English

A laboratory study has been carried out to investigate the exposure response relationshipsbetween perceived air quality (PAQ) and concentration of pollutants. The objective was todevelop an interaction model for odour intensity, which allows predicting the perception of acombination of odours on base of the data for the single pollution sources. In the experiments10-12 persons assessed the PAQ in decipolB directly. Three different materials served aspollution sources.

This paper is an overview of literature that investigates the effects of general environmentalquality, indoor air pollution, ventilation rates, thermal comfort, temperature control andnumber of persons per workspace on productivity and sickness absenteeism in offices. Thereview includes both self-reported effects and objective measurements of productivity andabsenteeism and both laboratory studies and field investigations. It turns out that a goodgeneral environmental quality increases productivity by 10-15% and decreases sicknessabsenteeism by 2.5 percentpoint.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of elevated summer indoor temperatures onperceived comfort, symptoms and subjectively assessed productivity in an office building.The measurements during spring 2002 showed that indoor environment was at the normalFinnish office building level. The mean room temperature during the 2-week measurementperiod was 22C. An indoor air questionnaire (MM-40-FIN) including additional questionsabout work efficiency was presented to the employees during the measurements. Theperceived indoor environment was at the normal Finnish office level.

This paper is a review of occupant responses to localized (floor and desk mounted) airdistribution systems. These systems offer personal control, and can produce good ambientconditions, but few studies have examined their effects on actual occupants. A review ofeleven studies suggested these systems can lead to favourable occupant responses, which insome cases exceed those encountered using traditional mixing systems. However, most of thestudies included methodological limitations, which reduce the strength of conclusions that canbe drawn.

Many workers in an office building complained about IAQ. No moisture damage was foundin the offices, which were, however, painted and carpeting was changed. Ventilation ductswere cleaned and the supply and exhaust air vents were installed in every room. Shortly afterthe repair the workers developed symptoms. A thorough survey of IAQ including microbesand particles and volatile organic compounds was conducted twice after the repair. Betweensurveys the rooms were cleaned for 2 months twice a week with more effective practices thanbefore.

This paper presents findings from a recent call centre study conducted in an air-conditionedoffice in the Tropics. The effects of temperature and outdoor air supply rate, each kept at twoset points within currently acceptable limits, were explored in a 2 2 balanced experimentaldesign over a 9-week period. The results indicate that both a slightly cooler thermalenvironment and improved indoor air quality improve performance by reducing average callduration. Temperature and outdoor air supply rate were synergistically related to one anotherin affecting operator performance (P < 0.062).

In order to clarify the effects on comfort and health of relative humidity and humidity ratio,subjective experiments were conducted in a climate chamber in Japan during the summer of2002. Fifteen subjects were exposed for 180 min, while being engaged in simulated officeworks and questionnaires. The experiments were conducted at a constant SET* (StandardNew Effective Temperature) with six different humidity conditions, namely [30%RH/6.13 g/kg],[37%RH/6.13 g/kg], [37%RH/7.45 g/kg], [45%RH/7.45 g/kg], [45%RH/8.97 g/kg],[55%RH/8.97 g/kg].

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.

Subjective experiments were conducted in summer and winter in order to clarify the effects ofhumidity and indoor chemical pollutants on subjective comfort and productivity, and evaluatethe seasonal differences in their reactions. Subjects were exposed to three levels of humidityconditions and 2 indoor air quality levels in a climate chamber performing the simulatedoffice works. For all conditions, SET* was constant. Subjects adapted to the indoor air qualityduring the 180-min exposures under the polluted conditions.

An experiment was performed to determine whether the sensory pollution emitted from a bagfilter that had been used for 3 months in a suburban area in Denmark was influenced bydifferent ways of operating the air-handling unit (AHU). Samples of the used filter were preconditioned to simulate three operating conditions: (1) switched off overnight; (2) airflowreduced to 10% overnight; and (3) continuous 100% operation. Outside air passed through thesamples and the acceptability of the air after the filter was assessed by a panel of subjects.