BS EN ISO 3382-3:2022

What is ISO 3382-3 - Room acoustic parameters of open-plan offices about?  

An open-plan office is a large and open office space where a large number of occupants can simultaneously work in well-defined workstations. ISO 3382-3 specifies a method for the measurement of room acoustic parameters in unoccupied open-plan offices. ISO 3382-3  specifies measurement procedures, the apparatus needed, the coverage required, the method for evaluating the data, and the presentation of the test report. 

ISO 3382-3 describes a group of single-number quantities indicating the room acoustic performance of an open-plan office in a condition when one person is speaking. They focus on spatial decay of speech while the quantities in ISO 3382-2 focus on temporal decay of sound.  

Who is ISO 3382-3 - Room acoustic parameters of open-plan offices for?  

ISO 3382-3 on the room acoustic parameters of open-plan offices is useful for:  

• End customers (diagnosis, survey, expression of needs in keeping with their knowledge in acoustics)  
• Project owners  
• Project management companies (architects, acousticians, ergonomists, economists and consulting engineers)  
• Building traders  
• Building developer  
• Specialists in occupational health, safety and quality  
• Expert assessments and consultancy  

Why should you use ISO 3382-3 - Room acoustic parameters of open-plan offices? 

Both flexible offices and activity-based offices often involve spaces that resemble open-plan offices. Open working areas, which can be considered open-plan offices, can also be found in many libraries, hospital wards, industrial workplaces, and schools. 

ISO 3382-3 discusses terms and definitions that depict a user-friendly idea of the room acoustic parameters of open-plan offices. ISO 3382-3 also provides users with measurement conditions and the determination of single-number values which help them with the space management of open-plan offices. The guidelines in ISO 3382-3 help you perceive the room acoustic parameters of open-plan offices that enable you to create an office environment that supports speech privacy and limits unwanted noises.  

What’s changed since the last update? 

ISO 3382-3:2022 supersedes ISO 3382-3:2012. ISO 3382-3:2022 includes some technical changes with respect to ISO 3382-3:2012. These include:  

• New single-number quantity, comfort distance, added, and privacy distance removed 
• The sole use of an omnidirectional sound source in all measurement phases emphasized 
• Definitions (Clause 3), measurement conditions (Clause 4), and determination of single-number values (Clause 5) clarified 
• Use of impulse response method better described and a new Annex B added 
• Clause 6 “Precision” and an informative Annex D were added 
• STI is determined in conformity with IEC 60268-16 using weighting factors α and β for the male gender