FOCUS HEALTH & SAFETY
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
The Coronavirus pandemic has
brought health and safety to
the forefront of everyone’s minds.
While previously, our primary
concerns about viruses and bacteria
arose from dirty surfaces, we have
suddenly been made conscious of
the air we breathe.
The average person breathes in
12,000 litres of air per day (Nilsson,
2008) and the quality of that air is
vital in ensuring we remain healthy
when using shared spaces. Breathing,
coughing and sneezing can all
introduce microscopic droplets –
aerosols – into the air. Aerosols carry
live viruses which can then be inhaled
by others.
Wearing masks and maintaining a
two-metre distance reduces this risk.
However, aerosols can stay airborne
for hours, travel longer distances, and
land on surfaces. Adequate ventilation
has been shown to significantly reduce
the viral load in the air and lower the
risk of infection.
CREATING HEALTHIER SPACES
FOR THE LONG-TERM
While it is not currently possible
to measure virus particles in the
atmosphere, we are able to monitor
temperature, humidity, and volumes
of carbon dioxide, and use these
factors to predict the survival rate of
a virus and how far it can travel. This
allows us to proactively address the
risk of transmission in shared space.
Many people have been interacting
in shared spaces throughout the
pandemic as they use public transport
or shop for groceries. However, as
employees return to their workplace,
the time spent in enclosed, communal
spaces will increase drastically.
Building managers must ensure their
sites are safe for users. Masks, social
distancing, temperature checks, and
other measures have already played
an important role. Still, it is essential
to minimise risk as far as possible, or
progress made during lockdowns may
be reversed and infection rates could
rise again.
The Government’s Scientific Advisory
Group for Emergencies stated that
“Ventilation should be integral to the
COVID-19 risk mitigation strategy for all
multi-occupant public buildings and
workplaces”(i).
Later this year, as we return to some
form of ‘normal’, these prohibitive
measures will slowly be removed.
Ensuring high-quality ventilation,
however, is a safety measure that can
enhance everyday life, rather than
inhibit it. Clean air has been shown
to reduce staˆ sickness absence and
improve alertness and productivity(ii).
It is an investment that will continue
oˆ ering a return long a‘ er other
measures have been removed.
We are seeing the importance of
workplace air quality being widely
adopted. Parts of Europe have begun
to recognise this at Governmentlevel.
The Dutch Government, for
example, has created working
groups to ensure suˆ icient levels
of ventilation in schools(iii) and the
German Government is investing €500
million into improving ventilation
systems(iv) in public buildings to help
stop the spread of Coronavirus. The
UK’s ventilation and air conditioning
regulations(v) have been in place since
before the pandemic. But with the
subject coming under such scrutiny,
we may see updates to the regulations
in the coming year.
WHAT CAN WE DO NOW?
To support people during the return
to school and work, Churchill
Environmental Services is providing
clients with wireless, battery-powered
sensors that record temperature,
humidity, carbon dioxide, air pressure,
radon, TVOCs and light. The smart
devices then utilise metadata on virus
survival rate, occupancy, ventilation,
and the likelihood of infection to
determine a virus risk indicator and
score out of 10. Facilities managers
can use this information to improve
their systems and enhance building
user safety.
Data-led provisions will be
increasingly important as we
adapt to new ways of working.
Many workplaces are moving to a
hybrid approach and have used the
lockdowns to streamline their real
estate portfolios. As employees return,
building managers will need to adjust
their service provision to fluctuating
occupancy levels.
Some workplaces will undoubtedly
experience high occupancy through
the middle of the week while many
employees will choose to ‘bookend’
their week by working from home
on Monday and Friday. As oˆ ice-use
varies, HVAC systems – much like
the cleaning and catering provision
– will need to adjust or risk working
ineˆ iciently and wasting money and
power. Data-led systems integrated
with the Internet of Things will play
a central role in assessing workplace
system needs.
Achieving the right level of
ventilation in a workplace is not
always easy. Many facilities managers
have been reducing the amount of
recirculated air they use in HVAC
systems and bringing in more fresh
air in response to the pandemic.
However, this comes at the cost
of poorer temperature control.
Constantly running HVAC systems will
also increase power-use and noise
pollution.
Managers will need to consider
carefully what balance they will strike
between HVAC systems and natural
airflow, what systems to use, and to
what extent. Unlike precautions such
as hand-washing and social distancing,
ventilation systems should be
considered and tailored to each site.
Such changes might seem intimidating
at first but working closely with
facilities management teams and
eˆ ective use of data will allow you to
find a system that continues to provide
a return on investment long into the
future.
By taking visible, proactive safety
measures, employers can reassure
their staˆ that health and safety is a
priority. Ventilation is a key measure
that must not be overlooked.
Nick Easey, Relationship Director at Churchill Environmental Services,
discusses how remote sensors can monitor key factors, such as
humidity and carbon dioxide, to produce a virus risk indicator score
REFERENCE NOTES
(i) https://bit.ly/3v3COnY
(ii) https://bit.ly/3hzPh
(iii) https://bit.ly/3wnxNqD
(iv) https://bbc.in/3vf1Roh
(v) https://bit.ly/3hzP9MN
44 JUNE 2021
/3wnxNqD
/3hzPh
/3v3COnY
/3vf1Roh
/3hzP9MN
