The show must go on…

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“Empty spaces […], abandoned places […]” Surely most of us remember the melody when we read these musical lyrics from Queen’s fantastic play “The show must go on”… and it’s true, the show must go on, for governments, for companies and for families. This means that we must not allow ourselves to avoid using our spaces, we must secure them so that we can use them. Therefore, safe spaces, can be occupied spaces.

The safety of spaces are determined by various parameters and measures of the occupants, such as maintaining social distance, adhering to the authorized capacity, wearing a mask, etc. And there are others who do not depend so much on the occupant, but on the people behind the curtain, on all those stagehands who help us as actors, in this case the occupants, to manage our show. By stagehands I am referring to all the personnel who are dedicated to the planning and management of the facility, without whom organisations and individuals could not carry out their activity, and whose mission also consists, as in the theater, in being transparent and going unnoticed fulfilling their objective, keeping people safe.

Today users and Facility Managers are aware of many different types of solutions to plan and operate occupancy control. Technologies to manage occupancy control and predict events, encompass mobile, artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things. However, there are other solutions that, by providing that guarantee of a healthy and clean space, can go completely unnoticed. I am referring to solutions such as CO2 meters, which today are a key measure when it comes to knowing the state of health of a space, especially due to the current COVID19 pandemic.

CO2 meters provide us with a basic indicator to know the status of ventilation within a building. Ventilation (outside air intake to restore the interior) should not be confused with air conditioning (recirculation of air inside a building to adjust the temperature). It is ventilation that all doctors and scientists recommend as one of the key measures to make our spaces safe from the contagion of coronavirus. It has been scientifically proven that aerosols from people spread the virus more effectively in closed spaces, than in open ones, resulting in an increased risk of contagion.

If we look at the amount of CO2 as an indicator for ventilation, it is suggested that any value that exceeds 500 parts per million begins to be unhealthy, in the case of approaching 1000, the need to change the air becomes imminent. The World Health Organisation (WHO) advises it as the first measure to take in this regard: “Consider using natural ventilation, opening windows if possible and safe to do so.” https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-ventilation-and-air-conditioning-in-public-spaces-and-buildings-and-covid-19

Therefore, this value must be constantly observed, so that the Facility Manager can react accordingly. Additionally, the use of HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters is highly recommended in cases where the air cannot be replaced simply by opening the windows.

In the TD SYNNEX solutions catalog for returning to work safely, we provide not only the hardware and software necessary for these solutions, but also advanced management dashboards in the cloud. Facility Managers, Human Resources managers and medical personnel are able to observe risk indicators in real time, and compare results, in order to take decisions to minimise the risk of contagion within any space, be it an office, a school or a hospital.

Let’s make healthy spaces using technology, so that we don’t have to leave them empty and abandoned.

Check out this video from Ergosense one of our partners in this area.

Fernando Martín
Smart Spaces | Data Solutions and IoT | TD SYNNEX Europe

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