dB). Moreover, a significant deterioration of the binaural processing described by BILD was found in people with sensorineural deficits. This parameter for normal-hearing listeners reached a value of 3 to 6 dB (4.6 dB on average) and decreased more than two times in the hearing-impaired group to 1.9 dB on average (with a deviation of 1.4 dB). These findings could not be explained by individual average hearing threshold (standard in audiological diagnostics) only. The outcomes indicate that there is a contribution of suprathershold deficits and it may be useful to consider binaural SRT measurements in noise in addition to the pure tone audiometry resulting in better diagnostics and hearing aid fitting.

The goal of this research is to find a set of acoustic parameters that are related to differences between Polish and Lithuanian language consonants. In order to identify these differences, an acoustic analysis is performed, and the phoneme sounds are described as the vectors of acoustic parameters. Parameters known from the speech domain as well as those from the music information retrieval area are employed. These parameters are time- and frequency-domain descriptors. English language as an auxiliary language is used in the experiments. In the first part of the experiments, an analysis of Lithuanian and Polish language samples is carried out, features are extracted, and the most discriminating ones are determined. In the second part of the experiments, automatic classification of Lithuanian/English, Polish/English, and Lithuanian/Polish phonemes is performed.

Thin plates, in the form of individual panels or whole device casings, often separate the noise source from its recipients. It would be very desirable if the panels could effectively block the sound transmission preventing noise from further propagation. This is especially challenging to achieve at low frequencies. A promising approach, intensively developed in the recent years, is to employ active control methods by adding sensors and actuators, and running a control algorithm. However, if the noise is narrow-band, an alternative passive solution originally developed by the authors can be applied. It is based on appropriately located passive elements which can be used to alter the frequency response of the vibrating structure thus improving its sound insulation properties. Such an approach is referred to as the frequency response shaping method. The purpose of this paper is to further develop this method and apply it to a device casing panel. The efficiency of the method is evaluated by simulation and real experiments. Appropriate cost functions and mathematical models are formulated and used to optimise the arrangement of passive elements mounted to the plate, enhancing its sound insulation properties at the given frequency range. The results are reported, and advantages and limits of the method are pointed out and discussed.

The study presents evaluating the effectiveness of the hearing aid fitting process in the short-term use (7 days). The evaluation method consists of a survey based on the APHAB (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit) questionnaire. Additional criteria such as a degree of hearing loss, number of hours and days of hearing aid use as well as the user’s experience were also taken into consideration. The outcomes of the benefit obtained from the hearing aid use in various listening environments for 109 hearing aid users are presented, including a degree of their hearing loss. The research study results show that it is possible to obtain relevant and reliable information helpful in assessing the effectiveness of the shortterm (7 days) hearing aid use. The overall percentage of subjects gaining a benefit when communicating in noise is the highest of all the analyzed and the lowest in the environment with reverberation. The statistical analysis performed confirms that in the listening environments in which conversation is held, a subjective indicator determined by averaging benefits for listening situations individually is statistically significant with respect to the degree of hearing loss. Statistically significant differences depending on the degree of hearing loss are also found separately for noisy as well as reverberant environments. However, it should be remembered that this study is limited to three types of hearing loss, i.e. mild, moderate and severe. The acceptance of unpleasant sounds gets the lowest rating. It has also been observed that in the initial period of hearing aid use, the perception of unpleasant sounds has a big influence on the evaluation of hearing improvement.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hearing status of call centre operators in relation to their noise exposure. Conventional pure-tone audiometry and extended high-frequency audiometry were performed in 49 workers, aged 22–47 years (mean ± SD: 32.0 ± 6.0 years), working in call centre from 1.0 to 16.5 years (mean ± SD: 4.7 ± 2.9 years).

Questionnaire inquiry aimed at collecting personal data, the information on ommunication headset usage habits, self-assessment of hearing ability and identification of risk factors for noise-induced hearing loss were also carried out. Sound pressure levels generated by the communication headset were determined using the artificial ear technique specified in CSA Z107.56-13 (2013) standard. The background noise prevailing in offices was also measured according to PN-N-01307 (1994) and PN-EN ISO 9612 (2011).

Personal daily noise exposure levels in call centre operators varied from 66 to 86 dB (10–90th percentile). About half of the study subjects had normal hearing in the standard frequencies (from 250 to 8000 Hz) in both ears, while only 27.1% in the extended high-frequencies (9–16 kHz). Moreover, both high-frequency and speech-frequency hearing losses were observed in less than 10% of audiograms, while the extended high-frequency threshold shift was noted in 37.1% of analysed ears. The hearing threshold

levels of call centre operators in the frequency of 0.25–11.2 kHz were higher (worse) than the expected median values for equivalent (due to age and gender) highly screened population specified in ISO 7029 (2017). Furthermore, they were also higher than predicted for 500–4000 Hz according to ISO 1999 (2013) based on the results of noise exposure evaluation.

The main problem in the measurement of airborne sound insulation is the measurement of the sound power radiated by the barrier, in practice performed by measuring the sound pressure level and the acoustic absorption in the receiving room. Large variations of the sound pressure level in a reverberation room indicate the presence of dominating strong standing waves, so that it becomes necessary to install diffusing elements. In ISO 10140, the limits have been defined in which the reverberation time at frequencies at and above 100 Hz should be included. Sometimes, however, in the case of rooms with a large volume, obtaining the required parameters is difficult and sometimes even impossible. It should then be checked whether the measured sound insulation depends on the reverberation time.

The paper presents the results of sound insulation measurements at various reverberation time lengths in subsequent stages of diffusing elements installation in the receiving room. An analysis of diffusing materials amount and arrangement influence on the uniformity of the sound pressure level distribution and reverberation time in the room as well as the value of the measured sound insulation was carried out. Uncertainty of sound insulation measurement with partial uncertainties was adopted as a criterion supporting the assessment of the obtained results.

Passive noise reduction methods require thick and heavy barriers to be effective for low frequencies and those clasical ones are thus not suitable for reduction of low frequency noise generated by devices. Active noise-cancelling casings, where casing walls vibrations are actively controlled, are an interesting alternative that can provide much higher low-frequency noise reduction. Such systems, compared to classical ANC systems, can provide not only local, but also global noise reduction, which is highly expected for most applications. For effective control of casing vibrations a large number of actuators is required. Additionally, a high number of error sensors, usually microphones that measure noise emission from the device, is also required. All actuators have an effect on all error sensors, and the control system must take into account all paths, from each actuator to each error sensor. The Multiple Error FXLMS has very high computational requirements. To reduce it a Switched-Error FXLMS, where only one error signal is used at the given time, have been proposed. This, however, significantly reduces convergence rate. In this paper an algorithm that uses multiple errors at once, but not all, is proposed. The performance of various algorithm variants is compared using simulations with the models obtained from real active-noise cancelling casing.

During work, earth-moving machines generate significant levels of noise and vibration that can be harmful for the operators; therefore the analysis of the noise and vibration conditions at the driving position is of great importance for the risk assessment. Compact loaders have become a pressing challenge as they are extremely hazardous referring to noise and vibration emissions, especially in their crawler version where further relevant noise and vibration are generated by the hard contact between track belt and ground.

This paper reports the results of investigations carried out on three crawler compact loaders in different operating conditions. The main purpose was to investigate the noise and vibration values transmitted to the operators in some working conditions and use these data to obtain reliable estimates of the exposure to noise, to whole-body and to hand-arm transmitted vibrations, as well as to evaluate the related risk levels. Vibration signals transmitted to the operator were acquired on the seat and the machine control lever in accordance with the procedures specified in ISO 2631-1 and ISO 5349-1. At the same time, noise signals were acquired at the operator’s ear following the procedure reported in ISO 11201. Vibration signals were also acquired on the cabin floor with the main purpose to evaluate the effectiveness of the machine seats in reducing the vibration transmission. Finally, the noise and vibration exposure risks were evaluated on the basis of the health and safety requirements established in 2003/10/EC and 2002/44/EC Directives.