Speech Privacy System

Scott LaubackVP Sales and Marketing

Cambridge Sound Management, LLC

Mark SzwejczewskiSound Masking Service

Topics

• Cambridge Sound Management

• What is speech privacy and why are people concerned about it?

• How does Oasis improve acoustics in office environments

• Oasis Speech Privacy System

Cambridge Sound Management• Developers of Qt Quiet technology

TM

• Decades of experience built into our products

– Product spin-off from “the fathers of workplace acoustics” Acentech / BBN / CSM since 1999

– Our acousticians invented and developed all three previous generations of sound masking technology

• Headquartered in Cambridge, MA

• Worldwide network of Premier Resellers

Qt Quiet technology™ is a trademark of Cambridge Sound Management, LLC

In the USA, a 10 year research project was conducted to determine the breakdown

of the cost of an employee in an office, as shown below. The results also definitively

confirmed that an office environment with more privacy and less distractions, had a

positive impact on worker efficiency and reduced office operating cost.

BETTER PRIVACY = BETTER EFFICIENCY = LOWER COST

Economics of Privacy

82% 18%Employees work cost

Salary, insurance, education, social fund

Operating cost

Work stands, energy, dailyused materials, media, cleaning

- What is speech privacy and why

are people concerned about it?

- Why is there a demand for speech

privacy solutions?

- Why is there a problem?

Construction TrendsCubicles & Open Plan

• Trends:

– Lower partition height

– Lower ceilings

– Smaller cubicles

– Increased density

– Less sound absorption

Fiber Glasstile

152 – 182cm

3 x 3 = 9m2

YESTERDAY TODAY

Mineral Fiber tiles

122 – 137cm

1,8 x 2,4 = 4,3m2

• Result:

– Reduced cost

– Increased distractions

– Reduced productivity

Construction TrendsPrivate Offices

• Trends:

– Poor sound proofing

– Reduced plenum barriers

YESTERDAY

• Result:

– Reduced cost

– Decreased privacy

TODAY

Who Benefits from Sound Masking?

Many industries: - Healthcare HIPAA) - Finance (GLBA) - Insurance

- Legal

• Any size office

• New Construction

• Build-outs and re-designs

• Existing facilities

Many Applications:

- Waiting rooms

- Office Environments - Call centers - Executive/HR offices

1) Reduce distractions in open plan offices

• Solution:

- Sound masking needs to be added throughout the open office area

• Benefit:

- Conversations will be less intelligible and therefore less distracting

Cubicle Area

Employees don’t want to be distracted by the conversations

of others

CEO’s Office Hallway & Cubicles Area

2) Provide privacy for an executive’s office

• Solution: - Sound masking needs

to be added in the hallway and cubicle area

• Benefit: - People outside of the

office won’t be able to hear confidential information

The executive doesn’t want people outside of her office to hear her

private conversations

REMEMBER: Sound Masking is for the benefit of the listener, not the talker!

3) Provide privacy in a waiting area outside of a doctor’s office

• Solution: - Sound masking

needs to be added in the waiting room

• Benefit: - People outside of the

office won’t be able to hear the confidential conversations

Psychiatrist’s

Office

Waiting Room

The psychiatrist doesn’t want people in the waiting area to hear her private conversations

REMEMBER: Sound Masking is for the benefit of the listener, not the talker!

4) Provide privacy between private offices

• Solution: - Sound masking

needs to be added to both offices

• Benefit: - Neither party will be

able to overhear confidential conversations

Bill’s Office Paul’s Office

Neither Bill nor Paul want the other to overhear their confidential conversations

What is Sound Masking?

• Adding sound to eliminate sound

• Counterintuitive… but it works!

Demand is Exploding…

- Reduce Distractions!

- Improve Productivity!

- Increase Privacy!

Demand Drivers• Productivity

– Increase focus, decrease distraction

• Privacy– Healthcare & financial industries mandate protection of

client information (HIPAA, GLBA)

– All industries must protect confidential conversations

• Construction trends – Creating a need for sound masking systems

Will Any Sound Do?

• Any sound can cover speech- sort of!– Rain, music, HVAC, etc.

– Needs to be too loud to be effective (floodlight to cover the flashlight)

– Hot spots can’t be avoided

• Sound Masking uses a specific sound to effectively mask speech - with better results

The Sound Masking Sound

• Same sound spectrum as human speech in order to be effective at masking speech

• As quiet as possible for the applications

• Pleasant and unobtrusive

• Uniform with no hot spots

The Practical

and

Technical Considerations

In Open Offices, Sound Travels FAR !

150 Very Intelligible

Talkers

200 Moderately Intelligible Talkers

Example A: Open Office with ‘No Partitions’

OR Panels lower than < 120cm

Distractions travel 25 Meters

Example B: Open Office with 150cm Panels

OR Open Office with partitions 120cm + Sound Masking

30 Very Intelligible

Talkers

40 Moderately

Intelligible Talkers

1.5m Panel Systems Definitely Help

Example C: Open Office with:

150cm partitions and Sound Masking

5 Moderately

Intelligible Talkers

Adding Oasis is the Best Solution

Good Workplace AcousticsThe ABCs

• Absorb: with sound-absorbent building materials

• Block: with walls to the deck and high cubicle partitions

• Cover: with sound masking

Sound Masking has the most impact

and is the most cost effective solution!

What is a Speech Privacy System?

An Electro-Acoustic Architectural System

that

Increases Privacy and Reduces Costs.

• Proven to be the most cost effective tool available today for increasing privacy

• Works synergistically with walls, barriers & panels and ceiling tiles

• Allows informed trade offs between:

design / performance / cost

Oasis Qt™ Sound Masking System

• Control Module:

– GREEN: Very low power

– Pre-programmed sound

– Up to 2’800m2 per control module

• Emitters: – Miniaturized, omni-directional

– Typically installed in ceiling tile

– Housing options for all ceiling types

• Cables & Connectors– Pre-terminated CAT 3 cables

– RJ-45 connectors and jacks

• Paging/Music Module– Adds paging and/or music

– Uses same speaker network

Oasis QtTM

The Qt Quiet technologyTM

Difference

Oasis Qt ™ and Qt Quiet technology ™ are trademarks of Cambridge Sound Management, LLC

• Direct Field– for a uniquely uniform sound. No “hot spots”

• Pre-programmed sound– for a remarkably unobtrusive experience

• Plug & Play– for the simplest specification and installation

• Flexible– for installation in any environment

• Adapted to paging and music distribution – for fewer system components

Ceiling

Omni-directional speakers radiate directly into office space below

Roof deck

Central Generator

Direct Field Sound Masking: Generating Sound Where You Need It

Installed Emitters

Speakers

Typical dropped ceiling installation

Custom installation on existing structure

Enclosure for wooden beams

Enclosure for steel trusses

How is Oasis Different

from

the Competition

Theirs: In-Plenum Systems

• Unpredictable, non-uniform sound

• “Hot spots” & “spill” can’t be avoided

• Complicated specification & installation

• Extensive post-installation tuning

Ours: Direct - Field System

Oasis Qt ™ is a trademark of Cambridge Sound Management, LLC

• Consistent, uniform sound

• No “hot” spots

• Simple specification & installation

• No Tuning Required!

Primary Oasis Qt™ Benefits over The Competition

In-plenum Oasis QtTM

The SoundAnnoying, hissy and

Lauder for equal AI

Unobtrusive, pleasant

And quieter for equal

AI

Sound Field Uniformity Moderately uniformSome hot spots

Very uniform

Spill into Private Offices

Significant None

Installation Difficulty More complex Much less complex

Post Installation Tuning Required Not required

Typical Oasis QtTM

Specification

• Emitters are laid out on a grid based on ceiling height (a typical 2,74m ceiling) uses a (3,05m x 3,05m) grid

• Up to 300 emitters per control module

• One control module per zone (a zone is either private offices or open areas – not both!)

It’s really that easy!Oasis Qt ™ is a trademark of Cambridge Sound Management, LLC

Typical Layout

Oasis QtTM

Success Story

Phoenix Wealth Management

Headquarters, Hartford, CT

– National Historic Landmark

– 15 floors; 5580m2

– 38 zones integrated

– Expanded to paging

Oasis QtTM

Success Story

Michigan Information

Technology Center, Ann Arbor, MI

- National hub of 2nd Generation

Internet

- 2 floors, 2790m2

- 18 independently-controlled

zones

Oasis QtTM

Success StoryWilliams College SchowScience LibraryWilliamstown, MA

- 12,2m ceilings with skylights

- Walls of brick, glass, plaster

- 1116m2

- Library had been too quiet

- Adding sound masking reduced the effect of reverberations and greatly minimized distractions

Oasis QtTM Success StoryBank of America, National Help

Line Call Center Boston, MA

- 200 call center associates

- 3535m2

- A highly - productive work environment

Oasis QtTM

Success Story

Wells Fargo

- Speech Privacy System and Paging installed

- 9500m2

- Open offices

Partial list of End-User Customers• Bank of America

• Boston Scientific

• Cigna Dental

• Dana Farber Cancer Institute

• General Electric

• Herman Miller

• Hewitt

• Husky Canada – Shanghai

• Keane Corporation

• Marsh McLennan

• Mass General Hospital

• Merrill Lynch

• MIT

• Monster.com

• Northrop Grumman

• Northeastern University

• One Beacon Insurance

• Pella Corporation

• Shell Oil - Philippines

• Jones Lang Lasalle

• Steelcase

• Wallmart

• Wells Fargo

• Wyeth

In the USA, a 10 year research project was conducted to determine the breakdown

of the cost of an employee in an office, as shown below. The results also definitively

confirmed that an office environment with more privacy and less distractions, had a

positive impact on worker efficiency and reduced office operating cost.

BETTER PRIVACY = BETTER EFFICIENCY = LOWER COST

Economics of Privacy

82% 18%Employees work cost

Salary, insurance, education, social fund

Operating cost

Work stands, energy, dailyused materials, media, cleaning

Can you benefit from a Sound Masking System?

If you

- Have workers who are distracted by conversations or activities around them

Or

- Need to improve the confidentiality of discussions among workers / customers

Then the answer is YES!

Thank you for your attention !

SOUND MASKING SERVICE

Mark Szwejczewski, Sales & Marketing

Tel. +48 71 710 46 25

Tel/Fax. +48 71 367 22 05

Mob. +48 601 086 039

E. info@soundmasking-office.eu

www.soundmasking-office.eu