Indoor air quality is a critical concern in manufacturing facilities. Continuous exposure to nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other air pollutants can severely impact the health and productivity of workers. In airtight warehouse and manufacturing facilities with high humidity and suboptimal fresh air exchange, workers are continuously exposed to a number of dangerous and toxic substances that are circulating in the air. This causes illnesses ranging from asthma and headaches to life-threatening ones like lung cancer and heart ailments. Moreover, studies provide strong evidence for the survival and transmission of airborne infectious pathogens – such as the coronavirus – in poorly ventilated and closed environments. Poor indoor air quality significantly increases costs for business owners. Aside from workers being at risk of getting sick which leads to increased health care costs, there’s also loss of income due to lack of manpower resulting from absences and turnover. Delayed processes are caused by equipment downtime as dust, mold and bacteria thrive in the HVAC and manufacturing equipment. As owners are responsible to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of the workers, IAQ-related litigations could be potentially damaging to the company.
A healthy work environment is an excellent investment. Ensuring good indoor air quality significantly improves workers’ job satisfaction and productivity. Research has shown that spending just $40 per person a year on IAQ results in a $6,500 increase in employee output. It also promotes the operational reliability of manufacturing and HVAC systems and equipment. Take control of your indoor air quality by understanding the sources of pollutants in relation to your operations. With real-time monitoring you can identify specific issues, get alerted to urgent situations that need attention, and take the proper course of action to optimize the utilization of your facility and the performance of your workers.