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Ventilation Surveys & Risk Assessment

Services

Ventilation Surveys & Risk Assessment

The air we breathe is essential to our health, comfort and well-being. Whether we are indoors or outdoors, the quality of the air we breathe is critical. Poor air quality can cause a range of health problems, from respiratory illnesses to headaches and fatigue.

Ventilation Survey

Ventilation or Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) surveys are conducted by our ventilation experts to ensure the air quality of your workplace, in line with standards of statutory requirements. Our engineering team will then be able to recommend improvements that should be undertaken to ensure your workplace is the safest it can practically be in the COVID-19 era.

Mechanical ventilation systems are often employed in workplaces to manage air changes and temperature as well as to remove pollutants, large airborne bacteria, moisture, odours, dust and carbon dioxide, in order to provide a safe and healthy working environment.

Employers should have an Indoor Air Quality Survey undertaken in their facilities as required in terms of Section 5 of the Environmental Regulations for Workplaces, OHS Act, Section 12(b) of the Regulations for Hazardous Chemical Substances, Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Workplace Regulations also place strict requirements in respect of air quality and ventilation.

Some buildings do not have mechanical ventilation and so are potentially hazardous infection environments with respect to a potential COVID-19 risk. Air flow, its distribution and quality, are all crucial to help reduce infection. We assess this for you and can make recommendations to make your interior space much safer against dangerous pathogens, including COVID-19.

Ventilation Survey FAQ's

Discover some of our most frequently asked questions here or contact us today with any queries you may have.

There a many different options for types of IAQ tests, and hence, the cost varies depending upon the airborne hazards that the test is looking to identify. Tests can range from a few hundred pounds for conventional spaces to many thousands of pounds for high-risk biological or nuclear contaminants. We sell some of the best hard-wired air quality monitors available for conventional spaces that test for CO2, CO, NO2, CH4, VOCs, Temperature, Humidity, and Ambient Noise that can be linked to your building ventilation system and send alerts to mobile devices. These are only within the hundreds to buy. The Airgloss ProSense allows you to monitor these levels continuously and stream the information directly to your phone; you can also change your ventilation to suit you, all from your connected device if the IAQ monitor had not been set to Auto as one of your set-up preferences.

Stage 1 – to begin a ventilation survey we undertake a desktop study of any photos or drawings that you may possess.

Stage2 – is a site visit to inspect current natural and mechanical ventilation arrangements.

Stage 3 – is the reporting of the results and recommendations for improvements.

These 3 stages are approximately 2-3 days’ work for a small commercial building or office, but we provide fixed-priced quotations for all our services to suit a client’s needs, risks and facilities.

Yes, turnaround is quicker than the market and generally within a week of the site visit.

Firstly, in a poorly ventilated space, one might detect an odour or a mouldy smell. Next, one assesses windows, chimneys and shafts for where natural ventilation may benefit. We assess the HVAC system and any secondary fan coil units, amount of fresh air or recirculated air. We check the AHU’s, filters and flow rates. We also look at doors, corridors and room shapes to identify potential high occupancy areas that are located in zones where the air may be stagnant.

The only good thing to come out of the Covid pandemic is that it has raised awareness that buildings can keep us well or make us sick. Until now, people have never taken Sick Building Syndrome seriously nor the fact that respiratory diseases are airborne and shared between occupants. If the building ventilation is inadequate to reduce the level of pathogen contamination, then the higher the risk for occupants of the building. The requirement for “adequate ventilation” is a legal requirement under the Health & Safety at Work etc, Act 1974, as well as its various supporting regulations.

“Immune Buildings” are an emerging new class of buildings that have total fresh air systems without using recirculated air but are extremely expensive to heat or cool. Alternatively, they use traditional energy efficient partially recirculated air HVAC systems with a safe, decades proven arrangement of non-chemical, non-ozone producing Germicidal UVC air disinfection lamps that suitably qualified experts design to destroy any biological pathogens.

Helpful Covid Risk Assessment Tools

Breathe Freely

BOHS Simple Ventilation Self-Help Guide for Workplaces During the Coronavirus Pandemic.

CIBSE

Scroll down to REI Calculator and then Download Now.

Request Details

Telephone 0800 471 4871
enquiries@ppl-biosafety.com