Sound Masking: A Privacy Must
It is noted that 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.
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, also known as "white noise", has been one of the most successful solutions thus far. The sound masking process produces an engineered noise in the background that can be heard throughout the facility. The sound produced by this process is most like the sound of gently blowing air.
Sound masking has the advantage of decreasing disturbances and providing a comfortable working atmosphere. It is easy to set up a sound masking system in new or existing facilities of any size and it offers a better way of resolving acoustic troubles at low cost without requiring any structural changes.
One example of sound masking occurs when you attempt to talk over the sound of running water. If you run water in the sink in your kitchen, it will be difficult to talk to someone in the next room since the sound of the running water actually increases the sound in your room. You will be aware that your partner is speaking but not know what is being said.
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.
Privacy can be achieved via masking, which establishes a noise level sufficient to hide intrusive noises, but sufficiently low so as not to be bothersome, usually in the range of 42-48 dBA. Thus these systems can successfully drown out irritating sounds while not being disruptive themselves.
Conventional walls are being replaced by modular workstations, as more workers are using the same working space, and everyone is seated in close proximity to one another. You will also see, though, that modern building methods, along with absorptive actions, and quiet machines, have decreased the ambient level of office noise, reducing the volume considerably. The main benefit of sound masking includes reduced conversational distractions and a normally more relaxed working atmosphere. Through masking privacy can be achieved, which establishes a noise level sufficient to hide intrusive noises, but sufficiently low so as not to be bothersome, usually in the range of 42-48 dBA.
Published June 20th, 2008
Filed in Business
