In some call centers, management requires an open space with staff working beside each other as they feel there needs to be slight contact with the workers. This is the circumstance for this business.  Clients were calling in to place an order and the orders needed to be handle quickly for the clients was waiting for the delivery as soon as possible. Without a good acoustic solution, this situation can quickly become a discord of noise as order takers compete to have their voices heard over the constant phone call activity. This was creating a tremendous amount of distraction.  The staff was having a hard time concentrating on their job and end up being exhausted.

This call center was a large rectangular-shaped room with standard hard ceiling tile, hard wall surfaces with one being a glass window, and a smooth carpet on the floor.  In this type of situation, the ceiling is the primary area for acoustic treatment.  Analyzing the layout of the ceiling, there was not enough free area to effectively install sound-absorbing flat ceiling panels for this busy intense workspace.  Baffles would interfere with the lighting and make the area feel uncomfortable as the standard height ceiling would visually feel much lower. 

Thus, our recommended acoustic solution was to install our proprietary half-cylinder acoustic ceiling units.  Due to their shape and added volume, these acoustic units absorbed more sound waves over a wider frequency range.  Also, they would not interfere with the lighting and sprinkler system. The acoustic ceiling units were installed in neat rows over each of the desks.  This layout helped provide an organized calming layout for the hectic environment.

The client was skeptical if the acoustic treatment would make a noticeable difference but they felt it was the best option and they need to do something to reduce the noise level.  After the installation of the half-cylinder acoustic units, they were so surprised by the amount of noise reduction and how these units did not visually interfere in the workspace.  They were extremely pleased with the acoustic solution we had developed for them.