Industrial buildings have special requirements in terms of noise protection. It is primarily because the noise generated within their premises can lead to various issues, such as decreased productivity in the workplace, increased employee illness, and to a certain extent, become a serious disturbance for the entire industrial environment. Sound barrier has been created like a solution to reduce the noise level in industrial buildings.
Noise pollution is common in industrial work setups, such as factories, buildings, and large-scale infrastructure. This can be mitigated, however, by installing sound barriers such as echo insulation, industrial building acoustics, and industry noise control.
How industrial halls are constructed
Industrial buildings, and their interiors for that matter, don’t always have the best acoustics. Hallways are also situated right beside workshops and separated only by concrete walls, so the noise coming from running machines are heard in areas where people interact.
The noise produced in workshops of industrial buildings can be very distracting and may even go through walls, and it can disrupt other crucial company activities such as meetings, conferences, and even the day-to-day admin work.
Acoustic barriers became a necessity only recently; in fact, many industrial establishments still think of it as an additional option that can only be installed later, depending on their need.
Why should a company invest in sound barriers for industrial buildings, anyway? Below are a few reasons to look at:
Noise control in buildings
Sound pressure and reverberation are the most common disturbing factors in industrial buildings, such as factories and workshops. For instance, a steel hall does not have good acoustics, and is at risk to loud reverberation due to sound bouncing off hard surfaces. At the same time, when sound waves overlap in the same space, they also cause a constant noise level. Sound waves linger in an area, and only fades when the listener goes farther away from the source.
Noise control in industrial buildings work by reducing the sound pressure and reverberation levels using sound barriers. While noise cannot be silenced since it is a by-product of functioning machines, it can be stabilised through acoustic controls.
Noise goes beyond physical boundaries
A lot of industrial centres are near residential areas. The proximity of a factory to a residential village, for instance, makes the community subject to receiving the noise generated by the plant. The unwanted sound pollution not only disrupts the day-to-day life in the village; it may also cause them to lobby for their community welfare at the expense of the factory operations.
Installing sound barriers in industrial buildings, such as acoustic walls and absorber pads, can help limit the spread of noise to a certain amount. Hanging acoustic controls meanwhile help control noise in premises with high ceilings.
Noise mitigation helps create more diverse spaces within an industrial building
Investing in acoustic barriers for buildings and industrial structures help create diversity of spatial use. A few years ago, warehouses were used primarily for storage and machine-based activities, so generating noise is normal. However, due to changing business behaviours over the years, warehouse facilities have become areas for admin work, corporate gatherings, and day-to-day office operations as well.
With sound barriers installed, it would be more conducive for industrial spaces to be used for other purposes. Noise mitigated to tolerable levels allows people to utilise areas outside workshops and production sites for social activities. These can likewise be converted into office stations in case the company intends to take in more staff for onsite admin tasks.
Lastly, by having sound barriers installed, non-workshop areas become safer for human interaction. People using soundproofed spaces, especially those who are sensitive to noise, can ultimately avoid experiencing problems attributed to unwanted noise and reverberation.