Sound Masking: A Privacy Must
Approximately 50 million Americans work in open plan offices. Open plan offices are environments in which workers do their job in closely-grouped cubicles. Though these cubicles are more space-efficient and improve the communication between workers, they are an acoustic challenge.
Standard walls have been replaced with modular dividers. Space is now being split between multiple workers, and people are sitting closer to each other. You will, however, also notice that designing buildings in this way has made machinery sound quieter and have lessened the amount of office noise that is there.
Sound masking - often referred to as "white noise" - has been a particularly successful solution. A sound masking system contains a set of speakers that produce an engineered background sound all through the facility. This hum is for the most part frequently compared to that of gently blowing air.
The main benefit of sound masking includes reduced conversational distractions and a normally more relaxed working atmosphere. The sound masking system can be easily installed in new or existing facilities of any dimension, providing an efficient way of tackling acoustic troubles at small cost and without serious modification.
If you try to run water in your sink while trying to converse with someone in the adjacent room, you will be aware of how sound masking works. You will know that your partner is talking, but it is hard to understand what is being said since the running water in the kitchen has increased the sound in your area.
At this point, we should discuss the definition of a "noise floor". This term is used by sound engineers to describe the ambient sound level in your environment. If it is too high, you might be annoyed by the "background noise". Conversely, if it is too low, typical sounds such as people talking in the distance might become a nuisance.
Masking provides privacy and produces a noise floor adequate to conceal noises and low enough for ease, generally in the bracket of 42 to 48 dBA. By doing so, such systems are able to effectively cover distracting sounds without themselves becoming a distraction.
About 50 million Americans do their job in open plan offices. Cubicles usually make better use of space and improve communication flow, but they are an acoustic challenge. Modern building methods, along with absorptive actions, and quiet machines, have decreased the ambient level of office noise, reducing the volume considerably. An effective solution to the problem is to mask the sound with what is termed "white noise". The main benefit of masking includes reduced conversational distractions and a more relaxed working atmosphere. One example of sound masking occurs when you attempt to talk over the sound of running water. Privacy can also be achieved via masking.
Published June 20th, 2008
Filed in Business, Management
