| HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES JOWELL’S HEALTHY WORKPLACE INITIATIVEThe Healthy Workplace Initiative, launched this year by Tessa Jowell, Minister for Public Health, delivers the message that “Improved Health is Everybody’s Business.”
The Government approach re-iterates Healthy Buildings International ’s long-held belief towards health and safety management: that the wellbeing of employees is a key factor in the success of any organisation. Jowell’s initiative will promote examples of good practice for handling key workplace issues, specifically bridging the gap between prevention, treatment and rehabilitation and encouraging compliance with workplace legislation.
Healthy Buildings International has for many years helped companies to adopt safe working practices. Such is the demand from existing customers that a new Workplace Health and Leisure Division was recently created to deliver a whole raft of supportive services. These range from accident prevention – including building audits and statutory compliance – to food hygiene and occupational safety,focussing on the prevention of injury and disease. Healthy Buildings International has also expanded into the leisure industry where there is a need for the whole spectrum of environmental and workplace services.
The holistic age is now upon us and a number of successful companies now realise that a pro-active approach is required to ensure that their most vital asset, i.e. staff, remain in good health. Healthy Buildings International therefore offers a number of “wellness” programmes tackling areas such as stress in the workplace. David Heslop can be contacted for further information at Healthy Buildings International. HEALTHY BUILIDINGS INTERNATIONAL : LEGIONELLA THREAT TO LEISURE CLUBSThe leisure industry is currently worth over £4 billion and rising, reports Healthy Buildings International. The potential for legionella to become an unwanted member of leisure clubs is of particular concern in heavily used centres, where risks can be greatly enhanced by water systems that produce a spray of fine droplets.
The benefits of taking sensible health precautions are well demonstrated by a recent Healthy Buildings International case study. A leading name in leisure clubs was shocked by Healthy Buildings International’s discovery that legionella was present in its complex, after a general risk assessment of water sampling.
Needless to say, the organization wasted no time in taking corrective action, including installing their new showers with independent mixers, switching to plate-heat exchangers to supply hot water rather than calorifiers, removing dead legs and enlarging hot water pipe work to improve circulation.
By developing a system of risk assessment in line with HS(G) 70 and by making extensive physical changes to the back of house, the company has banned legionella from its premises and minimised the chances of its reoccurence.
But, as it was the first to point out, the risks of taking a leisurely view of legionella should be made very much clearer to leisure operators. HEALTHY BUILIDINGS INTERNATIONAL : KEEPING A PROPERTY PORTFOLIO HEALTHYAllied Irish Bank (GB) is one of the growing number of major property portfolio holders who see the maintenance of good indoor air quality as a wise investment. The bank recently appointed Healthy Buildings International, an independent specialist in the on-site study of IAQ and the indoor air environment, to review conditions across its branches and other offices.
The Healthy Buildings International contract involved surveying buildings which were typically between 4,000 and 100,000 square feet, from 1960’s office blocks to period conversions and refits. Design, condition and operating practises of current ventilation systems were assessed, as were internal chambers and associated ductwork. Visits were planned around priorities.
For example, certain properties had legionella risk systems requiring more urgent attention by Healthy Buildings International.
Typical recommendations included optimum use of current air systems, assigning designated smoking areas and improving ventilation to these sites, installing an LP system of control as per HS(G) 70 and cleaning and sterilising bottled water stations.
Whatever happens in the unpredictable world of finance, Allied Irish Bank (GB) and its people can now afford to breathe a lot easier thanks to the Healthy Buildings International initiative. HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONAL : HOSPITALITY IAQ PROGRAMME GOES WORLDWIDEThe hospitality industry is a major, if not the major industry in many countries, often employing as much as 10% of the workforce. However, compared with the other skills that hoteliers and restaurateurs have acquired (food, wine, accountancy, staff training) good air quality is still all too often a blind spot. Says Dave Handley of Healthy Buildings International : “General Managers and their engineers need to be aware of the importance of good ventilation. All too often the issue is ignored and unfortunately the result can be all too evident.”
Co-incidentally, there is growing public demand for better air quality. In a recent survey across 14 countries, air quality ranked third as a reason to choose a restaurant, only beaten by good food and service. What is more, there is increasing debate about smoking in public places. Healthy Buildings International has played a major role worldwide in helping the hospitality industry to respond. WORLD FINANCIAL PROPERTIES BANK ON HEALTHY BUILDINGS INTERNATIONALWorld Financial Properties, the US company based in One World Financial Center in New York, has for many years take a proactive stance when it comes to maintaining superior indoor air quality. Appreciating that prevention is better than cure, the company operates an ongoing monitoring programme both managed and administered by Healthy Buildings International.
Twice a year (once in the cooling season, and once in the heating season), Healthy Buildings International consultants spend several days in the building. About half the time is spent examining the building’s air, ductwork and other mechanical systems for issues such as proper ventilation, filtration and hygiene. The other half is spent in the tenant space conducting screening tests for many common indoor pollutants and thermal comfort parameters to ensure that concentrations and readings are well within accepted limits.
Full reports are then submitted to management. Both Healthy Buildings International and World Financial Properties believe that achieving good IAQ is very much a team effort. The workforce can uphold its end of the joint partnership often by simple moves like not covering air diffusers with objects, promptly cleaning spills and other accidents and by keeping unit humidifiers clean.
As Rich Silberman, Healthy Buildings International’s USA Business Development Manager, points out: “Our reports serve as independent documentation of their excellent ongoing management and engineering efforts.”
For further details of any of our services, please contact Healthy Buildings International at any of our offices as shown below.
Healthy Buildings International Ltd
(UK Head Office)
229 Hyde End Road
Spencers Wood
Berkshire RG7 1BU
United Kingdom
Tel: (0118) 988 9999
Fax: (0118) 988 5599
email: info@hbi.co.uk
directions: download
map: multimap
| Healthy Buildings International
(UK North)
Monckton Road
Wakefield
Yorkshire WF2 7AS
United Kingdom
Tel: (01924) 888 166
Fax: (01924) 332 334
email: info@hbi.co.uk directions: download
map: multimap | Healthy Buildings International Ireland
(Belfast)
Unit 16
Laganside Studios
Ravenhill Road
Belfast BT6 8AW
Tel: (028)90 738777
Fax: (028)90 732777
email: info@hbi.ie
www: http://www.hbi.ie
| Healthy Buildings International
(Scotland)
Suite 220
Claymore House
145 Kilmarnock Road
Glasgow G41 3JA
United Kingdom
Tel: (0141) 571 2967
Fax: (0141) 6327726
email: info@hbi.co.uk | Healthy Buildings International
USA Headquarters
9401 Mathy Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22031-5311
Tel: (703) 323 4400
Fax: (703) 323 4440
email: hbi@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com | Healthy Buildings International
USA Western Region
25 Mauchly, Suite 314
Irvine, CA 92618
Tel: (949) 450 1111
Fax: (949) 450 1120
email: hbiwest@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com
| Healthy Buildings International
USA Mid Atlantic Region
1055 Parsippany Boulevard,
Suite 102
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Tel: (973) 394 1330
Fax: (973) 394 1331
email: hbiatlantic@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com | Healthy Buildings International
USA New England Region
3 Baldwin Green Common
Suite 201
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801
Tel: (781) 932 6800
Fax: (781) 932 5995
email: dtyler@hbiamerica.com
www: http://www.hbiamerica.com
| Healthy Buildings International
Australia
7/33 Ryde Road
Pymble NSW 2073
Australia
Tel: (02) 9880 2744
Fax: (02) 9880 2766
email: hbi@hbi.com.au
www: http://www.hbi.com.au | Healthy Buildings International
Dublin
Unit 10/11 Santry Hall Industrial Estate
Dublin 9
Ireland
Tel: 00353 1 8623794
Fax: 00353 1 8621680
email: info@hbi.ie
www: http://www.hbi.ie
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