No one likes it when you can hear “Susan” giggling into her phone in the corner. Especially when you are a 911 dispatcher on the phone and the person on the other end is in a potential life or death situation. Those giggles are the absolute last thing you need breaking your concentration and adding to an already stressful situation. When you are in a high stress job such as Dispatching, background noise and distractions are the last thing you want to hear. You need to stay focused and alert to the situation at hand.

Acoustical panel systems are one of the ways that you can keep the noises of a 911 Communications Center at bay. Standard "cubical" panels usually have a .55 NRC rating and the panels that offer a .75 NRC rating would be considered a "premium" acoustical solution. Now, you are probably scratching your head wondering what those numbers actually mean.

What is a VOC?

There is more than one definition of the term “VOC”. The first, less commonly known acronym is referred to as the “Voice Of the Customer” and the second, more familiar “Volatile Organic Compounds”, which refers to the toxic gases that we can encounter in some indoor office environments. The former is demanding action on the latter.

The Importance

The EPA has estimated that indoor air pollution kills 11,400 people each year. Estimates vary on the amount of sickness and lost productivity this creates, but it is almost certainly significant. As would be expected, every year, more attention is being placed on long term worker safety and indoor air quality. It is in everyone’s interest to be mindful of the choices we make as it may affect our health, welfare, and productivity.