Paper Shredders Interfere with WMTS

Paper shredders can be a problem in an office environment.  The most common problem is noise.  With small home paper shredders, the sound levels are often not an issue because the units are so small, that they are not as loud, and the intermittent use of shredders in small office environments can be easily tolerated.  In larger office environments and in settings where people are likely to have to work near the shredding equipment, noise can undoubtedly be a real issue. 

Another problem with paper shredders that is uncommon, but should be taken into consideration in areas with large amounts of high tech electrical equipment is electromagnetic interference.  This is the kind of problem, that in a home may cause you to have phone interference when operating your microwave or a blender.  The problem can become critical, though in areas like hospitals, where electromagnetic interference can wreak havoc on fine tuned systems.  In one such case in 2004 detailed in a presentation by Health IT Trends & Marketing, a WMTS telemetry system was completely disrupted due to the excessive noise emitted from the paper shredders.  WMTS telemetry systems are often used to relay ECG and respiratory information to a centralized location.  Upon weeks of searching, when it was found that a paper shredder had been the cause of all the disruptions, paper shredders were banned from the entire facility.

This case is of course an extreme case of the effects of paper shredder noise in a work environment, but it highlights the considerations that must be taken into account when installing a loud piece of equipment near personnel or other sensitive equipment.  Paper shredders are available that are able to abate the dBA enough to allow operation in the center of a work environment, but quiet models often increase the cost of manufacture, and thus the cost of the shredder to the consumer or business.  Consider you environment before you settle on the right paper shredder for your business.