Title: Reading Assignment
Course: WGF 105 DEVELOPMENT > Section: Content

Sub-Title | Without IEQ Standards, What Do We Do?
Content
Physical comfort is critical to work effectiveness, satisfaction, and physical and psychological well-being. During the facility design and development process, to ensure comfortable environments, building projects must have a comprehensive, integrated perspective that seeks to:

- Provide a superior acoustic environment
- Maintain optimal thermal comfort
- Create a high quality visual environment
- Provide furniture and equipment that will enhance worker comfort and performance
- Provide user controls.
- Implementing holistic design principles will also help achieve these objectives.

Uncomfortable conditions in buildings and spaces-too hot, too cold, too noisy, too dark, too light, too much glare-restrict the ability of workers to function to full capacity and can lead to lowered job satisfaction and increases in illness symptoms.

Building occupants are often concerned, and the most central to any “comfort issue.” Complaints should always be taken seriously. There is no reason to ignore what could be the first sign that something is wrong with a building interior.

The following section is copied from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration IEQ Facilitator’s Handbook (OSHA) to follow-up on all complaints and reduce potential negligence to occupants.

INTENT:

The purpose of this section is for participants to start to recognize some health symptoms that might be related to the air quality in their workplace. This will be accomplished by filling out a symptom survey and reporting out their symptoms to the larger group.
Links/Uploads | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (U.S. Department of Labor: Frequently Asked Questions – Interior Air Quality https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/indoorairquality/faqs.html Indoor Environmental Quality Facilitator’s Notes https://www.osha.gov/dte/grant_materials/fy10/sh-20839-10/iaq_facilitator_guide.pdf
Attributions | Image courtesy of Sustainable Facilities Tool – U.S. General Services Administration. Content courtesy of Whole Building Design Guide – National Institute of Building Science