SRS had previously been working on energy-saving air handling units (super AHUs) for workplaces, which had been extensively tested at Heathrow Airport. With the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it quickly refocused its innovation efforts on air safety.

Airborne viruses like Covid-19, along with other contaminants such as bacteria, mould spores, dust and pollen, and other chemicals, can threaten employee health and safety, and result in lost productivity and disruption due to absences. 

The air quality sensors and dashboard SRS has developed allow building managers to see and track the quality of air in different rooms or areas, enabling them to implement safe and energy-efficient solutions when and where they are needed. When trialled at the Sabrina Centre police training facility, the low number of Covid-positive cases meant they were one of the only centres able to continue face-to-face training throughout lockdown. The simple red, amber and green dashboard SRS have developed, makes behaviour change easier by encouraging people to take small steps to stay safe and healthy. The team will now be deploying this technology in Sir Robert MacAlpine's (SRM) head office, allowing them to demonstrate the technology to SRM’s customer base which includes many large employers, developers, and landlords.

From the work SRS had been doing on super AHUs at Heathrow Airport, it knew that ventilation is often inefficient or expensive. From this experience, SRS believed that understanding air quality in specific parts of a workplace was key to making solutions affordable and efficient. Plans were already in place to measure room air quality at Gloucestershire Constabulary's Sabrina Centre training facility, to assess the impact it has on the productivity and performance of building occupants.
With the outbreak of Covid-19, Innovate UK's Business-led innovation in response to global disruption rapid response fund provided the opportunity for the Sabrina Centre trial to refocus on the health and safety of people using the building.

SRS formed a consortium with compliance and safety consultants Acufire, and real-time occupancy data company LightFi, which allowed it to start trialling air quality tracking systems with Gloucestershire Constabulary and the Active Building Centre (ABC).

Moving air in workplaces tends to be energy-intensive and therefore expensive. Without proper measures of air quality in different workspaces; employers, developers and landlords can waste time and money on inefficient solutions that don’t keep occupants productive, healthy and safe.

A state-of-the-art indoor air quality (IAQ) meter and sensors were used to accurately measure pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and benzene; particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns; humidity which can affect occupant comfort and susceptibility to allergies, asthma, and respiratory infections; and carbon dioxide, a key indicator of poor ventilation and potential viral load.
This data was used to set a baseline for rooms within Gloucestershire Constabulary's Sabrina Centre training facility. Being able to see the air quality of each room using a simple red, amber and green dashboard meant that the Facilities Management team could deploy energy-efficient solutions in trouble spots, such as plasma air bars, that neutralise harmful particles like mould, bacteria and viruses, and UV chambers which remove 99.9% of airborne Covid-19. The easy-to-understand dashboard also allowed building occupants to take quick and simple actions to help safeguard their health and improve air quality, e.g. opening doors and taking breaks to get fresh air. Police teams also discovered that poor air quality affected the productivity of training, enabling them to make the connection between better ventilation and improved performance. The low number of Covid-positive cases at the Sabrina Centre meant they were one of the only police centres able to continue face-to-face training throughout lockdown. The Sabrina demonstrator has allowed the project team to develop a workplace agnostic system that has since has been used in buildings ranging from airports to doctors surgeries.

Compliance and safety consultants Acufire and real-time occupancy data company LightFi provided specialist knowledge around occupancy sensing; establishing the number of people in a room so that clean air could be provided when and where it was needed. Gloucestershire Constabulary provided an opportunity to demonstrate the air quality tracking system.

• Acufire
• LightFi

The Active Building Centre (ABC), which is funded by the Transforming Construction Challenge, provided engineering support to the project team.

The air quality sensors and dashboards SRS have developed allow building managers to see and track the quality of air in different rooms or areas, enabling them to implement energy-efficient solutions where they are needed to keep workplaces productive, healthy and safe.

A testimonial from the Cherrycroft child psychology Practice: "We work with vulnerable children and their families. All the children we work with struggle with mental health issues and many have experienced trauma in their early childhoods. The pandemic has been especially difficult for these families who feel as though they are barely coping at the best of times. Many of these children and young people struggle to read facial expressions and so working online isn't really an option. Some of our therapists have underlying health conditions which makes them more vulnerable to severe Covid. SRS has helped us to continue to support these vulnerable families while also taking care of our own health. The building is old without good ventilation and so having the ionisers has greatly helped in improving the air quality generally as well as helping to protect us from Covid. The ionisers were installed easily and professionally. We are very grateful to SRS in helping us to stay open to supporting the families we serve."

A state-of-the-art indoor air quality (IAQ) meter and sensors were used to accurately measure pollutants such as carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and benzene; particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns; humidity which can affect occupant comfort and susceptibility to allergies, asthma, and respiratory infections; and carbon dioxide, a key indicator of poor ventilation and potential viral load.

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report found that people spend 90% of their time indoors, inhaling up to 2700 gallons of air. Indoor air is 10 times more contaminated than outdoor air.

Emissions
Moving air in workplaces tends to be energy-intensive and therefore expensive. Understanding real-time air quality in specific parts of a workplace is key to making solutions affordable, efficient, and effective in keeping people safe. It enables building managers to deploy energy-efficient solutions in trouble spots, such as plasma air bars, UV chambers and fans that only work when needed; and allows occupants to take quick and simple actions to help safeguard their health and improve air quality, like opening doors and taking breaks to get fresh air.

Safety
As a result of trialling the air quality tracking system and dashboard at its Sabrina Centre training facility, Gloucestershire Constabulary was one of only a handful of UK police forces to be able to continue to provide face-to-face tuition throughout lockdown, due to the low number of Covid-positive cases.

Uptake
Gloucestershire Constabulary have continued using the air quality tracking system at the Sabrina Centre training facility after the trial, as it reduces employee absences due to Covid-19. It has also added value by showing the connection between air quality and productivity. What was leant at the Sabrina Centre has allowed the development of a workplace agnostic system that has since has been used in buildings ranging from airports to doctors surgeries. The team will now be deploying this technology in Sir Robert MacAlpine's (SRM) head office, allowing them to demonstrate the technology to SRM’s customer base which includes many large employers, developers, and landlords.