What are Sound Deadening Walls?
No matter your industry, companies of all types can run into noise issues from time to time. Whether working in a heavy industrial setting or even a traditional office environment, lowering the decibel levels of your work environment can help employees stay focused and help with their overall well-being. From the EASH (Europe's equivalent of OSHA), "Occupational noise, even when it is not at a level that requires action to prevent hearing loss, can be a stressor, although its impact is usually in combination with other factors." Additionally, high noise levels can lead to more accidents in the workplace by making it more difficult to communicate or "masking the approach" of a potential hazard.
However, Panel Built, Inc. has developed a solution to help these different industries reduce their overall noise levels and create a better work environment with our sound deadening wall systems. Panel Built, Inc. manufactures dozens of custom wall panels to help fit into practically any type of environment. This post will discuss Panel Built's sound deadening wall systems and how they can be applied to different settings to create a happier, safer workplace.
What is a Sound Deadening Wall?
Panel Built's sound deadening wall systems are designed to reduce the level of noise able to permeate through the wall system. To make these walls, Panel Built adds a specialty sound deadening fiberboard to our standard panel system. Panel Built can include up to two layers of the noise-reducing fiberboard to create our sound deadening wall panels. Single board panels offer 38 STC rating, while the double board version provides a 42 STC. STC (or sound transmission class) provides a scale to judge the sound-dampening qualities of a wall panel. One STC roughly equals a one-decibel drop in noise level.
Applying Sound Deadening Walls to Your Facility
As we mentioned, practically all businesses and organizations can deal with noise issues in some form or another. For example, many work environments traditionally employ an open office design to promote collaboration and brainstorming among employees in the same department. However, many studies have shown that this concept can reduce employee efficiency due to the number of distractions present day to day.
Panel Built's sound deadening wall system creates the perfect solution to this problem. Our wall systems are a semi-permanent, prefabricated solution that is perfectly made for installation into existing environments. Each panel is cut to match your floor to ceiling height, so there is minimal work required at the job site when it is time for installation. The prefabrication cuts the installation time needed for the project location, minimizing the disruption on-site. Working with Panel Built, we will help you develop a new layout and design to create individual office spaces or whatever new layout works best for your company.
Sound Deadening Walls in an Industrial Setting
However, our sound deadening wall system shines the brightest when placed in a manufacturing or industrial environment. These are the type of facilities that most have to worry about the 85-decibel threshold. This is the level at which hearing loss occurs over a period of time and is roughly as loud as your average city street during rush hour. However, with the loud machinery, forklift traffic, and general noisiness of a factory setting, there are countless opportunities to reduce the average decibel level in your facility.
Controlling noise in a facility can be accomplished in a handful of ways. The most effective method is to simply remove the source of the noise. If that is not possible, the hierarchy of controls recommends you substitute the noise source with another less hazardous piece of equipment (many pieces of equipment have "buy quiet" alternatives that are available). However, if these first two methods are not possible, engineering controls are the recommended next option. Engineering controls generally involve instituting a barrier between the hazard and employees.
For noise hazards, Panel Built's sound deadening wall systems can help you create an equipment enclosure around the noise source. An equipment enclosure places the equipment in an envelope of our sound-rated panels, reducing the level of noise able to spread across the facility. Our equipment enclosures can be entirely custom-designed with layouts and dimensions that perfectly fit your facility and equipment. With the enclosure in place, only the machinery workers (wearing PPE) would be subject to the noise rather than the entire facility.
In contrast to equipment enclosures, factories can also create a noise barrier by installing their own office system into their facility. As manufacturing companies grow, the office space required for sales, customer service, engineering, and so on, will need to grow with it. Luckily, Panel Built's modular office systems can be equipped with the same sound dampening materials to create a controlled, comfortable workspace. Like our equipment enclosures, Panel Built's modular office systems can form fully custom layouts to create a series of offices or even multi-level office spaces. Whatever it takes to form the best space solution for your business.
Overall, Panel Built's Sound Deadening Walls can build countless different sound barriers inside your facility. From individual offices to warehouse-long demising walls, our system gives you the freedom and flexibility to completely transform your facility and create lower stress conditions for your employees. If you are interested in Panel Built's sound deadening wall systems or if you have any questions about our products, give us a call at 800.636.3873, send us an email to info@panelbuilt.com, or let us know in the livechat feature in the bottom-right of our page. We are more than happy to help with any questions or concerns that you may have.
In the modular construction industry for over 25 years, Panel Built has the knowledge and experience to help create the best space solution for you. At Panel Built, we operate under one mission, "To Solve Our Customers' Space Needs with Excellence and Great Customer Service," and we cannot wait for the opportunity to prove it to you!