Broadridge Fintech Data Center

Location: Markham, Ontario.
Owner/Operator: Broadridge Financial Solutions
Environmental Consultants: ERM

Broadridge is a global Fintech leader providing investor communications, technology-driven solutions, as well as data & analytics to the financial services industry. HGC was retained by ERM to prepare an Acoustic Assessment Report for the Broadridge facility located in Markham, Ontario.

The Report was in support of a regulatory environmental registration of the facility mandated by the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP)

Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) Publication (O. Reg. 1/17)

The acoustic assessment criteria were established in accordance with the sound level limits of the MECP, as set out in the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) Publication (O. Reg. 1/17) and used to assess the sound emissions of the Data Center. The assessment evaluated the overall sound emissions of the facility during predictable worst-case operating scenario, which is defined as an hour when typically busy operation of the stationary sources under consideration could coincide with an hour of low background sound.

A City of Markham zoning map was used to identify the land uses surrounding the facility, The lands surrounding the facility are zoned for industrial and commercial use. The most potentially impacted noise sensitive points of reception are homes just to the west of the facility. There are no noise-sensitive points of reception to the north, east, or south of the facility.

Ontario MECP Class 1 Acoustical Environment

During site visit by HGC Acousticians the background sound in the vicinity of the nearest points of sound reception were observed to be dominated by road traffic sound from arterial roads and a nearby Highway, over which the Data Center was completely inaudible. The area is best characterized as a Class 1 acoustical environment, under MECP noise assessment guidelines.

Primary Data Center Sound Emission Sources

For the purposes of this acoustical assessment, the facility was assumed to operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The primary sound sources associated with the facility operation are rooftop equipment, emergency generators, and shipping/receiving activities. There are no significant sources of ground-borne vibration at the facility.

Sound emissions from existing rooftop heating, ventilation, and cooling equipment as well as emergency generators were all measured by HGC staff. The source sound power levels were then used as input to a computational acoustical model of the facility in order to develop a detailed sound source inventory, in order to determine the contribution of each individual sound source to the overall offsite noise levels.

Data Center Acoustic Assessment Determination

The measurements and analysis indicated that the sound levels of the facility were within the limits of the EASR Publication. Given the absence of any sources of ground-borne vibration at the site, the facility also complied with the applicable vibration limits of the MECP.

Acoustical consulting services delivered:

• Noise Monitoring and Assessment to ensure compliance with local regulatory limits
• Comprehensive onsite and offsite acoustical measurements
• Predictive acoustical modeling