The surge of Covid-19 cases throughout the country has made us realize how significant building health is. Implementing health and wellness safety measures can affect how employees feel when they go back to their workplaces. After all, we spend about 90% of our lives inside buildings. Luckily, the WELL Building Standard prioritizes our well-being during the construction decisions and designs of new and existing buildings. Let’s find out how.
The WELL Building Standard: The importance of healthy buildings
The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically affected our lives, which makes building health our focus. After this pandemic is over, we’re probably looking at third-party building certifications like the WELL building standard, Fitwel, and LEED as the standard for buildings. The International WELL Building Institute is pioneering the movement for healthy buildings through its WELL certification. They provide a comprehensive building project framework to promote health and wellness.
Why are healthy buildings necessary?
Facility managers know the effects that building health has on widespread building activities. They can affect everything – from operations to occupancy – and that was before the pandemic. With Covid-19 just around the corner, people are becoming more aware of the role their building plays. Issues concerning health and well-being are gaining more importance. In the middle of this crisis, facility managers get called upon to discuss the cognitive and practical aspects of healthy building facilities management.
One of the factors that determine a healthy building is the indoor air quality or ventilation. The air quality that we inhale can directly affect our overall health. Air pollutants are a dangerous threat, and they can negatively affect the health effects of the occupants. The short-term risks include throat, nose, and eye irritations, dizziness, fatigue, and headaches. The long-term risks include cancer, respiratory, and heart diseases. Air pollutants can contribute to 33% of all deaths from lung cancer, heart diseases, and stroke worldwide.
The EPA classifies viruses as one of the most common indoor pollutants. So, if we can reduce or eliminate them, we’re not just addressing both the short-term and long-term health risks. We’re also protecting ourselves from catching the coronavirus.
The WELL Building Standard and its fight against COVID-19
Last year, to help the country move toward a safer living and working place, the US Conference of Mayors came together to pass a resolution on advancing healthy buildings in the fight against Covid-19. Aside from the WELL building standard, this resolution aimed to encourage city and community leaders to influence these tools for all establishments, private or publicly funded.
Rachel Gutter, the IWBI President, highlighted the vital role of facility managers and those who tend to their buildings as the front-line caregivers in Covid-19 recovery and response. According to her, cities can ensure that they are advancing public health for everyone while being at the forefront in fighting against Covid-19.
How does the WELL Building Standard contribute to fighting against COVID-19?
The WELL building standard v2 helps limit the transmission of diseases through cleaning protocols, hygiene, and air quality. As you already know, one of the main transmission routes for the coronavirus is through droplets and particles. Organizations can use WELL v2 to enhance handwashing efforts, ventilation, and cleaning protocols to prevent the virus from spreading.
1. Handwashing – There’s confusion regarding the effectiveness of hand sanitizers and handwashing. In general, hand sanitizers work if they have more than 60% alcohol content. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, still recommend handwashing with warm water and soap. After all, handwashing is the best defense against the spread of the virus from surfaces. It’s only necessary to support those efforts.
2. Cleaning protocols – The WELL v2 also covers cleaning protocols, as included in the strategies resource. However, facility managers should avoid overdoing the cleaning but understand the resistance of the virus instead. Along with this, they should also implement cleaning solutions.
For cleaning products, facility managers don’t need to use the harshest chemicals to kill the virus. Just use soap and warm water, together with other cleaning products. For example, WELL-certified buildings allow the use of bleach and hydrogen peroxide.
3. Ventilation – Air quality is crucial when it comes to combating the spread of diseases. Viruses, including the coronavirus, can stay airborne for up to three hours, which means the risk of transmitting the virus increases if the area doesn’t have good ventilation. Ultimately, proper ventilation is an effective method to fight against this disease.
Proper ventilation is crucial – it goes back more than a hundred years. Even Florence Nightingale wrote about it during the Crimean War. She highlighted that increasing ventilation at night and exposure to outdoor air during the day can be beneficial. It’s one of the first solutions to prevent airborne infectious illnesses and is vital for buildings today.
The COVID-19 task force
Because of the initial Covid-19 surge last year, the IWBI formed a 600-member task force. This task force comprises different virologists, government officials, business leaders, public health experts, designers, building scientists, real estate professionals, and architects. The group came up with the WELL health-safety rating to prioritize safety and health in a post-Covid-19 environment. With this, building occupants will have peace of mind that they will not be in danger.
In June 2020, the IWBI announced the use of this rating for all facilities and buildings, whatever the building type is. Because of Covid-19’s respiratory nature, facility managers will likely focus on HVAC systems and indoor air quality as employees return to their workplaces. After all, a facility or building that assures its occupants of a healthy environment brings positive effects. For instance, the employees will be more productive, and managers will observe a decrease in absenteeism.
In times of crisis, the best response would be to create a documented plan to prepare for emergencies. It’s not all about forecasting what could go wrong and preparing for it. It’s also about re-evaluating the solutions and regularly updating them with the latest information. By focusing on human health and wellness, companies will be able to come back stronger. They will be more in tune with the needs of their employees.
