INDUSTRY TALK
What is sick bui and how can you Poor indoor air quality can lead to a condition called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). This is a pertinent issue for all enclosed workplaces but is an ever-present concern for manufacturing plants and factories. Preventing SBS is extremely important for the health, safety and productivity of your workforce.
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ommon symptoms of SBS are: throat irritation, breathing difficulties, tightness in the chest, runny nose, allergy-like symptoms such as sneezing, burning sensation in the nose, itchy skin rashes, headaches, nausea, body aches, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating and fever. Suffering from these symptoms on a daily basis can lead to absenteeism and low productivity of employees. South Africa reportedly loses approximately R19 144 billion due to absenteeism a year (Source: Human Capital Review). While, in a survey conducted by Aon, employee productivity was named as one of the major issues faced by several employers across Africa and the Middle East.
MONITORING AIR QUALITY Monitoring devices able to detect high levels of carbon dioxide have been introduced to the South African market to help detect poor air quality that can lead to SBS. Distributed and supported by local technology provider, Euca Technologies, on behalf of one of the world’s leading logging and monitoring systems specialist companies, Onset Computer Corporation, the handheld devices allow building operators
‘Increased CO² inside is a big deal; after all, we spend almost 90 percent of our lives indoors’ The carbon dioxide hazard scale
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INDUSTRIAL BUYER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
