Office Acoustics

Posted in Office Furniture on March 19th, 2008

Trying to make a noisy office more peaceful is a very difficult job for an office manager or even an office furniture dealer. There are many factors to take into account, and it is not as simple as just ordering a few desk top and floor standing screens. Whilst these may help, in some cases the difference will be almost negligible. The whole structure of the office and how it is used has to first be analysed.

The first area that has to be looked at is the actual employees themselves. Are there some very noisy individuals who could be moved to more suitable areas, or even asked to lower their own noise level. Next to consider is noisy computers, machines and printers. Could these be located elsewhere in order to reduce the overall noise level in the office.

The next factor is the actual layout of the office. Clusters of desks without screens, used by employees who are on the telephone most of the day, is not an ideal layout.
A clever design using sound absorbing screens, and breaking up the large clusters will makes a huge difference to overall noise levels.

The nest and probably the most important factor, in deciding how much benefit will be achieved from adding in sound absorbing materials is the construction of the office. Solid ceilings and hard walls and window areas just bounce sound back from where it came, with very little sound absorption or deflection. A suspended ceiling can make a huge difference to overall sound levels, especially if a sound absorbing and deadening ceiling tile is used ( They have many worm like holes in them). Even better is the use of the use of these tiles with tile sounding absorbing blankets , and vertical pygmy sound proofing walls. Large areas or vertical solid walls can be softened with tall screens or even pinnable noticeboards. Anything which is soft will absorb and deflect sound to some degree.

Partitioned offices with single glazed windows can benefit from the fitment of double glazing. Full height windows can be reduce to half height double glazed windows for a noticeable improvement. Door frames can be changed to more sound efficient and sealed models.

And finally, once all of the above areas have been assessed, is the use of free standing and desk top screens. These are available is a wide choice of styles and finishes, and are available with widely differing levels or sound absorbing properties.

The best person to speak to about what is most suitable to you is your office furniture dealer, who will have experienced these sorts of problems before and will know which solution is right for you and your budget