FLOORING
BUILDING THE CASE FOR OCCUPANT COMFORT
With responsibility for services that support an organisation’s performance, FMs can contribute towards greater productivity and efficiency by taking a more human centric approach, says Samantha Dawe, Marketing Director at Shaw Contract.
In 2020, the WorldGBC’s Health and Wellbeing Framework Executive Report identified six key principles for a healthy, sustainable built environment. Among these principles is prioritising comfort for building occupiers, including thermal, lighting, acoustic, visual, ergonomic, and inclusive design considerations.
Focusing on personal comfort and wellbeing makes commercial sense and demonstrates a commitment to corporate responsibility and an organisation’s values. Indeed, this increased ‘human centric’ approach is reflected by the announcement from RICS of the new International Building Operation Standard (IBOS), claiming to offer a new approach to measure and manage how buildings perform for people, through data, including a user experience metric.
Air quality, personal comfort, acoustics, ergonomics, light and colour choices are all intrinsically linked. Flooring choice is a key component within this evaluation. It directly impacts the overall look, feel and functionality of a building. Right from the entrance threshold, flooring provides a map to guide people through a space.
The Building Engineering Services Association’s Guide to Good Practice for Indoor Air Quality for Health and Wellbeing advises that clean air is vitally important for the health, wellbeing, and productivity of occupants. Materials and finishes can contain a mixture of many chemicals that potentially lead to harmful exposure. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases by a wide array of products with concentrations up to ten times higher indoors than they are outdoors.
This points to the need to ensure properly tested, low VOC products are specified for workplace environments. Shaw Contract carpet tiles are Indoor Air Comfort GOLD - certified by Eurofins, and our LVT is FloorScore certified for low VOCs.
From an FM perspective, routine cleaning techniques are essential considerations. Products must be suitable for regular maintenance through hot water extraction so as not to introduce unwanted toxins.
Exposure to prolonged, unwanted, fluctuating, or random sound can influence productivity. This can lead to physiological stress responses. Acoustic absorbing materials, including flooring, help control echo and reverberation as well as reducing sound reflections. Sound insulation also secures privacy through prevention of meetings and conversations being inadvertently overheard.
52 | TOMORROW’S FM
Sound travels easily through void spaces too, so raised flooring areas need to be considered. Acoustic backed flooring offers sound insulation and absorption.
Our bodies don’t tolerate standing and walking on hard surfaces well. This can cause fatigue and strain on our feet, legs and back, and even worsen arthritis symptoms and other orthopaedic conditions.
Underfoot comfort is particularly relevant for occupations requiring long periods of standing or walking. Equally, traditionally sedentary roles are being encouraged to use sit-stand desks or standing height meeting tables to encourage movement and support blood flow.
Colour and material choices are not simply about decoration or corporate branding. Part M of the UK Building Regulations stipulates a minimum difference in Light Reflectance Values (LRVs) between two adjoining surfaces. Skirting boards, for example, must be in a contrasting colour to the floor covering.
Colour zoning and light contrast also aids safe wayfinding. Particular attention is necessary between areas of raised flooring, steps, and gradients which is essential to those with visual impairment,
The emotional and psychological effect of colour choice influences people’s mood and perception of
“Air quality, personal comfort, acoustics, ergonomics, light and colour choices are all intrinsically linked.”
their environment. With an estimated 10% of the UK population thought to be neurodiverse, the need to create a comprehensively inclusive environment incorporating varied recommended design interventions – from improved acoustics, lighting, access to nature, and colour – should be recognised.
The core principle, however, is choice. Creating distinct areas allows people to self-select the most appropriate area for their sensory needs. The functionality of the built environment involves the integration of place, process, and technology. But people, and their ensured comfort for wellbeing and performance, must come first.
www.shawcontract.com/en-gb
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
