The sound of silence
Published May 2, 2008 at 3:23 pm · Filed under Office Products
James Goulding explains why protecting office workers from too much noise is a sound investment.
In survey after survey, office workers make the same complaint about open plan offices: they are far too noisy and lack the privacy needed to perform certain tasks.
This presents facilities managers, interior designers and space planners with a real problem: how to provide workers with peace and quiet (when they need it), while maintaining the buzz and excitement of the best open plan environments.
One solution is to set aside quiet areas of the office or designated rooms where people can go when they need to write a report or make an important phone call. Another is to allow employees to work from home when they need peace and quiet.
These solutions are fine for businesses that have a culture of flexibility and the IT infrastructure (and notebook computers) to support non-territorial working practices. But what are the options for the majority of businesses that have more rigid working structures with ‘owned’ workstations and desktop PCs?
One option is to use architectural and design features to absorb sound. As reported in last month’s issue, Acoustic Comfort, a Screen Solutions company, uses a three-stage process to reduce noise levels in clients’ offices based on ceiling tiles, panelling and screens to absorb and block sound and the use of random electronic sound to mask unwanted noise.
Protective screens
Furniture manufacturers have addressed noise in open plan offices by designing workstations that enclose the worker behind a protective screen and by using materials that absorb sound. Konig + Neurath’s Silence Workstation (1) shown at the last Orgatec exhibition is a good example of the former, while its Piano storage cabinets (2) made from perforated steel with sound absorbent textile laminated on the inside are an example of the latter.
Explaining the rationale for Piano, K+N quotes a 1996 study by the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety, which found that elevated noise levels increased the frequency of errors at computer workstations by up to 113%, while lengthening the time needed to complete computer-based tasks.
At last year’s Prima exhibition, Eurotek unveiled the Integrated Work Centre (3), which incorporates a variety of electronic devices to reduce users’ exposure to noise and improve their working environment. These include an ionisation and hepafiltration system that ‘cleans’ and ‘refreshes’ air around the computer; full spectrum polarised lighting that mimics daylight; adjustable temperature and lighting controls; sound proofing using a combination of sound masking (white noise) and sound absorption; and protection from electromagnetic radiation.
Solutions like these are also available as add-ons for existing workstations. Herman Miller’s Be Collection - its first step in the personal workstation accessories market - includes a number of products designed to give office workers more control over their working environment. At least two of these address the problem of noise in open plan offices.
In addition to keyboard platforms, monitor arms and personal organisation and paper management tools, the Be Collection includes: C2 Climate Control (4), a personal heating/cooling appliance with a HEPA filter for improved air quality; the award-winning Leaf and Ardea lights (5) designed by Yves Behar; RoomTune, a collection of wall-hung acoustic panels that absorb excess sound; and, most interestingly of all, Babble voice privacy technology, which removes the risk that private phone conversations will be overheard by scrambling your voice and projecting it from speakers on your desk.
The advantage of personal workstation tools such as these is that they provide individuals with the ability to control noise levels locally (when necessary) without destroying the energy and excitement of a communal office.
