GAS is an engineering consulting firm that works on building and environmental projects throughout the Midwest. In planning the move to a new location, they realized they would need a sound masking system for employees who, for the first time, would be working in an open office, a cubicle environment.

The purpose of a sound masking system is to cut down on distractions caused by various noises, especially other people’s conversations. The low-level “pink noise” produced masks extraneous sounds without interfering with normal communication. If the system is properly designed and installed, people who work in the office will not be aware that it’s there.

This first system’s value really hit home when, shortly after the move, GAS managers were forced to turn it off. “It was so loud and so intense in the office that you could hear people down the hallway,” says Anna Szyszkiewicz, corporate office services manager. “You would not believe what a difference it made.”

Since then, Graef, Anhalt & Schloemer have added or extended sound masking systems in three of their locations: Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago. We designed and installed each system.

Read more about sound masking systems in a corporate environment