Life-cycle costs of investments for improving air quality in an office building were comparedwith the resulting revenues from increased office productivity; benefits from reduced healthcosts and sickness absence were not included. The building was simulated in a cold, amoderate and a hot climate. It was ventilated by a constant air volume system with heatrecovery. The air quality was improved by increasing the outdoor air supply rate and byreducing the pollution loads.
The aim of this quasi-experimental research was to investigate the influence of buildingrelated symptoms on self-reported productivity and work disruption based on a randomsample comprising 348 employees. The investigations were carried out in two air-conditioned,high rise office buildings located in South Africa. Respondents self-reported productivity wasassessed by their own ratings of how frequently symptoms reduced their ability to work andcaused them to leave work early or stay at home. In addition, work disruption due to sickbuilding syndrome (SBS) symptoms was determined.
The prevalence of SBS-symptoms is commonly used to characterize the indoor air quality ofbuildings. For economical analysis in building refurbishment and improvements of indoorenvironment, it would be very useful if we could quantitatively relate the prevalence orintensity of SBS-symptoms to productivity. The purpose of this study was to summarize thelinks between the SBS-symptoms and productivity, and demonstrate with a case study howthis information can be applied to a case building to evaluate the economical value of lowerprevalence of symptoms with a selected remedial measure.
The impact of dry indoor air on comfort and health in winter was investigated in a crossoverintervention study in two floors of an office building in northern Sweden. The indoor airhumidity (normally 10-20% RH) was raised to 23-24% RH, one floor at a time, using steamhumidifiers. Questionnaires and objective (clinical) measurements were applied.
A blind intervention study in which air temperature and the outside air supply rate were changed in a 2 × 2 design was carried out in a call centre in Singapore. The reported intensity of headache and difficulty in concentrating were reduced by 19.5% (P
This paper will review 6 years of experience in risk communication and meeting workplaceinformation needs about the health effects experienced by people working in sealed buildings.The purpose of this paper is to discuss examples of the kinds of information that theworkplace community is seeking and what answers can or cannot be provided.In the past two decades, there has been a growing concern about potential chronic healtheffects of poor indoor air quality and mould.
The relationship between psychosocial characteristics and sick building syndrome(SBS) was explored among 348 employees occupying two buildings engaged in thepublic sector in Pretoria, South Africa. One building was characterized as sick(building B), whilst the other was not a known sick building (building A).
After moving into a new office building, employees complained about irritation of eyes, sorethroat and unspecific symptoms. A working group was appointed to investigate indoor airpollution.Air samples and floor dust samples for the analysis of organic compounds were collected inoffice rooms. Within 8 months, several measurement campaigns were conducted to assess thetrends of the concentrations of air pollutants.
Our study conducted serial measurements of indoor air quality and sick building syndrome (SBS) of employees in eight air-conditioned office buildings to examine the association between indoor air pollution and the reporting symptoms of SBS. Airborne microbes, carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter (PM10), formaldehyde, and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) were measured in every test space within the buildings. Frequency of reporting symptoms and other environmental variables were documented by self-administrated questionnaires.
Earlier studies have shown that airflows are not well balanced in office buildings. This maylead to too low ventilation rates in some rooms and too high ventilation rates in others.Several studies have shown that low ventilation rates may lead to a higher prevalence of SBSsymptoms. The reduction of these symptoms may be achieved with improved ventilation.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of balancing the airflows of the airdistribution system of an office building in Helsinki.
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