ORIGINAL PAPER
Acoustic conditions in open plan offices – Pilot test results
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Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy / Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute, Warszawa, Poland (Zakład Zagrożeń Wibroakustycznych / Department of Vibroacoustic Hazards)
Corresponding author
Witold Mikulski
Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, ul. Czerniakowska 16, 00-701 Warszawa
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2016;67(5):653-62
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ABSTRACT
Background: The main source of noise in open plan office are conversations. Office work standards in such premises are attained
by applying specific acoustic adaptation. This article presents the results of pilot tests and acoustic evaluation of open
space rooms. Material and Methods: Acoustic properties of 6 open plan office rooms were the subject of the tests. Evaluation
parameters, measurement methods and criterial values were adopted according to the following standards: PN-EN ISO 3382-
3:2012, PN-EN ISO 3382-2:2010, PN-B-02151-4:2015-06 and PN-B-02151-3:2015-10. Results: The reverberation time was 0.33–
0.55 s (maximum permissible value in offices – 0.6 s; the criterion was met), sound absorption coefficient in relation to 1 m2 of
the room’s plan was 0.77–1.58 m2 (minimum permissible value – 1.1 m2; 2 out of 6 rooms met the criterion), distraction distance
was 8.5–14 m (maximum permissible value – 5 m; none of the rooms met the criterion), A-weighted sound pressure level of
speech at a distance of 4 m was 43.8–54.7 dB (maximum permissible value – 48 dB; 2 out of 6 rooms met the criterion), spatial
decay rate of the speech was 1.8–6.3 dB (minimum permissible value – 7 dB; none of the rooms met the criterion). Conclusions: Standard acoustic treatment, containing sound absorbing suspended ceiling, sound absorbing materials on the walls, carpet
flooring and sound absorbing workplace barriers, is not sufficient. These rooms require specific advanced acoustic solutions. Med Pr 2016;67(5):653–662