Acoustics at Work Products

Workplace Acoustics – Complete Solution

If you want to improve the acoustics in your workplace then get in touch. We offer a free survey and report service to help you get the most of our products for use in offices, education, healthcare and many other spaces. This involves doing acoustic calculations and listening to the requirements before going away and making a report which illustrates the amount and type of treatment you require and how much of a difference this will make. From here, you can either go with our recommendations or pick from the catalogue which is made easy using our patented acoustic ‘points’ system awarded to each product.

Acoustic considerations

The Modern Office

Open-plan offices are one of the most common modern work settings. Whereas in the past, people were more typically sectioned into private spaces, the modern office provides a more communal, integrated atmosphere to suit the way we now work.

While there are many benefits to open plan offices studies have suggested that there are negative effects on the acoustic environment. (Disruption of office‐related tasks by speech and office noise, Simon Banbury,Dianne C. Berry, British Journal of Psychology, Apr 13, 2011)

As with any large space with many people, reverberation can be high leading to increased noise levels and reduced speech intelligibility, and speech privacy low. Many people are familiar with having to raise their voice in order to be heard in a busy office. This leads to the ‘cocktail party effect’. Voices are raised to compensate for the noise levels. This in turn causes the next person to raise their voice and so on.

The introduction and strategic location of sound-absorbing surfaces, such as acoustic ceilings, chairs, screens and floor finishes is advisable. Together with appropriate acoustic barriers and partitions and, where necessary, noise masking systems. If carefully designed together, all contribute towards providing an environment that provides maximum acoustic comfort to staff. The impact can be tangible strengthening the feeling of community and, in turn, helping each employee to deliver their best.

An illustrative example of the effects of reverberation in the office