/24-7PressRelease/ - LANCASHIRE, UK, June 29, 2008 - Leading office plant and maintenance providers, Fosters Breathing Space can offer facilities managers the solution to problem humidity levels at work through their extensive range of office plants and planted office displays.
Breathing Space has offered facilities and building managers a chance to 'breathe easy' at a time when increased emphasis on health and safety in the workplace and recent changes to duty of care legislation has meant that employers now have stricter obligations to their employees.
Under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 19741 employers have a general obligation to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare if their employees at work. This includes a number of welfare issues including ventilation, lighting and temperature.
According to the Associated ACOP (Approve Code of Practice):
"The temperature workrooms should provide reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. Where such a temperature is impractical because of hot or cold processes, all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a temperature which is as close as possible to comfortable. 'Workroom' means a room where people normally work for more than short periods.
The temperature in workrooms should be at least 16 degrees Celsius unless much of the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 3 degrees Celsius. These temperatures may not, however, ensure reasonable comfort, depending on other factors such as air movement and relative humidity."2
Encompassed in the quote above is the underlying factor of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Maintaining indoor air quality is central to creating a healthy indoor environment and requires a combination of adequate ventilation, temperature and relative humidity alongside moderation of indoor pollutants.
As a facilities manager, the primary responsibility for IAQ will fall to you therefore it is essential that you do not overlook the thermal comfort of employees. With numerous studies highlighting the positive impact of office plants on humidity levels, many managers are now turning to companies like Breathing Space to help them regulate office humidity.
Daniel Foster, Director of Fosters Breathing Space commented on this issue saying;
"We recently exhibited at the 2008 Facilities Show and were inundated with personnel working in the facilities management sector who were experiencing problems with humidity levels."
"The comprehensive range of office plants we supply have all proven to be very effective for improving IAQ and regulating humidity levels. To put it simply we can offer facilities managers a green way to cool down."
For more information about the effect of office plants on humidity levels or to enquire about hiring office plants please visit http://www.breathing-space.co.uk
Notes to Editors
1. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg244.pdf
2. http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/temperature.htm
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