What the new quality assurance rules for noise prediction software mean for IMMI users
The requirements for the quality assurance of software are being reorganized
In November 2019, the Advisory Board Special Committee of the NALS decided on the complete restructuring of the corresponding guidelines for Germany to define how the quality assurance of software for the calculation of sound outdoors is to be performed. In principle, the outline structure of the ISO 17534 series is to be followed. The previously valid DIN 45687 will be streamlined as a national supplement to ISO 17534-1 and will refer to DIN technical reports (DIN/TRs), which contain the contents of previous documentation and new tasks in descriptive form.
The ISO 17534 documents describe quality requirements for software – for example, for use in Europe-wide noise mapping. The different parts deal with general as well as regulation-specific requirements and define collections of test tasks (e.g. for ISO 9613-2 or for CNOSSOS).
Where can I find test items and supplementary explanations for the regulations from now on?
The "remnant standard" DIN 45687 defines national supplements to DIN ISO 17534-1 and refers to the DIN/TR 8998 and DIN/TR 8999 series. The technical reports of the DIN/TR 8998 series describe general supplements to quality assurance, such as the fundamentals of the QSI data format (in DIN/TR 8998-1). The documents of the DIN/TR 8999 series contain rule-specific supplements in the form of test items, declarations of conformity, and QSI format descriptions (e.g. DIN/TR 8999-1 on RLS-19).
So, what does this mean for IMMI users?
The most exciting information for IMMI users in practical work terms is likely to be contained in the documents of the DIN/TR 8998 and DIN/TR 8999 series. In the future, they will find everything they need to know about test tasks, QSI formats, and their specification, as well as supplementary explanations of the individual sets of rules. We would like to provide concrete reference sources and links to the documents in this blog post. Unfortunately, it is still a bit "in a jam" at this point until the publication of DIN/NALS is made. Although many of the documents mentioned have been completed and approved by the committees, their official publication will probably not take place until the end of 2022.
IMMI users are in a good position as the current test tasks for the new regulations such as RLS-19, BUB, BUF, or BEB are, as their latest update, part of the IMMI quality assurance and are also attached as IMMI projects to the respective update
If you have any other specific questions about these topics, please feel free to contact us directly using the green button below.