CHALLENGE

Reducing Noise Distractions and Optimizing Staff and Student Productivity Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI) is the world’s leading professional advocate for the advancement of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.

In 2019, BICSI leadership kicked-off an exciting and ambitious undertaking: the complete renovation of their World Headquarters and Learning Academy in Tampa, Florida.

“Project Refresh,” as the project became known, turned the BICSI facility into a state-of-the-art smart building.

The BICSI World Headquarters houses a variety of departments, and the nature of the work varies, from call center activities to intra-departmental collaboration.

The BICSI Learning Academy has four spacious classrooms, a large, contemporary student lounge area, café, media area and an open view of a modern equipment room.

“As part of the Project Refresh renovation, our staff areas were transitioned from a siloed configuration with large, high cubicles and walls to a more open and collaborative environment. This change brought with it higher noise levels and a greater potential for distraction. Further, with the Membership & Customer Care call center onsite, we needed a way to control sound levels to minimize disruption to neighboring departments,” said Christopher Muratore, Director of Information Technology.

SOLUTION

Cambridge QtPro® Sound Masking from Biamp BICSI installed small, barely visible Qt® Emitters (loudspeakers) in the drop ceiling throughout 33,000 square feet, covering open workspaces, the student break area, training classrooms and in one of the private staff offices. The emitters were connected by standard category cables to a Qt® 600 control module residing in the server room. The system enabled different masking volume levels across 13 different zones, allowing BICSI to proactively address noise distractions and enhance productivity.

RESULT

Prior to the installation of the Cambridge sound masking system, office staff could very clearly hear conversations between coworkers and telephone calls.

“After sound masking was deployed, office noise was significantly reduced and any sounds you can hear are unintelligible, retaining a level of privacy,” said Muratore.