Your offices might be plagued by sick building syndrome.
The deeper into the winter we go, the less surprising it becomes when workers start calling out sick. Your employees are the most valuable asset your business has, so you should do everything you can to take care of them. This responsibility is not one that facility managers and company leadership should take lightly. After all, your offices might be plagued by sick building syndrome.
What Is It?
The health and productivity of your employees depend on how comfortable your premises are. A forty hour work week can be stressful and exhausting enough, but it becomes even more tiring when everyone is sick because of where they work, but no actual condition can be appropriately diagnosed. The problems could be isolated to one part of the building or could be found throughout the entire building. How could you know if sick building syndrome could be a problem? Let’s take a look at some symptoms.
Example Symptoms
At first, the following symptoms might be indistinguishable from the common cold or flu-like symptoms.
- Itchy eyes
- Nasal problems, such as congestion
- Sore throats or constant tightness
- Dry and itchy skin and strange redness
- Headaches, migraines, fatigue, and inability to focus
These symptoms could be due to numerous environmental triggers, such as the following:
- The temperature in the building is uncomfortably high
- Insufficient ventilation leads to reduced IAQ and build up of allergens
- The humidity is too high
- Some windows can’t open, and thus can’t improve ventilation
While these factors could aggravate the sick building syndrome, there are also other causes that could be much more likely, depending on the conditions within your facility.
Potential Causes
Insufficient ventilation in the building: As we noted above, poor ventilation could be one of the biggest causes of this syndrome. Depending on how heavily occupied the building is, more ventilation may be necessary.
The presence of indoor chemicals: You might not realize it, but fumes from indoor chemicals may affect the health of your employees by reducing indoor air quality. Paint, glue, carpeting, wood, copier ink, and cleaning solutions all contribute to invisible chemicals known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs polluting the air inside your building.
The presence of outdoor chemicals: Whether it is cigarette smoke, vapor from e-cigarettes, or exhaust fumes from passing vehicles or other buildings and industries nearby, plenty of unhealthy air can enter our buildings as well.
The presence of natural contaminants: How much standing water does your business produce? Even if you water towers have been shut off for the winter, that doesn’t there aren’t any sources of water stagnating anywhere inside your building. For instance, you could be using humidifiers to fight the dry air winter brings. Don’t forget to empty out the drain pans that these units use.
Crockett Facilities Can Help!
Crockett Facilities Services, Inc. (CFSI) is committed to helping building owners, property managers, engineers, and facility professionals lower their operating expenses through HVAC preventive maintenance. We can develop a cost-effective, customized preventive maintenance plan for your commercial building that will provide you with peace of mind, improved comfort, and energy savings.
To learn more about the importance of HVAC Preventive Maintenance, please contact us at 202.600.2787 or sales@crockett-facilities.com. Our PM contract customers receive priority service with 24/7 emergency service in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.