Bluefin Robotics, a designer and manufacturer of undersea robots, moved its Massachusetts company headquarters from Cambridge to a larger facility in Quincy. The new space, a 54,000 square foot former shipyard warehouse, better supports Bluefin’s continued growth, and features exposed ceilings, large windows, and antique hardwood floors. A full renovation was required to suit Bluefin’s needs while ensuring employee productivity for all departments.
While brimming with character, the Quincy facility’s antique hardwood floors, exposed girder ceilings, and walls posed some acoustical problems. The surfaces were reflective, meaning sound travelled easily and created noisy distractions. Determined to alleviate any issues in the office, various acoustical products were incorporated into the design, including sound-absorbing tiles and electronic sound masking.
SOLUTION
Sound masking is a uniform background sound added to a space via a network of small, ceilingmounted speakers, creating a more comfortable environment by obscuring many typical workplace sounds, including conversations, from being overheard. Bluefin maximized installation efficiency and cost-effectiveness by implementing the sound masking system during the renovation phase when the ceiling was open and easily accessible.
Biamp’s small, direct field Qt® Emitters were the best choice for the varied ceiling heights and industrial space types. The speakers are easily installed in ceiling tile, plaster, beams, or other structural elements. The size and complexity of Bluefin’s environment required four separate sound masking zones, each with unique volume settings. To accommodate these needs, a Qt® 600 control module was chosen.
Employee Rik DeLeonardis accessed the Qt® 600 from his personal computer and adjusted levels for each zone, noting, “the beauty of the system is that once it’s set, you don’t have to interact with it again.” Today, the Qt® 600 system successfully ensures privacy and productivity in many functional areas of Bluefin’s office, including engineering, finance, administration, and other departments, plus public areas adjacent to private spaces. The consistent, unobtrusive background sound is highly effective and barely noticeable.
CONCLUSION
Bluefin CEO David Kelly acknowledges QtPro™ as a valuable part of his facility’s design. “The cost of the system was minor to achieve the environment we wanted,” said Kelly. Bluefin employees are pleased with the new space and feel that sound masking makes it easier to work collaboratively. Engineer Robert Panish describes his workspace as “pleasant,” and feels that sound masking helps isolate employees from distracting surroundings.
When the system was recently turned off to install new equipment, a software engineer remarked how much noise he could now overhear, and to what extent sound masking is needed in order to ensure Bluefin’s employees can achieve their best results.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
