The importance of a comfortable, healthy and engaging workplace has been thrust into the spotlight during this global pandemic. People understandably want to work in an environment where they feel safe.

Now, Indoor Environmental Quality (“IEQ”) is more important than ever. IEQ is simply the conditions occupants experience within a building, particularly those related to health and wellbeing, comfort and productivity — this is no doubt a focus for companies as they review return to the workplace initiatives.

Enhanced cleaning procedures, social distancing, one-way systems, plexiglass and hand sanitizers are just a few ways to promote healthier and safer buildings. The time has also come for smart buildings to be just that. Buildings need the capacity to understand themselves and to heal themselves where possible. The process of measuring air quality, humidity temperature, occupancy flow of people — a myriad list of perhaps previously ‘nice to haves’ has become integral to the successful reopening of a building.

In this article, we touch upon:

Tips to improve building ventilation
How to use the Internet of Things (IoT) and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) monitoring technology tools
How to measure healthy environments with certification programs including WELL, Fitwel, AirRated, LEED and RESET.
Why owners and occupiers should use COVID-19 as a priority reset