Challenge

Overheard Conversations Through Walls

The Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church represents about 600 churches throughout Middle Tennessee from Alabama to Kentucky. Their Nashville office, called the Tennessee Conference Center, houses numerous administrative departments that help the church achieve its mission, including the Conference Council on Connectional Ministries, the United Methodist Foundation, the Office of Administrative Services, and the Office of Leadership and Formation Development.

The office is composed primarily of a mix of private office and conference room space. Although most employees have a private office, the walls and open plenum drop ceilings weren’t doing much to prevent sound transmission from office to office, and from conference rooms to offices. The overheard speech noise was distracting employees who were trying to concentrate on individual tasks. Employees were also concerned that their meetings and conversations could easily be overheard causing speech privacy concerns.

Jim Allen, the Treasurer/Director for the conference, began to search for a solution. First efforts were directed toward material changes, with additional ceiling insulation and sound buffers, but these solutions were cost-prohibitive. That led to an online search for a technological solution to the problem. Searches for office white noise machines led him to sound masking solutions from Cambridge Sound Management. More sophisticated than white noise, Cambridge Sound Management’s sound masking solutions emit a gentle, airflow-like sound into an environment through speakers installed in the ceiling. The sound is specifically engineered to cover up the sound of human speech, making it less intelligible and thus more private. After requesting a quote online, sound masking experts from Cambridge Sound Management connected Allen with Prodigy, one of their integration partners in the Nashville area. Prodigy provided Allen with a live demonstration of QtPro sound masking solution in their office. Impressed with the results, Allen moved forward with having sound masking installed in their office space.

Solution

Prodigy installed QtPro sound masking from Cambridge Sound Management, the world’s leading provider of sound masking solutions, throughout the office space. Small, barely visible Qt® Emitters (loudspeakers) were mounted in the office’s open acoustical tile ceiling as well as hallway drywall ceilings. The emitters were connected by cables to a Qt 300 control module residing in the server room, which provides easily adjustable levels to multiple zones.

Result

Fewer Overheard Conversations

The Tennessee Conference Center is now more functional, productive, and acoustically comfortable, and employees are pleased with the office’s transformation. “Persons in private offices no longer complain to me of distracting conversations from adjoining spaces. That made me happy!” says Allen. “Also, I like that the masking level can be adjusted in different zones for different types of spaces (offices, hallways, and conference rooms). Sound masking from Cambridge Sound Management definitely made our office feel more comfortable and private.”

About The Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist Church
The Tennessee Conference is the regional resource for Connecting, Equipping, and Changing Lives! As part of the global United Methodist Church, we share in the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The Conference represents almost 600 churches in Middle Tennessee spanning from the northern to southern borders of the state, the Tennessee River to the west and Central/Eastern Time Zone-line to the east.

About Prodigy
At Prodigy, we are committed to providing the most reliable technology and the best services available in our industry. We understand that technology must be easy to use, must be reliable, and must add value to your home or office. We are not interested in providing flashy “bells & whistles” that aren’t needed. As a result, we treat each project with the individual attention it deserves, ensuring our customers get excellence in everything they need without any unwanted clutter or distractions. We are editors as much as we are builders. Elegance is key to our philosophy.

About Biamp
Biamp® is a leading provider of innovative, networked media systems that power the world’s most sophisticated audiovisual installations. The company is recognized worldwide for delivering high-quality products and backing each one with a commitment to exceptional customer service.

Recipient of the Frost & Sullivan 2018 Global Installed Audio Conferencing Enabling Technology Leadership Award, Biamp is dedicated to creating products that drive the evolution of communication through sight and sound. The award-winning Biamp product suite includes: Tesira® media system for digital audio and video networking, Devio® collaboration tool for modern workplaces, Audia® digital audio platform, Nexia® digital signal processors, Vocia® networked public address and voice evacuation system, Cambridge® sound masking solutions, and loudspeakers for installed sound applications from Community Loudspeakers® and Apart Audio®. Each has its own specific feature set that can be customized and integrated in a wide range of applications, including corporate boardrooms, conference centers, huddle rooms, open floor environments, performing arts venues, courtrooms, hospitals, transportation hubs, campuses, retail, hospitality, military and government, and multi-building facilities.

Founded in 1976, Biamp is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, USA, with additional offices around the globe. For more information on Biamp, please visit www.biamp.com.