One of the main issues that affect productivity in an office is the noise that is produced. It can be divided into 3 categories: vocal sounds, the disturbance of mechanical sounds, and the effect caused by resonance.
In any case, it is fair to say that noise is sound. Defining sound is a change in atmospheric pressure that moves as a sort of shock wave through the air and is perceived by the ear. Sound can vary in pitch and volume.
In order to limit the inconvenience one could distinguish 3 sorts of solutions: first to reduce the effect at the source, second the absorbing of the sound, and third the prevention of sound. Sound becomes noise pollution when the frequency is too demanding for human hearing.
Acceptable frequency
The voice has a frequency with a reach that lies between 500 and 1000 Hz. When this type of sound must be reduced it is best to work with materials that match these frequencies. The force that alters the air pressure defines the volume of sound and is measured in decibels (dB), which is a logarithmic scale. That means that a level of 50 dB is 12 times louder than a sound of 40 dB.
Considering what is perceived as a normal conversation, it has to produce a sound of 60 dB, sounds till 20 dB are experienced as silence and it becomes painful when the volume is above 140 dB.
Absorb sound
A sound wave bounces back once it gets in contact with a surface. The harder this particular surface is, the higher is the reverb effect and it causes an echo especially when more coverings cause reverberation. This is expressed in reverberation time (RT), which is the time (in seconds) it takes for a sound to diminishes to 60 dB in a space. The longer the RT, the worse are the acoustics.
For an individual office, an RT between 0,5 up to 0,8 seconds is regarded as acceptable. When there are more workers included than the acceptance level is generally below 0,5 seconds.
One of the easiest solutions in lowering the noise pollution in your office could be to make use of a freestanding screen. It consists of materials that absorb the sound and thus has a decreasing effect on the reverberation time. This is not just good for noise pollution, but, for example, at the office it increases work-relaxation and decreases the chances of being distracted at work.
The company Nomique, for example, has screens with 3 different heights from which you can choose, for we all have different needs. Such a screen brings down the noise by 30%, so if placed strategically just a few screens will turn a cacophony of noises into a quiet conversation.
