Every business should provide a safe and conducive environment for its workers. Thanks to technological advancements, there are many solutions to help in industrial noise control. Noise levels have a direct effect on the workers’ concentration and productivity. A loud Working environment can cause hearing problems for workers down the line where they may suffer long term hearing loss that requires hearing aids. Companies should be responsible for controlling noise to protect their employees’ health.
Here are eight ways to control noise in an open office:
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Noise-friendly flooring
Hard flooring surfaces such as wood, ceramic, and porcelain can bring chaos to the working environment due to the noise they create. Carpets can help control noise in the workplace. You can add material under the floor to aid in noise control. You can select shredded mats, rigid foam panels, and cap sub-flooring materials.
 Although carpet is an excellent solution to reduce noise, vinyl flooring is a valuable option. It has many design options, and it’s easy to maintain. Vinyl flooring has sound absorption qualities, and adding the right-engineered rubber underlayments helps more to control noise. You can install a sound-dampening sub-floor under the carpet to prevent noise in the workplace.
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Use of noise-canceling earphones
If you are working in an open space office and redesigning it to reduce noise, you can look for noise control options like buying noise-canceling headphones. Most noise-canceling headphones quality brands claim total noise reduction using special processing and microphones to create a conflicting sound wave to the one directed to your eardrum.
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Create a quiet space
You can put a room in an open office for workers who need a quiet space. Your workers will know they will find peace in the dedicated quiet place and other staff will respect their colleague’s needs. Conversely, you can dedicate a room meant for loud noise activities. It can be better to have space where employees can go when they need to make phone calls or think aloud. You can outfit a room with soundproof panels to create a soundproof open-space office.
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Grow plants
Plants are excellent sound blockers and can help improve the quality of air and the office’s look. Some plans with dense vegetation work well to control sound in a workplace. Most evergreen shrubs such as hollies and Junipers are good at reducing noise because they have constantly spread thick branches. Put plants beside solid walls to strengthen their sound-reducing qualities.
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Furniture arrangement
You should arrange your furniture strategically to reduce noise in an open space office. Create walled areas by adding a level of texture and irregular surfaces to absorb sound. Use upholstered sofas and chairs with push material such as suede, microfiber, corduroy, and chenille in the office as they are effective as sound barriers. Place the office furniture close to your sound source in the office.
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Strategic layout
The way you can arrange furniture strategically to control noise; you can also set office machines. Keep the most noise-producing devices at a far end from your workers to create a noise-free working environment. You can combine thoughtful strategies with soundproof flooring to control sound in the work environment and its effects on your health.
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Acoustic panels
You do not only need to install acoustic panels in the quiet room. You can install practical and attractive acoustic panels anywhere in the office to control noise. They are made of compressed foam or wool, and they reduce noise by absorbing sound waves and not reflecting it. When good kicks on the absorbent foam, the panels vibrate and quickly convert it to heat which vanishes in the air. With acoustic panels, even the highest sound produced in your workplace will fade away without affecting anyone.
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Use sound control electronic devices to reduce noise impact
If you cannot control noise in the workplace by using acoustic measures, you can use electronic devices to reduce noise impact. You can introduce a sound masking that masks the sound of destructing conversations. You can apply sound masking solutions for reasons other than acoustic. For example, some hospitals use sound masking solutions to prevent the leaking of patient conversations and health information. Industries can also apply sound masking to avoid outsiders snooping on discussions in the office to steal their private data.
Bottom line
Every business should be responsible for ensuring its workers work in a safe environment that cannot negatively affect their health. High noise levels reduce employees’ productivity. It causes headaches and can damage their eardrum. A company should use all possible ways to control noise effects in the workplace.
