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Networked Ecosystems – Smart Spaces Welcome Employees Back To Work

By Graham Martin, Chairman & CEO, EnOcean Alliance

After a long period of working from home, many employees are keen to finally be reunited with their office desks and a much needed change of environment. However, following national lockdowns and threat of infection, many are still worried about the risk of returning to workspaces. Smart Spaces can help and, with a clear focus on worker wellbeing, their sensor-based infrastructure management may encourage employees that their offices are safe to return to.

Now that many workspaces are looking to encourage workers to return to work, office comfort and hygiene has become a key issue. The link between workspaces and wellbeing has been a longstanding topic of interest amongst businesses. Next to personnel management, working atmosphere and remuneration, the quality of the workplace emerges as a key factor in employee wellbeing. Smart Buildings can make a significant contribution in workplace quality by providing optimal air quality, lighting, thermal comfort and flexible interaction with a modern office environment. In addition, sensor systems can ensure that health risks from returning to work after lockdown are kept to a minimum.

Networked Ecosystems

Smart Spaces form networked ecosystems where people and places interact in a flexible and needs-oriented way thanks to an intelligent infrastructure management system using sensor-generated building status data. Maintenance-free wireless solutions built upon open standards - e.g. EnOcean (ISO/IEC 14543-3-10) - allow for maximum flexibility, low-cost installation and economical operation. The factors primarily influencing employee productivity and office hygiene - temperature, air quality, lighting conditions and cleanliness - can be monitored and influenced according to the number of persons within the building. This focus on comfort and safety is likely to encourage workers to return to office spaces.

Air And Light

We have been warned throughout lockdown of the risk of enclosed spaces, meaning monitoring air quality has never been more important. The direct effects of indoor air quality upon human wellbeing have been thoroughly analysed. A survey canvassing more than 1,200 workplaces revealed that there is a direct relationship between the quality of office air and employee satisfaction. A CO₂ threshold value of 582 ppm was identified – most employees complained of bad air quality with carbon dioxide loads exceeding this value [Park et al. 2019].

Coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets through the air and ventilation in buildings plays a crucial role in reducing transmission. Inadequately ventilated indoor spaces can lead to increased levels of virus transmission. It’s essential therefore to dilute the virus in the air within a building through increased ventilation and enhanced airflow to reduce transmission risk. Higher CO₂ levels in a building increase the risk of transmission from an infected person and it is imperative to ensure that a building constantly has a lot of outside air brought in to replace the stale air inside. In commercial buildings, outside air is usually pumped in through heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and by simply adding a wireless/batteryless CO₂ sensor to each room/area, this will help companies become safer places for their employees – a CO₂ alarm will notify when to bring fresh outdoor air into the area thus ensuring adequate ventilation. This can then be done manually or in connection with the building automation system.

Thermal comfort plays a decisive role in workplace wellbeing and employee health. Research conducted in 1986 supplied evidence that there is a clear relationship between rising temperature and sinking physical and psychological performance. At 28 °C, physical performance can drop by as much as 50% whilst psychological performance can suffer a 20% loss [Dentel & Dietrich 2006], [Wyon 1986].

All in all: Smart Buildings allow for the careful management of factors which contribute to the health of workers and the hygiene of the office. In perspective it can be said that Smart Spaces become an interface between people and their working environments. They add a virtual component to the physical workspace and enable individual adjustment in accordance with subjective needs and preferences. In the case of employees working in shared houses during lockdown, a Smart Office is likely to provide even more adjustment to personal preferences than the employee would have working at home.

Sensor Networks

Energy harvesting sensors, with their capacity to measure occupancy, can have a significant impact in ensuring coronavirus countermeasures are adhered to in the workspace. Occupancy sensors under desks and in bathrooms can monitor actual usage and direct thorough cleaning to the most regularly visited areas. An alarm can sound in meeting rooms when a space is over its safe capacity. Smart sensors on soap dispensers can alert cleaners of when these vital requirements need refilling. Facilities managers feeling stressed and overwhelmed about ensuring office hygiene in these challenging times may welcome technology 'easing their load'.

Maintenance-Free Wireless Technology For Flexible Data Harvesting

Smart Building requirements must be taken into consideration in the early planning stage. This is particularly important for the sensor networks. Maintenance-free wireless devices with energy-harvesting technology use environmental energy as their source of power. Kinetic energy, pressure, light and temperature differences can all be used to generate sufficient electricity. The advantage: these "Peel & Stick" sensors need neither mains power nor batteries. They can be fitted wherever needed, on any surface, saving time and money in installation and operation whilst enabling quick and easy retro-fitment to older buildings.

Thanks to these sensors, the Smart Building can monitor the status of its environment and use this data to make any necessary adjustment or for analytical purposes. The data is gathered and processed by a cloud-based IT platform, as "digital twin" if required. The physical space is combined with digital services and analytical tools. A "dashboard" can then present the data in a user-friendly way for managers and decision-makers to view and act upon.

Smart Spaces For Employee Retention

"Smart Building" is often used to indicate that a building uses less energy and lowers operating costs. This is correct - building automation pays for itself in the space of a few years [Merz et at 2016]. However, a Smart Building is much more than "just" a resource-optimised facility. It is an incentive to be in the office and a reassurance that workers can return there safely. The employee is at the core of a Smart Space, together with her/his workplace needs and preferences. The intelligent building not only contributes to a sustainable way of business, but to corporate success in the broadest sense.

This article is based upon the following White Paper: Prof. Dr. Michael Krödel (Institut für Gebäudetechnik, igt), The influence of Smart Buildings upon the wellbeing and productivity of office workers which is available as full-length document and as a brief summary from the EnOcean Alliance, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Sources:

Dentel, A., Dietrich, U.; Thermische Behaglichkeit – Komfort in Gebäuden; 2006JLL Corporate Solutions; Global Report on "Workplace powered by human experience; 2017

Kantermann T., Schierz C., Harth V.; Gesicherte arbeitsschutzrelevante Erkenntnisse über die nichtvisuelle Wirkung von Licht auf den Menschen. Verein zur Förderung der Arbeitssicherheit in Europa e.V. (VFA); 2018

Wargocki P.; Improving indoor air quality improves the performance of office work and schoolwork; 2008

World Green Building Council; Health, Well-being & Productivity in Offices; 2014

Wyon, D.P.; The effect of indoor climate on productivity and performance, revised version of a Swedish publication in VVS & Energy; 1986

Merz H., Hansemann T., Hübner C.; Gebäudeautomation (Hanser Verlag); 2016

Wireless sensors, switches and control units with energy-harvesting technology can be easily placed anywhere in a building, even in hard-to-reach places. Once fitted, they require no maintenance at all.

The solar-powered EnOcean Multisensor contains sensors for temperature, humidity, light and acceleration together with a magnetic contact sensor in a standardised PTM form factor.

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