Businesses often overlook sound-scaping when designing or re-thinking interior office environments, but a workplace’s acoustics should never be an afterthought.
We spend over 90% of our time indoors. High noise levels can increase stress levels, reduce concentration levels and productivity and negatively impact employees’ health and well-being.
There are several ways to reduce noise levels in work environments without affecting the space’s overall aesthetics and functionality, and flooring is essential to a holistic acoustic-design strategy.
Why are room acoustics so important?
Room acoustics refers to the sound in buildings, corridors, other interior spaces and infiltrating sounds and distortions. These sounds can have a profound impact on employees’ health and well-being. One of the best ways to address this is by using sound absorption materials to reduce echo and reverberation time.
Milliken-Ontera’s WellBAC™ cushion backing solution are designed to provide uncompromised performance for interior spaces – sustainably engineered for comfort, performance, and ease of installation.
Why commit to improving acoustics?
The response to 2020’s global pandemic has seen employees’ overall health and well-being become a priority in 2021. The result? Architects and designers are creating sustainable interior environments that focus on a holistic approach to their acoustic-design strategies.
The goal is to create environments using sustainable materials. Loud offices are proven to increase employees’ stress levels, and prolonged noise exposure can lead to bodies producing stress responses (raised blood pressure, increased heart rate), impacting concentration, memory, productivity, comprehension, and morale. Milliken-Ontera offers a range of innovative, practical and sustainable product options to combat and achieve acoustically sound, productive and effective spaces.
How to manage workplace noise levels
Absorbing sound at the source is useful in open-plan office spaces, and, given the floor is the largest area in any room, installing sound-absorbing carpet flooring tiles is essential. In open-office environments, large numbers of people can all be talking at once, creating significant noise. The WellBAC™ cushion backing, standard to Milliken-Ontera’s carpet tile products have impressive acoustic advantages in such areas, absorbing up to 60% more noise and transmitting 50% less noise than standard hardback carpet. Strategically covering hard surfaces is key for optimum acoustic levels.
The acoustic value of Milliken-Ontera WellBAC™ cushion-backed flooring
To achieve an acoustically effective space with floor coverings, you must focus on four specific areas:
- Sound absorption: carpet’s ability to absorb (rather than reflect) airborne noise
- Sound generation: the noise generated by foot traffic on a floor
- Sound transmission: how sound moves from one space to another
- Sound mapping: different workplace activities generate different noise levels, requiring different acoustic solutions.
Our range of WellBAC™ cushion-backed products can play a significant role in creating quieter, more productive interior environments, with enhanced Indoor Air Quality (Love VOC). Investment in Milliken-Ontera cushion-backed carpets can help absorb ambient noise, improve acoustics, pay dividends in increased productivity, and boost morale. We also have you covered with ease of installation with our innovative open-cell cushion carpet backing, PVC free, reducing the need to prime and seal your floor before installation.
Interested in improving the acoustics of your workplace?
Environmental noise hurts our bodies, so if you are committed to improving your employees’ health and well-being, consider re-imagining your office environment with Milliken-Ontera’s Floor Covering Visualiser. This high-quality virtual experience allows you to preview our flooring solutions, customise the space to fit your unique needs, and visualise the transformative power of flooring with our products.
Contact us today for more information.
