INDUSTRY COMMENT Post COVID19 – the longterm impacts on workplaces


By Chris Irwin, vice president sales EMEA & VP Global Markeng J2 Innovaons


n the smart buildings market, the lockdown has had some very significant impact on those involved in constructing and manging buildings. Apart from the immediate impacts that so much has already been written about there are a number of longer- term implications that will impact workplace.


I Office usage and design


For many people who have office jobs the COVID crisis will prove to be a watershed moment; many businesses have realised that they can carry on functioning without requiring everyone to be in the office all the time, and have now adapted IT systems etc to enable more home working. This will mean in future that many more people than previously will want to work at home, at least part-time, so as to avoid lengthy commutes, and to benefit from the flexibility that home- working brings. It is not for everyone though; for those without a dedicated office space or with children at home, being forced to work from home is not a good experience, but this reality may well lead to the creation of more local rentable working spaces for those who need somewhere quiet and close to home to work remotely.


As and when people return from lockdown to their offices, they will find significant layout changes as employers have been forced to re- think desk layouts to enable social distancing. Whilst the requirement for social distancing will be relaxed over time, employees have now become aware of the implications of working very close to other people, and will expect more space and partitioning in open plan offices. This is good for well-being as a lower density has many beneficial effects, not least on lowering noise levels. Given the increased proportion of employees working from home the economic pressure on employers to implement effective hot-desking will increase, accelerating a trend that has been underway for some time already, since in many workplaces the use of space is currently very inefficient if everyone has to have their own desk but is often not using it. IoT solutions for monitoring space usage and desk utilisation are likely to see a significant increase in uptake post- COVID, since reliable booking of office space will become essential.


Hygiene in buildings


Another big change in offices, as in other building types such as schools, restaurants, and shops will be the increase in hygiene standards.


Everyone has become far more aware than previously of bacteria and virus transmission paths via contact with surfaces, especially frequently used systems such as lift buttons, door knobs, vending machines etc. Facilities management companies will be required to “up their game” in terms of the routine cleaning regimes, and there will be increased provision of hand washing and sanitising stations. These will all need to be monitored to ensure they are adequately provisioned, so new wireless IoT devices will be needed to provide cost-effective remote monitoring of the levels in sanitiser, soap and hand towel dispensers, as well suitable reporting software to ensure action is taken to refill as necessary. In the longer term it is very likely that new non-contact solutions will be increasingly chosen by building operators to mitigate the costs of the more intense cleaning regimes now mandated. Automatically opening doors, and non-contact user interfaces will be developed to avoid the need for frequently touching buttons. We’ve already seen this occur with the adoption of contactless payment machines that enable the transfer of money without entering PIN numbers, so look-out for the next generation of solutions for other aspects of our day to day life in buildings.


Another element of hygiene in buildings is the air we breathe. A couple of decades back the realisation that insufficient fresh air rates and inadequately cleaned ventilation ducts led to “sick building syndrome” resulted in legislation and new regimes for HVAC maintenance with inspections and cleaning solutions being generally


implemented to a far greater extent than previously. Now the COVID crisis is creating a strong demand for further improvements air quality in indoor spaces, especially regarding the filtration of recycled air to reduce the risk of cross-infection. For good air quality to be maintained it needs to be monitored and appropriately controlled, which will require the retrofitting of air quality sensors that measure CO2 and particulate concentrations and


suitable software able to report issues and automatically adjust fan speeds and window opening as necessary. The availability of suitable air-quality sensors at a reasonable price has been improving over the last few years, but deployment of such devices has often been separate from the existing HVAC control systems, which is not ideal since they can only report on problems, not actually change the ventilation rates. The device integration features offered by IoT software like FIN Framework enable air-quality monitoring to be added to the existing HVAC controls; “closing the loop” to ensure improved ventilation is achieved by accurate control of the HVAC system.


Rethinking indoor common areas


One of the biggest changes long- term that will result from the COVID crisis is a re-thinking of our social spaces. Whilst it can be enjoyable to be crammed into a small restaurant or bar with plenty of “atmosphere”, the demand for more spaced-out relaxation spaces will most probably alter design thinking as an adaption since people’s mindset regarding personal space has shifted. This coincides with the sharp downturn in conventional high street and shopping mall retail sector caused by the COVID crisis so many spaces will become unused and will therefore be ripe for conversion to other uses, such as the flexible working spaces mentioned earlier and more spacious leisure facilities. All these trends point to the need for building operators to manage their building spaces more efficiently in respect to energy, maintenance, cleanliness and effective utilisation. This will require increased


automation, the use of robotics and an upgrade in the HVAC systems used to manage the environment in buildings. The COVID crisis has increased the need for technology providers and their partners to develop and bring to market their solutions faster, with less risk, and at significantly lower cost.


BSEE


About J2 Innovations


J2 Innovations is a fast growing, innovative software technology company based in California. They are the creators of the FIN Framework, a state-of- the-art open framework for building automation and IoT applications. J2 Innovations is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG, operating as an independent legal entity.


About the author


Chris Irwin, Vice President Sales EMEA & VP Global Marketing


About the FIN Framework


FIN is a next-generation software framework for building automation and IoT applications. FIN provides features such as monitoring, control, alarming, scheduling, visualization, reporting, integration, and analytics. The FIN Framework offers OEMs, System Integrators, and end user solutions that are faster, easier, and better.


Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


Chris joined J2 Innovations in October 2018, in order to develop J2's sales outside of North America. Chris comes with a wealth of experience in the building automation market and with skills in strategic business development and marketing. Chris has previously spent 12 years developing open framework business in Europe so he is excited to now be working with the next generation product. Chris is passionate about simplicity, energy saving, renewable energy and electric transport.


BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER AUGUST 2020 25


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