The evaluation of speech intelligibility for acoustical variables in the open plan office

1981 ◽  
Vol 70 (S1) ◽  
pp. S14-S14
Author(s):  
Michael P. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Open Plan

Speech Intelligibility Parameters for Evaluating the Perception of Background Noise in Open-Plan Office Users: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Serrano Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Physical Factors ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Transmission Index ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Design Characteristics

This document presents a case study of acoustic analysis in an open-plan office. Since Mexico does not have a standard for evaluating acoustic conditions in offices, it is relevant to compare different acoustic evaluation methods used for open-plan offices. According to several studies, one of the main acoustic characteristics for open-plan office spaces is speech intelligibility. Therefore, the purpose of this document is to compare psychoacoustic parameters to evaluate speech intelligibility in open-plan offices. We analyzed physical factors as reverberation and speech clarity in different office points, as well as semantic factors based on subjective methods with standardized values of the quality of speech intelligibility. The study was carried out under real open-plan office conditions in a library in a university in northern Mexico. The study factors of interest were type of sound, sound source, and location of the listener, with Reverberation Time (RT), Speech Transmission Index (STI) and Loss of consonant articulation (%ALCons) as the measures of impact on intelligibility. This case study provides additional evidence of the relationship between intelligibility and the position of sound sources; also, it was noted that location of listeners influenced analyzed intelligibility parameters. On the other hand, this case study offers information concerning to use psychoacoustic parameters for subjective classification of quality of the speech intelligibility to evaluate how is background noise perceived in open-plan office users. However, it is noteworthy that this study represents a single office with its own interior and space design characteristics.

scholarly journals Influence of Sound-Absorbing Material Placement on Room Acoustical Parameters

Acoustics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 644-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Cucharero ◽  
Tuomas Hänninen ◽  
Tapio Lokki
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Sound Absorption ◽  
Sound Field ◽  
Acoustical Parameters ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Absorbing Material ◽  
The Impact

The reverberation of a room is often controlled by installing sound absorption panels to the ceiling and on the walls. The reduced reverberation is particularly important in classrooms to maximize the speech intelligibility and in open-plan offices to make spaces more pleasant. In this study, the impact of the placement of the absorption material in a room was measured in a reverberation room and in a mockup classroom. The results show that absorption material is less efficient if it is mounted to the corners or on the edges between the walls and ceiling, if the sound field is more or less diffuse. If the room modes dominate the sound field, the most efficient location for the sound-absorbing material was found at one of the surfaces causing the modes. The results help acoustical consultants to place the absorption material in optimal locations and, generally, minimize the amount of material and save costs.

Impact of Partition types on Architecture design studios acoustical environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (1) ◽  
pp. 5847-5857
Author(s):  
Hany Hossam Eldien ◽  
Umaru Bongwirnso
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Architecture Design ◽  
Front Side ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Transmission Index ◽  
Speech Transmission ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
High Level ◽  
Two Sides

Working in Architecture design studios environment requires various activities. Interaction, communication and meetings could affect the speech intelligibility and the speech privacy conditions. Students Areas with a more silent environment are needed with a minimized level of distraction from surrounding activities, while teamwork and discussion areas with a high level of interaction need a good speech intelligibility. One of the more important elements which can improve the open spaces acoustical conditions is the partitions between workstations.The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the acoustical performance of four partitions types in open plan offices; 1.10m two sides partition height, 1,50m front side partitions, 1,50m one side partitions and 1.50 two sides partitions. This Study was conducted in the College of Architecture, Imam Abdulrhman Bin Faisal University, KSA. Based on ISO 3382-3, Speech Transmission Index, STI in the nearest workstation, Distraction distance rD, privacy distance rP, A-weighted background noise level L,A,B and A-weighted SPL of speech at 4 metres L,A,S,4m have been measured. It was found that the best results can be obtained by 1.50m front side and 1.50m two sides partitions.

The effects of intelligible irrelevant background speech in offices – cognitive disturbance, annoyance, and solutions

Facilities ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine J. Schlittmeier ◽  
Andreas Liebl
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Severe Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to give an overview on four empirical studies which explored the impact of background speech on cognitive performance and subjectively perceived disturbance. Background speech is the most serious noise problem in shared-room and open-plan offices for employees who are supposed to do silent, concentrated work. Different measures of acoustic office optimization, as well as the outstanding role of the intelligibility of background speech for its disturbance impact, are empirically evaluated. Design/methodology/approach – The article provides a synopsis describing the core empirical results of four of our empirical studies. A survey study among office employees (n = 659) explored the subjective importance of office acoustics. Three experimental studies (n1 = 20; n2 = 30; n3 = 24) evaluated the effects of reduced background speech level, play-back of partial maskers and reduced speech intelligibility on cognitive performance and subjective ratings. Findings – Background speech is subjectively perceived as a severe problem, and the different noise abatement measures affect objective performance and subjective ratings differently. Speech intelligibility is – besides level – a key determinant for the acoustic optimization regarding these two dimensions. Research limitations/implications – Practitioners are encouraged to apply the findings and described measures when planning and/or evaluating open-plan offices. Practical implications – It is concluded that different acoustically efficient measures need to be combined to minimize the negative effects of background speech on cognitive performance and subjectively perceived disturbance. The aspired set value for open-office concepts is the lowest possible sound level with a bad intelligibility of the background speech at the same time. Originality/value – The synopsis of several empirical studies allows deriving comprehensive and well-founded information for practitioners involved in the evaluation and/or design of offices environments.

Creating a sound-designed sound masking signal for open-plan offices that is both pleasant and has a positive impact on cognitive performance.

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (2) ◽  
pp. 4471-4482
Author(s):  
Benjamin Johannes Mueller ◽  
Mariella Laubengeiger ◽  
Noemi Martin ◽  
Philip Leistner
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Masking Noise ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Sound Masking ◽  
Harmonic Components ◽  
Positive Effect

In open-plan offices, sound masking is often used to lower speech intelligibility and raise cognitive performance of the employees by reducing the irrelevant speech effect. Classic sound masking methods use speakers built into the ceiling of the office to increase the overall background noise level in the office and reduce speech intelligibility. However, the emergence of activity based offices is increasing the need for personalized sound masking methods that are no longer used globally in the office, but can be controlled by each employee individually depending on their activity and, for example, played back through headphones during activities that require particularly intense concentration. The playback of a classical sound-masking noise (e.g. a simple pink noise filtered by -5 dB per octave) via headphones is effective, but not pleasant. For this reason, a new sound-designed masking signal was developed in the present study, which consists of slowly fluctuating binaural harmonic components, as well as atmospheric sounds like water sounds and masking noise. A listening test with a cognitive task and a survey after each test condition showed that the developed signal had a similar positive effect on cognitive performance as a classical masking noise, but was rated as significantly more pleasant.

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