A short while ago, I was interviewed by Canadian Facility Management & Design (CFM&D) magazine, together with another industry expert, Kana Ganesh, senior acoustics, noise and vibration engineer for Stantec Consulting.
I don’t know how Mr. Ganesh felt, but, for me, being interviewed on camera is always a little more nerve-racking than print or radio. But the subject was workplace acoustics, which is near and dear to my heart and a pressing issue for a lot of organizations these days, especially given the surge in designs that bear striking resemblance to pre-1950s open plans.
The videographer asked me about common noise complaints, how they impact employees and how to address them.
As I mention in the interview, it’s best to consider acoustics during a project’s planning phase. Then, you have the opportunity to implement all of the ABCs (Absorb, Block and Cover) in a balanced fashion, helping achieve the best results, and often construction and material savings as well.
But please don’t think that it’s ever too late. There are also methods of improving noise and control and speech privacy in existing facilities. In fact, in these circumstances, the sound masking technology our company manufactures may be the most cost-effective and least disruptive solution you can implement. I’ll never say it’s a silver bullet, but it will make a difference, even in environments where A and B have been largely overlooked.
You can see my 3-minute interview (and Mr. Ganesh’s) on the REMI Network, a news and information source servicing the real estate management industry that launched earlier this year.
The network’s editorial mandate is to provide meaningful content for professionals involved in every stage of real estate management – from the planning of a project all the way through to a property’s development (design and construction) and its occupancy, management and maintenance. This website also serves as the gateway to all of Media Edge’s design, architecture and building magazines, like CFM&D.
You might want to add it to your list of favorites...
Cheers,
Niklas