Open-plan office noise levels, annoyance and countermeasures in Egypt

The effects of open-plan office noise levels on annoyance in Egypt were studied. More than 200 respondents from 10 Egyptian open-plan office sites representing different functions were evaluated. The goals of this study are to carry out measurements to evaluate open-plan office noise levels, to determine if these levels exceeded the permissible levels set by Egyptian noise standards and policy to protect public health, to examinerespondent’s attitudes towards open-plan office noise, and to determine the relationship between open-plan office noise levels and degree of annoyance. Results of measurements showed that equivalent continuous noise levels varied from 72 dB to 93 dB. Results of experiments showed that open-plan office noise reduced by 11 dB when users kept their conversations quiet, 6 dB when operating conditions of air conditioners (split units) were changed from high to low, and reduced by 5 dB when partial height (1.5 m) partitions made of plastic sheets with thickness of 6 mm were used. There was a strong relationship between open-plan office noise levels and percentage of highly annoyed respondents. There were a 10% increase in highly annoyed respondents per 4 dB increase in noise levels. Perception of unwanted speech conversations should be reduced.