Acoustic comfort evaluation for hypermarket workers

The paper presents the results of an on-site measurement procedure to assess acoustic comfort for hypermarket workers. The assessment is based on the collection of both objective measurements of environmental parameters as well as subjective ratings of acoustic comfort. The study was carried out in a hypermarket located in Southern Italy, in which four sub-spaces having similar acoustic characteristics were identified. Workers were asked to move to selected measuring points and fill in a questionnaire to rate their subjective perceptions. Measuring points were chosen to represent the typical conditions inside the hypermarket. Factor analysis and linear regression analysis were used to pick up, among the many noise indexes available in the literature, those that could better describe the staff subjective attitude towards the acoustic environment. Finally, by comparisons with subjective “comfort” thresholds, optimal intervals for selected parameters were defined. Analysis showed that the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level LeqA and the percentile level LA90 could be used to describe subjective auditory sensations in most situations.