What is the relationship between indoor air quality and facilities maintenance? Why is a focus on facilities maintenance for improved indoor air quality so important? One of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a growing mindfulness around health and wellness – particularly within the built environment and in our interactions with one another.
In this blog, we drill down into the importance of indoor air quality within the built environment in Britain. We also take a closer look at the role FM plays in improving air quality for better health.
WHY IS FACILITIES MAINTENANCE FOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPORTANT?
The Effects On Human Health
Is there any more fundamental health consideration than the air that we breathe? Air pollution has been posited as the greatest environmental threat to health in the United Kingdom, shortening tens of thousands of lives each year. Exposure to air pollutants has immediate, short-, and long-term consequences for human health and wellbeing. Among the long-term effects are chronic diseases and conditions.
The benefits of improved air quality are linked to improved health and, with it, mental health. These benefits include reduced spending on healthcare and the NHS – with links to the ecosystem, reduced building damage, and increased productivity. This is also linked to reduced congestion, noise pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Who Is Most Vulnerable?
The negative effects of air pollution are most acutely felt among children and the elderly. Anyone with existing health problems is also susceptible to health-related problems from air pollution.
REGULATING THE AIR THAT WE BREATHE
Air pollutants have been the subject of much regulation over the decades. At the time of writing, the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill is making its way through Parliament. This takes regulation around clean air to a new level – positioning clean air as a human right, governing government outlook and response, and driving environmental policy. The law was drafted in response to the death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah who died of asthma, which was linked to air pollution.
HOW TO USE FACILITIES MAINTENANCE TO START IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY TODAY
- Improved ventilation and use of clean air technologies. Facilities maintenance focus should be directed at ventilation, filtration, and disinfection for the purposes of indoor air quality. Rather than leaving this to chance, air conditioning and ventilation should be tailored around a building’s data metrics, occupancy rates, and behaviour. Ventilation can be automated to match the occupancy and needs of a building and its daily changes.
- Commitment to clean air in new builds and existing buildings. This means addressing ventilation to meet regulations, but optimised strategies don’t stop at the minimum. By achieving optimal ventilation and filtration levels, you are investing in the productivity and wellbeing of a building’s occupants.
- Installation backed up by maintenance. The best systems are well-maintained systems. Once ventilation systems are installed, work with facilities maintenance specialists to determine optimal maintenance schedules to ensure these systems work at their peak into the long term. This management system could include walk-throughs and inspections, condition monitoring, and adaptable prioritising and planning – as well as key HVAC maintenance.
- Air, heat, and moisture are related. Don’t view air quality in isolation. Humidity and moisture are a hotbed of growth for mould and bacteria. Indoor condition monitoring, as well as infrastructure monitoring, maintenance, and repairs all play into the success of an indoor air quality strategy.
Voltix Services offers reliable, comprehensive facilities maintenance services. Contact us today and discuss your indoor air quality needs with one of our facilities maintenance experts.