Monitor, monitor on the wall -- what's the air quality for us all?
The air quality narrative in the return to the office
I should probably subtitle this: “The reason I am still working from home — please convince me other wise.”
In my stream of daily information, I came across an interesting Tech Crunch article on a new product release from ATMO. It was timely, as I previously had predicted in a blog post that the communication of air quality would be a big factor in the return to the office by workers who already were concerned about this pre-pandemic.
The article talks about how unlike other smaller air monitors, “the Atmocube will be prominent and visible in order to give office workers peace of mind that their air quality is good.” In other words, people want some control of the space they will be inhabiting with others right now, even for just piece of mind when they cannot do anything about the quality of the air.
The article states that this product will provide an “Airborne Virus Transmission Score — based on the levels of particulate matter, humidity and CO2, and says it comes up with a “score” that estimates the probability of transferring virus diseases in closed spaces.” Now this score is not independently verified, and I suspect most of the healthy building metric organizations nor the WHO are not ready yet to stick their necks out on the risk in creating an independently verified scoring mechanism like this.
But a visible object that tells you about the quality of the air in the personal or business space you inhabit is not that new. But most of them are small in size and meant to provide information either to a person or a facilities management professional. This Tech Crunch article also mentions a few other solutions in the air quality space from Awair, Kaiterra and Airthings. But ATMO stated that “we set out to create a device with a more transparent interface that would highlight HVAC performance safety and create trust between occupants and building owners.” And that is the main point: HOW do you display air quality in a trusted manner that people can make choices or behave in ways that they believe are beneficial to themselves (and others)?
We have been looking at internal air quality (IAQ) from a energy footprint perspective. We have focused on IAQ monitoring devices, intelligent software analytics, and turn-key building integrations to improve occupant well-being, increase energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions. But many of us inhabit offices in central business districts with windows that do not open, internal ventilation systems that are tied also to central heating, and glass enclosed shared spaces. Someone in the winter with a case of the ‘flu can take down a number of their colleagues because of air ventilation patterns and lack of air flow.
The interest in this IAQ data and how it is communicated is clearly of interest to many firms and employees. An example of this is the Awair for School offering which is already out of stock in the UK and rest of Europe, as shown from their website this morning:
Case in point: where I work in downtown Brussels. We have two buildings — one that has windows that do not open and one with windows that only open a slight crack with chain, so no one jumps out (alas, this happened a few years ago, so the chains were added.) We had a all-hands discussion yesterday where IAQ was mentioned and we were assured that monitors had been put in place and alternatives if there became issues had been examined. And then about 2 hours later, facility management sent this message (translated from Dutch): “Our building has mechanical ventilation, which we obviously do not switch off. The building remains ventilated all the time. Due to the work on the heating system, it is possible that the blown in fresh (outside) air is no longer preheated – temporarily. This can mean that – especially in the morning – the temperature in the rooms is lower than desired/usual. …. during the first hours of the working day an extra sweater can be useful for some.” :-) Colleagues already foresee working in coats, gloves and ski hats in a month or so.
Why is communication of air quality, even before the pandemic, an issue in the built office environment? Because the environment in which we work creates the infrastructure for our productivity and well-being.
I received another email last night from my three levels higher manager, who has taken all of our questions on the return to the office to the Board for a response. Given the fluidity of the situation, a visible token of what is happening for all to see and respond to is important.
I have been training in a gym with the CO2 monitor installed, as is legally required right now. And every member of team is made aware of what the limit number is, and what actions to take if we exceed that number. But this is for 10-12 people in a limited group and the communication of this number and its relevance to our staying open has been made.
I had previously made my comments in my blog post about what we want to know about our offices, which included “status of physical areas and their hygiene” . This includes digital signage, capacity data being communicated, and personal preferences to heat, light and air quality. The tag line on this Stratacache website is quite timely: “Relationships are built on relevancy.”
If my firm wants me to engage and be engaged in the space, then relevant information needs to be communicated clearly and transparently as to the health of the space so I can work in comfort. This has been an issue for HVAC for many of us in the past, with not only colleagues blowing hot and cold. ;-) I know several colleagues who have digital temperature monitors to report to facilities management what is going on in their office during the summer!
Digital signage content management of IAQ information will play a vital role in communicating information to create a comfortable return to the office. I was pleased to see the ATMO Atmocube as it is visually attractive and informative at the same time. IAQ is no longer just the concern of facilities management staff, but also of those who work and engage in the space.