Air Quality Testing in Offices
Posted in Air Quality, on May 31, 2016
Indoor Air Quality Testing can be done in both residential and office settings. In fact about half of our assessments are performed in offices, retail stores or other places of business. In some cases we are called upon to perform air testing in one small office and in other cases and entire office tower. Many of our repeat clients have their office environment tested for air quality or environmental issues annually.
Did you know that in Canada, employers can be liable if their employees fall ill and there is no regular indoor air quality testing protocol. Actually, in many cases where we perform annual testing there are no air quality issues. In this case, the report serves as a back up or protection for the company if a claim or suit arises from an employee claiming a work related illness.
Many call centers use our services due to the fact that in some cases several hundred people share on work space. In these scenarios a single employee complaint about poor air quality can spread like wild fire. This impact the morale of many employees and has a negative effect on overall staff production and performance. If the company had a regular air quality testing protocol, the report could be pulled from the file and employees could be shown that the air quality is normal and that the company cared about their health and safety.
In other cases, there may have been water damage or mould issues and there really is an indoor air quality issue. In other cases, there may have been changes to the HVAC system or the landlord has not properly maintained the ventilation system leading to air quality issues. For offices we regularly test for the following air quality issues:
- Temperature, humidity
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Ventilation and air flow
- Sewer gases and combustible gases
- Airborne particles or dust
- VOC or chemicals
- Moisture issues in ceilings, walls and floor
- Airborne mould spores
- Other.
From the above testing parameters we issue a detailed report on what was tested, what your levels were, and in cases where the levels were not normal we make specific recommendations on what the next steps are to rectify the air quality issue. We are environmental consultants. We do not sell equipment or filters and we do not perform any remediation activities. In other words, we don’t try to sell or fit a product to your air quality issue. Companies that provide testing and sell solutions have an inherent conflict of interest.
We don’t profit off your air quality issue, we just provide solutions.
Many employers call us and request an indoor environmental or air quality assessment after hours. The reasons may vary. However, in many cases they don’t want their worry or alarm their employees. We try to discourage this as much as possible! Our experience has been that employees are less mistrustful of our reports if they knew that an indoor air quality test was being performed and that they were present during the process. Also, in some cases it may better to test the office when it is at peak occupancy or used the way it is normally used. Call us today...we can help you with your air quality issues.