Meet the Team

Malcolm Hayes is a director and manager of the Machynlleth office. He graduated in 1982 with a degree in Electronic & Communication Engineering from the Polytechnic of North London. He has worked in the field of acoustical engineering since graduation rising through Hann Tucker Associates, becoming an Associate in 1990, before forming Hayes McKenzie with Andy in May 1991.

He has been a member of the DTI Working Group which produced ETSU-R-97: “The Assessment and Rating of Noise from Wind Farms” and chair of the Institute of Acoustics working group on wind turbine noise which produced the 2013 best practice guidance on the application of ETSU-R-97. He now sits on wind turbine subgroup of the IOA’s Renewable Energy Advisory Group.

Rob Shepherd is a director and manager of the Salisbury office. He graduated from the University of Southampton in 2005 with a Master of Engineering degree in Acoustical Engineering. Rob has worked in acoustics for over 20 years and has acted as an expert witness for a number of successful wind farm applications. He is a member of the Institute of Acoustics.

Rob is responsible for handling all aspects of project management including preparing quotations, carrying out noise modelling, data analysis, assessment, and reporting. As well as managing his own portfolio of projects, Rob carries out technical reviews of other consultants’ analysis and reports, to ensure that all work is carried out to our high standards.

Seth Roberts is a principal consultant at the Salisbury office, and head of our sound insulation testing department. He has a BEng (Hons) degree in Acoustical Engineering from the University of Southampton and has been at the company for more than 16 years. He has considerable experience in environmental noise assessment; building acoustics projects; and acting as an expert witness.

As the head of our sound insulation testing department, Seth is responsible for internal auditing of sound
insulation testing equipment and procedures to maintain our UKAS accreditation. In his role as an expert witness, Seth has experience in statutory nuisance claims under the EPA 1990; compensation claims under part 1 of the LCA 1973; and planning hearings including Public Inquiries, Appeals and Development Consent Orders (DCOs).

Robin Woodward is a principal consultant, working from home in North Wales. He has a BSc Hons in Acoustical Engineering and Music from the University of Southampton and has been at the company for more than 15 years. Robin is the quality manager for our UKAS accreditation, and he also manages our IT.

Robin’s driving influence to improve quality and consistency within the company was instrumental in achieving our UKAS accreditation for wind turbine sound power level testing, for which he is the quality manager and head of department. He also serves on the British Standards and IEC committees responsible for the UK input to and maintenance of IEC 61400-11-1 and -2, where he heads up the expert groups on AM
and Tonality, he is also chair of the Institute of Acoustics’ Meetings Committee.

Tom Levet is Hayes McKenzie’s Principal Researcher, based at our Machynlleth office. He graduated from the University of Salford in 2005 with a BSc in Audio Technology. This was followed by an MSc by Research degree, also from Salford, awarded in 2009. The MSc degree was undertaken in conjunction with wind turbine manufacturer GE Wind Energy and involved research and measurement campaigns related to the sound power level measurements of wind turbines.

He joined us in 2007 and was a major contributor to the Institute of Acoustics Amplitude Modulation Working Group who developed a globally accepted metric for the quantification of amplitude-modulated noise from wind turbines.

Conor Tickner is a senior consultant in our Salisbury office and joined us in 2023 from multi-national environmental consultants AECOM, where he worked since 2014, after graduating from the Institute of Sound & Vibration Research at the University of Southampton with a BEng in Acoustical Engineering.

He is a corporate member of the Institute of Acoustics (IoA), is working towards gaining Chartered Engineer status, and serves on the IoA Southern Branch committee. He has come into Hayes McKenzie at a relatively
senior level and will be taking on responsibility for managing projects, liaising with clients, carrying out analysis and reporting. We are absolutely delighted to welcome him to our team.

Dale has joined the Salisbury office as a Graduate Consultant having gained a BEng in Acoustical & Audio Engineering from the University of Salford.

He’s involved in all aspects of the consultancy from carrying out noise modelling and helping develop our in-house wind turbine noise prediction software, to data analysis and testing and maintaining our noise and wind measurement equipment.

Joel joined Hayes McKenzie at our Salisbury Office in October 2024 and looks after our noise and meteorological monitoring equipment and helps with site visits. He holds a BSc degree in Live and Studio Sound, from Southampton Solent University, and is able to combine his passion for acoustics with hands-on practical technical applications.

Joel is also our health and safety manager, and brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles as project manager and health and safety manager for large scale sound stage construction projects.

Sam joined Hayes McKenzie at our Machynlleth Office in May 2022 to take on looking after our noise and meteorological monitoring equipment based there and to help with site visits where his input has already proved invaluable. Sam’s upbringing was hugely influenced by the renewable energy industry as both parents worked at The Centre For Alternative Technology, not that far from our Machynlleth office, and Sam worked for there for 17 years too. Sam has also worked as a wind turbine technician and for 26 years as a music producer and DJ which involved soundscaping, noise monitoring and coming up with acoustics solutions for venues and festivals all over the UK.

Andy McKenzie set up Hayes McKenzie with Malcolm Hayes in 1991 and retired at the end of 2024. He has an honours degree in Engineering Acoustics and Vibration and a PhD resulting from on research on hearing aid design for use in noisy environments, both from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR), at the University of Southampton.

He worked in acoustics since graduation in 1981 as well being a musician, cyclist and, latterly, a grand-father. He is looking forward spending more time playing the diatonic accordion, cycling, and hanging out with his wife and 4 grand-kids. He is, however, very proud of what he, Malcolm and the team achieved together, particularly in the field of renewable energy and specifically wind power.

Ian Flindell is an independent acoustics consultant, researcher and lecturer from the Institute of Sound and
Vibration Research at Southampton University where he spent most of the last 40 years. He is widely known across Europe as an expert in subjective acoustics specialising in the assessment and management of environmental noise, particularly around major airports. He has been a leading contributor to the development of standards, regulations and methods of assessment through BSI, UK government, the European Commission, and the World Health Organisation.

Ian and Andy have been working together since 1981 both at ISVR, and latterly at Hayes McKenzie. We are delighted to officially welcome him to our team as an external associate consultant.