Tag Archives: hvac

In a paper published at the Global Conference on Business, Economics, Management and Tourism, researchers found a direct correlation between work environments and job satisfaction among employees like dental technicians.

 

The Result

Using a survey, researchers tapped the feelings of workers in education, banking and telecommunications and found that satisfaction was tied directly to the quality of the work environment. Researchers focused on two areas: Work and Context. Work was defined as the intrinsic aspects of the job—things like training, skillsets and production of work. Context, on the other hand, focused on the overall environment and things like the work setting, the enclosed spaces and the office set-up.

The study acknowledged that all too often employers focus the majority of their attention on the Work and not enough on the Context—the work environment. So, the researchers theorized, employers would experience better overall employee job satisfaction if the company paid closer attention to the work environment in totality. Increased employee satisfaction is tied directly to better work environments.

 

This affects Dental Technicians

It stands to reason that the survey results would be the same—if not greater—in dental labs. That’s because dental labs, with all the dental technicians grinding, chipping and contouring of molds and appliances, are very dusty, unhealthy environments. And, while dental lab owners may consider training opportunities and other work-related incentives as a way to boost dental technician satisfaction, they should consider the Context aspects of the workplace, as evidenced by the survey’s findings. To that end, dental lab owners and managers need to review the work environment, ensuring there are ample opportunities to boost satisfaction and morale.

Studies show that dental technicians would be happier with their jobs if employers were paying more attention to indoor air quality.

The Solution

One way to do that is addressing the dusty environment. HVAC systems do a fine job of moving the air throughout a facility. But they don’t really work to improve the air. Heavy HEPA filters designed to replace regular HVAC system filters aren’t the answer, as they are thick and decrease airflow, creating a strain on the system.

Also, suction systems used in conjunction with grinding equipment used by dental technicians aren’t the answer either. They only affect the immediate grinding area and are often taxed to their limits during the normal workday and workload.

One sure way to improve the work environment and help boost employee satisfaction is installing AeraMax Professional air purifiers. They’re dedicated to one task: Dramatically improving indoor air quality by “scrubbing” the air.

These commercial-grade air purification systems effectively and efficiently remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants. They remove viruses, odors, volatile organic compounds, dust and bacteria from lab settings using hospital-like True HEPA filtration. The four-stage filtration system of AeraMax Professional systems automatically senses when air needs to be cleaned, working behind the scenes to refresh air and improve the overall health of occupants.

Read Article

It makes perfect sense: healthier employees are happier employees. However, many business owners believe developing a wellness program or a smoking cessation class is the path to employee happiness. Not so fast.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) affects Productivity

According to a recent study commissioned by the Building Engineering Services Association in the United Kingdom, almost 70 percent of office workers polled said poor indoor air quality in the workplace made for negative feelings, and worse, lowered productivity.

“The health impacts of poor outdoor air quality are well-documented and have been linked to respiratory tract infections, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” said Steven Loughney of Siemens Building Technologies in a report. “Indoors you’ll find these same pollutants intermingled with dust, carpet fibers, fungal spores, cleaning products, photocopy residues or building materials, which create quite an unhealthy cocktail of contaminants that eventually permeate across the workplace.”

Is it Sick Building Syndrome?

Indoor spaces where poor air is circulated ad nauseum often create symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome—sluggish behavior, frequent headaches, lowered resistance to viruses and colds, difficulty concentrating and increased absenteeism—among occupants.


The EPA estimates that Sick Building Syndrome accounts for $60 billion in lost revenue per year. What’s more, it’s estimated that $220 billion is lost in worker productivity due to absenteeism and employee sickness. In fact, the average cost of one employee sick day is $2,650.

How can you address this?

In many cases, poor building design and inadequate ventilation systems are to blame. There is a way to quickly boost IAQ, making employees both happier and healthier: installing AeraMax Professional air purifiers.

These commercial-grade air purification systems effectively and efficiently remove up to 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like viruses, odors, volatile organic compounds and bacteria from enclosed spaces using hospital-like True HEPA filtration.

The four-stage filtration system of AeraMax Professional systems automatically senses when air needs to be cleaned, working behind the scenes to refresh air and improve the overall health of occupants. That, in turn, can overcome the effects of sick building syndrome and reverse the negativity experienced by employees. So, in this case, healthier means happier.

Read Article

When business owners hear that indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air—which is already heavily polluted—they think the solution lies in focusing on the building’s HVAC system. But that may not solve the problem of poor air quality.
Here’s why:

 

HVAC systems recirculate

HVAC systems work because they recirculate air. But they don’t do a thing about cleaning the air. Filters can trap very large particles, but things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), germs, bacteria and allergens pass right through typical HVAC filters. That doesn’t alleviate the problem of poor air quality inside buildings.

Business owners and facility managers may think installing HEPA filters in existing HVAC systems will do the trick. It won’t. That’s because HEPA filters designed specifically for HVAC systems are bulky, and while they do a better job of trapping germs in the direct area near the intake, these thick filters drag down HVAC efficiency, significantly reducing airflow. So, HVAC will work harder, break down more often and still not solve the poor air quality problem. Additionally, these modifications to existing HVAC systems do nothing for areas that aren’t near the intakes.

HVAC systems spread germs farther and faster through recirculation.

Perhaps most importantly, HVAC systems spread germs farther and faster through recirculation. In essence, HVAC systems are air movers, not air improvers. There just isn’t enough efficiency in HVAC systems, because they are designed first and foremost to push air throughout buildings. Also, HVAC systems focus on the entirety of buildings, pushing air at the same rate throughout. That means indoor air quality problem areas will be ignored.

 

For improvement in IAQ, focus on cleaning instead of moving the air

Instead of recirculating poor air, building managers and business owners need to focus on removing it. In our opinion, the best way to do that is by installing AeraMax Professional air purifiers. These commercial-grade systems use hospital-type True HEPA filtration to effectively, quickly and efficiently remove 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like germs, bacteria, smoke, odors, allergens and VOCs, from indoor air. The four-stage filtration systems work automatically, because the units sense when poor air is present, adjusting to remove the bad air.

And, AeraMax Professional offers an array of different units to accommodate a variety of room sizes—and even have portable units so specific areas can be targeted on the fly, by moving the purifier into offending areas.

Read Article

As a dental lab owner, you know the air inside the lab is often hazy, what with all the grinding and polishing and chipping and chiseling. But you may not know indoor air—any indoor air—is already two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. That makes air inside dental labs even more problematic.

Unfortunately, some dental lab owners think the solution to bad air lies in focusing on the building’s HVAC system. That won’t solve the problem of poor air quality. Here’s why:

HVAC systems recirculate air, but they don’t do a thing about cleaning the air. HVAC filters can trap very large particles, but things like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), germs, bacteria and allergens pass right through typical HVAC filters. That doesn’t alleviate the problem of poor air quality inside buildings.

Dental lab owners may think installing better filters in existing HVAC systems will eliminate the problem. It won’t. That’s because premium filters designed specifically for HVAC systems are bulky, and while they do a better job of trapping bad air in the direct area near the intake, these thick filters drag down HVAC efficiency, significantly reducing airflow. So, HVAC will work harder, break down more often and still not solve the poor air quality problem. Additionally, these modifications to existing HVAC systems do nothing for areas that aren’t near the intakes.

That’s also true of the intakes around grinding equipment—they will suck in dust in the immediate vicinity of a work station, but don’t help with the dust that escapes the intake and floats in the air.

Perhaps most importantly, HVAC systems spread dust and other contaminants farther and faster through recirculation. In essence, HVAC systems are air movers, not air improvers. There just isn’t enough efficiency in HVAC systems, because they are designed first and foremost to push air throughout buildings. Also, HVAC systems focus on the entirety of buildings, pushing air at the same rate throughout. That means indoor air quality problem areas will be ignored.

Instead of recirculating poor air, lab owners need to focus on removing it. In our opinion, the best way to do that is by installing AeraMax Professional air purifiers. These commercial-grade systems use hospital-type True HEPA filtration to effectively, quickly and efficiently remove 99.97 percent of airborne contaminants, like germs, bacteria, smoke, odors, allergens and VOCs, from indoor air. The four-stage filtration systems work automatically, because the units sense when poor air is present, adjusting to remove the bad air.

And, AeraMax Professional offers an array of different units to accommodate a variety of lab room sizes, meaning you can let your HVAC focus on what it’s meant to be doing. It’s a proven solution for dental labs—a solution dental lab owners need to consider.

Read Article

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the dental profession is one of the most dangerous. And one reason? Something very, very small. Dust.

Given that there’s an aging population, there’s more demand for dental appliances, like bridges and denture sets. That means dental labs are running at full tilt—and dust from sandblasting and grinding appliances and molds enter more indoor air. These particles are often smaller than five microns, stay suspended in the air a long time and are easily breathed into the lungs. What’s more, the grinding dust on surfaces is easily kicked up from the simple movements of people in the lab environment, creating more suspension.

 

Danger lurking in the dark

 

So how do you combat it?

Unfortunately, typical heating and ventilation systems do a great job of recirculating air, not cleaning it. So, dust and other particulate just gets moved around—or worse, keeps getting suspended in the air, making it even easier to breathe in.

Wearing a surgical mask doesn’t help either. According to a statement from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, surgical masks don’t filter out submicron particles and don’t account for leakage around the edges of the mask.

Clearly, the best way to eliminate the threat of dust floating throughout a dental lab is by cleaning the air itself. The complete line of AeraMax Professional air purifiers does just that—getting at the root of the dust problem by removing it—along with other harmful particulate, chemicals, pathogens, bacteria and volatile organic compounds—from indoor air, using an advanced True HEPA filtration system that effectively and efficiently traps tiny particles. Given that the AeraMax Professional air purifier continually scans the environment—working when it senses pollutants in the air—you’re assured you can eliminate the danger lurking in the lab.

Read Article