Year: 2020

Co-written by Harkins Director of Interiors Matt DeGourse and Baltimore Tenant Advisors / Newmark Knight Frank Executive Managing Director Michael Singer

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor air quality has become a major concern to businesses, building managers, tenants, and employees. It can impact the health, comfort, well-being, and productivity of building occupants. Did you know that all office buildings are required to meet the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRE) standards for fresh air and adequate airflow within your office space? But is that enough to keep everyone safe? Many business owners and corporate leaders are seeking to understand the range of options available in the marketplace to ensure the highest levels of employee safety during this time.

The three most common strategies to improve your Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) are ventilation control, filtration, and disinfecting.

Ventilation Control

The strategy behind ventilation control is to dilute the inside (“recycled”) air that is circulating within your office space with more Outdoor Air (OA) by increasing the number of air exchanges per hour. This is done by engineering new OA equipment outside your premises (commonly rooftop units) that deliver into your space or mechanical closet. There are ASHRE minimum requirements for OA that must be implemented in all spaces. In addition, there are many ways to measure air quality standards, such as LEED and WELL, that reflect higher performance specifications than ASHRE.

This is typically seen when upgrading an existing system during an office renovation where there is an increase in the number of employees within the given work area. The initial cost is high (approximately $7,000 per additional ton) and there is a longer lead time (22 to 24 weeks, depending on complexity) for acquiring new equipment and supporting infrastructure. You can expect your ongoing energy bill to increase as the amount of air that is needed to be heated or cooled will also increase.

Filtration

Many individuals are looking to increase their filtration to provide quick, additional protection for their employees right now. The most common form of measurement is the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV): the higher the MERV rating, the higher the air filtration capabilities of a filter. Unfortunately, upgrading your standard MERV-8 filter to a MERV-13, at a cost of $100-$300 per filter, will not work for all situations since older equipment often does not support newer filters. As an alternative, one can install higher MERV rated filters with a low-pressure drop and at a premium. For instance, installing HEPA filters (MERV17-20) at a cost of $200-$500 each and can remove 99.97% of biological and inorganic material and are recommended by AHSRE for use in sterile environments as a higher line of defense for viruses.

Disinfecting

Disinfecting is all the rage in office environments right now for stopping the spread of COVID-19 droplets through the air. The two most common solutions are Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) and Bipolar Ionization (BPI). A UVGI solution is great for keeping coils clean in your equipment, and the install typically takes a day or two. At a cost of $200 to $300 worth of bulbs every year and an ongoing maintenance expense, UVGI has expenses that other solutions such as BPI may not have. ASHRE endorses UV-C bulbs as a guideline, and the equipment can be custom-tailored to your existing HVAC system.

Bipolar Ionization or Non-thermal Plasma Technology (BPI) is a system that converts oxygen into charged atoms that eliminate mold, bacteria, allergens, and viruses. There are a few different ways to address your space when considering BPI, though it can be installed along with your current HVAC system regardless of equipment type and distribution. We are finding that most applications will likely cost you under $1.00 per square foot of floor area for the installation of this type of system, which may take a couple of days depending on the complexity of the system. Dozens of controlled independent laboratory test results show that this technology can reduce 99.9% Influenza A virus, 99.43% reduction in  Escherichia coli (E. coli), and 98.6% reduction in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in just one hour. On top of all that, it reduces food odors!

It is important to note that different types of buildings have different types of HVAC systems. If your office space is within a single-story building, the HVAC solution might be very different from that of a high-rise building. Furthermore, depending on the type of building and number of companies within the building, a landlord might consider upgrading the entire building system or instead require companies to make their own upgrades at their cost. No matter the scenario, if you are interested in understanding the best solution to upgrade the HVAC system of your company’s office space, please contact our team for a free consultation.

By Corporate Safety Director Bob Walsh

With the summer upon us, we will all experience extreme temperatures, high humidity, and poor air quality at some point. These extreme conditions set the stage for serious medical concerns regarding the safety of the workers on our jobsites. Heat exhaustion and stroke can occur; both major life-threatening conditions.

There are ways you can immediately raise awareness and precautions. Below are some helpful tips for monitoring jobsite safety:

• Constantly monitor workers for symptoms of heat distress, such as extreme physical weakness, light-headedness, dizziness, headaches, rapid heartbeat, slowed breathing, dry skin, pale skin color, and sunburn.
• Consider temporarily adjusting the start and end times of construction to correspond with current weather conditions
• Rent larger space fans for work in confined spaces such as attics or upper floors.
• Take advantage of available shady areas to perform work in.
• Allow more frequent rest breaks in shady areas and make drinking water plentifully available to all work areas.

Workers on jobsites should be encouraged to do the following:

• Wear lightweight, lightly-colored, loose clothing that covers as much of their body as possible.
• Drink water (or Gatorade) frequently throughout the day, eating lighter meals or snacks. Do not eat or add additional salt to your diet – this can further dehydrate your body!
• Take breaks offered by supervisors.
• Encourage workers to report any medical symptoms of distress or illness to their supervisor, immediately. Have the affected worker move to a shady area, cool their body down by wiping their skin with a damp cloth, and give them cold water to sip on. Call an ambulance right away.

Let’s all do our part to stay safe in these high-heat summer months!

By Project Solutions Manager Ralph Kreider and HR Specialist Bonnie Cronin

An integral component of the Harkins philosophy is People Development. This means we mentor, train, and support our employees so they can become the best they can be. When the global pandemic changed our world, it not only affected where we work but how we work, too. Adapting rapidly to this new environment opened a new door for Harkins to innovate the way in which we offer professional development opportunities for our employees.

Since March 17, 2020, Harkins employees have been participating in virtual training classes and webinars. We knew the use of Microsoft Teams would be vital to helping us maintain business as usual and facilitating meetings, both internally and externally. What we did not anticipate was the momentum this gained and how technology helped fuel our organization to be more human-centric.

The “11 am Series” as it is now known, has given employees across the company a unique opportunity to learn new things and gain deeper insight into other departments and topics. With a robust offering of courses, over 55 classes were taught by a variety of internal and external subject matter experts.

Topics included:

• Understanding the GMP Process
• Procore Procedures
• Scheduling Basics
• Using Building Information Modeling (BIM)
• Understanding Harkins Financials
• Virtual Site Tours by Drone
• Creating Investment and Emergency Plans
• LinkedIn 101
• Innovating in a Time of Crisis

The average class size was between 30 and 40 people. For those unable to join the class, all sessions were recorded and put in our online library so that they can continue to be used for future learning opportunities. While these unprecedented times have created uncertainty in the world around us, Harkins has embraced it as an opportunity to foster growth and connectivity. We welcome new ideas, expertise, and the people who can present them, and continue to prioritize training and development throughout our organization.

As we celebrate our 55th Anniversary, we open the Harkins Header archives to take a walk down memory lane. Did you know that the first issue of the Harkins Header was published in the Fall of 1972? This edition stated that the Header was a way to keep employees and their families informed about all things Harkins; what we are doing as a company, what we plan to do as a company, and who is doing it. Although the Header started out being published quarterly just for employees and their families, it has since shifted to being published three times a year and sent to over 4,000 of our clients, architects, consultants, business friends, and employees.

Over the course of the last 48 years, the magazine has undergone multiple revamps. While mastheads have shrunk and expanded, borders have come and gone, and fonts have changed, our iconic red color has been untouched. One of the most notable changes throughout the years has been the cover. Starting out being text-heavy and including hand-drawn graphics, our covers advanced within the first five years of production to feature black and white pictures. The cutting-edge publication then advanced to full-color printing and production in the summer of 2000. While the face of the magazine has evolved in response to trends in graphic design, the purpose has always been the same – to communicate the health of our business, promote our culture, feature our people and projects, and provide the thoughts of our leaders to our clients, architects, and employees. Additionally, it has served as a dynamic marketing piece for the company.

We would like to thank all our readers for supporting our endeavors along the way.