Getting buildings ready for reoccupation

It goes without saying that the prolonged lockdown due to the global pandemic has impacted people’s lives, including the ways in which they work. The retail and hospitality sector has been heavily affected and the ‘new normal’ has pushed many employees to work from home, as office buildings have either fully or partially closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

As the vaccination programme continues to roll out throughout the U.K. and lockdown restrictions are easing, companies are beginning to consider the role of their commercial buildings in a post-pandemic world, whether it’s retail or office space. Therefore, whilst there are short term health and safety considerations for reoccupation, medium to long term considerations also exist particularly in regards to the office. Whilst the office is far from ‘dead’, with a recent RICS survey showing that 80% of the UK’s workforce are planning to return, the way that it is used and evaluated is going through a stage of reinvention. Commercial property owners, many of whom have seen reduced rental income, are therefore eagerly planning reoccupation strategies.

There are numerous procedures property owners and facilities managers must take after more than a year of lockdown to prepare for welcoming back occupiers. From Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) to health and safety checks, what precautions should you take before office reoccupation? 

Implementing health and safety measures

Health and safety measures play a vital role in increasing occupier and visitor  confidence to help them return to commercial buildings.  Procedures such as social distancing and the wearing of a face mask are familiar to most, however there are other considerations that should be noted by facilities managers in commercial buildings, including:

• Domestic Water Systems - Whilst continued statutory maintenance on wet systems will likely have continued over the last 12 months, in line with the L8 ACOPs, hygiene risk such as legionella should still be closely monitored and tested to ensure compliance. The lack of ‘flushing’ on a daily basis due to limited numbers of occupiers will have increased the likelihood of bacteria build up. Facilities teams should take the correct precautions to ensure sinks, taps, drinking fountains and other devices such as toilets, showers, or washing machines are safe to use before and during reoccupation. This means sampling and testing the water on a weekly basis and taking the necessary measures to maintain a bacteria-free work environment.
• Ventilation - Buildings and spaces within them which lack adequate ventilation can quickly become ‘stuffy’ and present a higher risk of virus transmission. A lack of fresh air supply can impact productivity, and more importantly individuals’  health and wellbeing. It is important to ensure adequate ventilation and temperature control in the areas which are occupied, even sparsely.
• Plant control - Whilst ventilation may be necessary, it is important to eliminate recirculation and some other forms of heat recovery such as thermal wheels. These systems can prolong the presence of viruses in air systems unwittingly adding to the current issue. More guidance from CIBSE is here: https://www.cibsejournal.com/technical/preventing-covid-19-spreading-in-buildings/
• Occupancy analytics - for measuring the occupancy levels across the buildings and inform facilities managers on adjusting and refining the ventilation.

However, besides the standard health and safety procedures, there are other, more technical aspects to consider for assuring that commercial buildings are ready for reoccupation.

Increasing Indoor Air Quality 

One of the top discussions in facilities management across the last 12 months is the role of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in buildings. This discussion is especially important in the context of preparing commercial buildings for reoccupation, as occupants consider it a key factor to returning to the office. 

Ensuring your Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are working efficiently can not only lessen the risk of Covid particles spreading in offices, but also reduces excessive energy costs and carbon emissions from your properties.

From our observations IAQ is one of the key areas which many asset managers and property managers are now considering for short term reoccupation and mid-long term asset viability. High CO2 levels can indicate poor ventilation in a building or space, which in turn is a proxy indicator for potential virus spread risk.  Demonstrating to occupiers that buildings have good ventilation will illustrate building operators’ commitment to health and wellbeing, and encourage reoccupation. 

We shouldn’t forget that, even prior to the pandemic, good IAQ within workspaces has been linked  with high employee productivity as it improves cognitive abilities. Businesses may therefore view positive IAQ credentials in line with other key differentiators such as location and internet speed/connectivity. For assuring that the IAQ is managed properly, building owners and facilities managers must rely on data-driven reasoning. 

Our Building Analytics platform gathers thousands of operational data sets from Building Automation Systems and wireless sensor networks, analysing them to inform where adjustments must be made to assure occupier comfort in terms of temperature control, while making sure the premises get optimal ventilation and air conditioning.

Preparing buildings for hybrid working

Hybrid working is likely to be a major trend post-pandemic. Recent research suggests that 44% of the UK’s workforce are likely to work from the office for 3 or fewer days per week. In light of this trend, it’s a high possibility that buildings’ occupancy will be reduced from their normal, pre-Covid-19 capacity. This will mean that certain building areas will continue to be unoccupied even post-pandemic, which may contribute to significantly reducing building operations. However, when not in use, systems may deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and neglect. 

To avoid this, building systems need to be activated or restarted regularly to make sure they are still functioning properly. Starting systems, and keeping them under observation for some time, will assure that all related equipment (such as switches, valves, panels) are operating correctly.

Some systems may need closer attention and more immediate action than others. Building temperature is one of these. With the coming of the summer months, temperature is on the rise, and without a cooling system the spaces will experience internal heat and solar gains that might damage equipment and in time, deteriorate the building. This will require the activation of the cooling system in the unoccupied areas too, for reducing the temperature.

When using Demand Logic’s Building Analytics platform, facilities managers can get speedy insights into buildings’ performance, indicating the areas where the plant is failing to achieve its objectives, is performing suboptimally, or the systems that need to be activated or restarted. 

The prospects of commercial building reoccupation bring positive news for the business environment, signalling a potential economic revitalisation. This being said, there is a sense that the office industry in particular is going through a shake up. Much like how high street retail is competing with e-commerce, offices are now competing with people's homes. Retail had to go through a period of reinvention, placing higher value on consumer experience, will offices have to do the same?  Health and safety standards at work, including protection measures and technical maintenance (IAQ, HVAC, water systems, fire system, etc.) should certainly be the initial priority as they ensure employees’ well-being and encourage work productivity.