colleague help with noise problems

[Humey]

I have recently been chatting to a colleague about her on going problem with noise in her office. She is strictly an admin/business coordinator for our Performing Arts Department and recently s he has been getting more and more annoyed about the fact that her office is right in the middle of the Music department, thus meaning that all drum practicing, choir practice etc is proving to be too noisy for her to concentrate. She has spoken to our Line Manager and Head of Department and requested to be moved; however they don't seem to be too responsive. I suggested at looking into some sort of a acoustic paneling or the like.

 

The obvious thing would be to say that yes, the practice rooms and live rooms should be sound proofed but that isn't going to happen in the near future. It is obviously distracting her and, apparently, causing hearing difficulties.

 

Has any body got any suggestions of any modifications we could look into for her office to reduce the external noise?

 

She even thought of earplugs but I personally think spending your whole day in an office with earplugs in is asking a bit much?!

[parky58]

I'm sure that if she had a word with 'elf and safety, the problem would be resolved pretty quickly.

[Wilflet]

I'm sure that if she had a word with 'elf and safety, the problem would be resolved pretty quickly.

 

agreed, Id think the first step should be measure the noise levels in the office, if it is as bad as you make out then youve got evidence that its not a suitable working place

[MarkPAman]

We had a similar problem when I started working here, except that it was my office / workshop :)

 

By far the cheapest & easiest solution was to move - even including the new doorway that was needed.

 

That said, I did need to get the elf involved before it actually happened.

[Stan Hope-Streeter]

I suggested at looking into some sort of a acoustic paneling or the like.

 

Has any body got any suggestions of any modifications we could look into for her office to reduce the external noise?

 

Acoustic panelling would have to be highly specialized (probably triple, decoupled, partitions, before you even start to think about the ceiling). Concrete block walls would be preferable.

 

In other words, effective acoustic isolation in a situation like this is not trivial, and would cost an enormous amount of money.

 

Better to just move her office to somewhere quiet, it's obviously in the wrong place.

[Brian]

I don't know what her job entails but is there an argument for her having a 'proper' office somewhere on the grounds of...

 

a) efficiency - people work more efficiently in a quiet environment

b) security/confidentiality - if people are all the while walking past her desk might they see/hear things they aren't meant to

[paulears]

Working conditions are pretty well protected - if you use computers, many employers will make sure eye tests are sorted, and my wife even gets an allowance for her glasses she now needs for screen work. I'd have thought that the headaches she gets from the noise would be enough to signify a problem exists. The noise regulations would seem to apply to this kind of thing and they should be monitoring and then controlling it. I'd have thought a quiet word with the Unison rep would be the best bet.

[Simon Lewis]

Better to stress the workplace as being unsuitable for health and well being. If the noise hasn't been monitored, then it's worth checking. It's perhaps unlikely that it will exceed CoNaWR 2005 (85dB(A) Leq) as this averages the exposure level over an 8 hour working day, 5 days a week. However, if the exposure is genuinely causing hearing problems then relocation is the answer. CoNaWR asks for the noise to be reduced at source - not for hearing protection to be used. Insulating the practice rooms against the passage of sound is a difficult, expensive and in many instances near impossible task to carry out.

 

Simon

[boatman]

Sometimes a blunt approach works. Suggest that she wears a set of ear defenders for a few days when she is at her desk. Not discreet earplugs but full blown bright yellow defenders like this. The line management will soon get the message.