Cambridge Sound Management & QT Quiet Technology — Sound masking, speech privacy, white noise and workplace acoustics.

Open Office Privacy Calculator — Developed by
Cambridge Sound Management

The Open Office Privacy Calculator graphically shows how much workers in open offices are distracted by any single person speaking – and the impact of office environmental parameters on the level of distraction.

Privacy in an open office involves freedom from distraction and is highly dependent on how well the space can Absorb, Block and Cover sounds.

This Privacy Calculator places a distracting "talker" within the office layout. An acoustic environment is then designed – with a specific ceiling height, tile grade, partition level and sound masking – the program calculates workstation privacy based on each factor.

Install In 2 Easy Steps

•	Click the "download" shortcut to launch the program.

•	Follow the prompts. If Java is not installed on your machine, this program will prompt you to restart your computer. YOU MAY IGNORE THIS PROMPT. An "Open Office SPI Calculator" icon will be placed on your desktop. Click to begin using the program.

(To uninstall: Start > All Programs > Open Office SPI > Uninstall)
Program Basics

•	Open the program to see a cubicle environment with a talker icon ()

•	The percentage values show the talker's speech privacy level.

•	Left-click the icon to move the talker into any cubicle in the office environment. The program assumes that the talker is always in a cubicle – not in one of the hallways.

•	Right-click on the icon to rotate the pointer to indicate where the talker is facing.
Set The Acoustic Environment

Use the pull-down menus to:

•	Define the ceiling height of the environment (8 – 14 feet).

•	Define the ceiling tile type – or NRC rating (Average, Better or Best Absorption). This allows you to determine how higher grade (and thus, more expensive) acoustical tiles impact privacy.

•	Define the cubicle partition height (48 – 85 inches). This allows you to determine how higher cubicle panels impact privacy – and to compare that impact against various tile options.

•	Turn sound masking on/off by clicking the button at the bottom. Sound masking is extremely effective at covering speech. This function shows the how sound masking impacts privacy – and how the sound masking impact compares to the tile and partition options.

Each time the environment is changed, the program instantaneously calculates the speech privacy index (SPI) in all of the cubicles to show which coworkers are distracted by the talker. SPI is a measure of speech intelligibility, given as a percentage. When SPI is 0%, the distracting conversation is completely intelligible and there is no privacy. When SPI is 100%, the distracting conversation is completely unintelligible and there is complete privacy. Target SPI range in open office environments is between 80% and 95%. Explore the effect of speech privacy in your office environment – and determine how Absorbing with ceiling tiles, Blocking with partitions and Covering with sound masking impact speech privacy. Future versions of this program will even allow you to layout a specific office plan and to do a cost benefit analysis of changes in the acoustic design. Stay tuned for details! Click the Cambridge Sound Management logo to learn more about sound masking, speech privacy or the Oasis Qt™ sound masking system. Enjoy!

Open Office Privacy Calculator

The ABC's of Workplace Acoustics in Action!
See how Oasis Qt™ sound masking can reduce distractions and improve speech privacy.

	Download Privacy Calculator

	Download Info Sheet

	Sample Privacy Analysis

Qt Quiet technology™

For more information:
Mark Bell
Sales Engineer
Cambridge Sound Management
Tel: 617/349-3779 x108
Email Mark

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