Quiet pods are quickly becoming a staple in the workplace. But adding them isn’t like putting in a couch or chair – they have specific requirements that must be met.
These include sound reduction, proper ventilation and more. Use this helpful guide to choose the right pod for your needs.
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Pod Size
Office workers often face distracting noises and visual distractions, compromising productivity. The best way to address this is by providing a quiet space where employees can focus on their work undisturbed.
Acoustic pods provide the perfect solution for this. They can be used as phone booths, acoustic conference rooms or even a lounge for people to meet. They come in various sizes to enable different uses and can be customized according to the environment and user needs.
When choosing an acoustic pod, consider its internal sound isolation performance. It should be high enough to allow users to communicate effectively but should not allow too much of the surrounding ambient office sound to escape into the pod. Also, it is important to look into the reverberation time of the pod, as a longer reverberation will make conversations difficult to hear.
Additionally, it is essential to ensure that the pod has good connections that are easy to access and use. This includes power, data and ethernet connections. Ideally, the pod should be powered via a plug-and-play system to ensure it is as energy efficient as possible and only consumes electricity when used.
Pod Type
Pods can help workers overcome a range of distractions to boost productivity levels. These include street noise, office machinery and equipment, odors, flashing lights, noisy coworkers and room temperature. Providing a quiet space to focus on work can dramatically increase productivity.
Typically, soundproof office pods are acquired to address specific needs that the existing work environment cannot optimally support. These can improve privacy or quiet focus, facilitate remote meetings, or provide rejuvenation spaces.
When choosing the right work pod for your business, it is important to consider how it will be used in the long term. This may include considering how the pod will be used outside of the workplace, as well. Choosing a durable and easy-to-clean pod is essential to ensuring that the pod remains in good condition for many years. It is also good to look at the pod’s internal reverberation time, as this can affect audibility during phone calls or video conferences. Choosing a pod that limits reverberation times to less than 0.1 or 0.3 seconds is a good idea to ensure that conversations are private and audible.
Pod Design
Whether your office pod will be used for meetings, video calls or just some quiet space to work, it must offer privacy and soundproofing. Choosing a pod with solid walls or minimal glass will ensure that your conversations are kept private from distractions in the surrounding office.
If you plan to use your work pod for more than just phone or video calls, make sure that the pod can accommodate other technologies like datalinks and microwave antennas. Look for a manufacturer that can provide pods capable of accommodating EO/IR turrets, optical cameras, LIDAR, multi and hyper-spectral sensors and data links.
It would help if you also looked at the internal reverberation time of the pods to see how effective they are at keeping sound private. A good quality pod should limit reverberation to 0.1-0.3 seconds, ensuring that voices can be heard clearly and that conversations are kept private from other workers in the office. You should also ask about the pod’s acoustic performance and ensure excellent external isolation.
Pod Isolation
When selecting a pod, look at its external and internal sound-insulation performance. Ideally, a pod for phone calls or remote meetings should shut out environmental noise and prevent the voices inside from being heard by others. It is also important to check the pod’s internal reverberation time, which should be limited to less than 0.3 seconds. This improves audibility and allows the user to stay focused.
Pods can also shield workers from visual distractions. In open offices, employees can become distracted by noise from nearby coworkers, coffee machines, keyboards clacking and other visual distractions. A quiet area that allows employees to focus without being distracted by audio or visual interruptions boosts productivity.
Lastly, look at the material quality used to build the office pod. Choose pods with natural materials and glass surfaces to ensure good acoustics and efficient sound damping. The soundproofing materials should effectively reduce office background noise, and the ventilation system should provide first-class air quality and temperature control.
Pod Ventilation
Pods must shut out sounds outside and prevent sounds inside from getting out. This is especially important for work pods.
When people work remotely, they need quiet spaces to have meetings face-to-face, over video or by phone, and to focus on projects. A soundproof office pod is the best way to achieve this.
However, when acquiring pods, it is essential to consider how they will be used in the long term and to choose one that can adapt to the users’ needs. Pods can be equipped with dimmable lighting, PIR sensors and adjustable ventilation to optimize the user experience.
A good example is the Module pod, which has anti-microbial lighting and HEPA-clean air to create a space prioritizing user health. In addition, it includes a depth-adjustable desk and brackets for monitors to accommodate different-sized users. This makes it ideal for longer video conferencing or online training sessions. The ventilation system also sucks hot air out at the bottom and blows cool air at the top to keep the interior comfortable.