Our guide to maximising productivity on your site

When operating a facility, whether in the commercial, industrial or retail space, productivity can be impacted in numerous ways. Illness, distractions, equipment malfunctioning – the way your team will operate can change drastically depending on circumstances that might seem out of your control.

One element to maximising productivity you might not have considered, one that has a big impact on a lot more than just productivity, is thermal comfort.

What is thermal comfort?

Thermal comfort is simply about setting a temperature in your facility that your workers find most comfortable.

Establishing thermal comfort requires the consideration of several factors:

The time of year
The weather and humidity levels
What those that work on your site are expected to wear
What type of work they are doing
What temperature those workers consider comfortable

Considering these factors makes it much easier to make an environment in which your staff are more comfortable and more productive. Studies have shown that thermal comfort has a significant impact on performance at work.

From offices to production lines, it’s easy for temperatures to have an impact on staff productivity, and it’s not just about being too hot or too cold.

In a poll conducted by British energy provider, E.ON – of 2,000 workers across the UK, 7 out of 10 said that they were unhappy with the climate at their workplace.

In fact, temperature (and the changing of temperature) was the number one reason behind employee arguments. That puts temperature shifts above loud phone calls or music, smelly food, or untidiness on desks. So it’s not just about productivity; it has an impact on culture as well.

A month-long study carried out by Cornell University found that workers who found their environment to be too cold made more errors to the point that it increased a worker’s hourly labour cost by 10%. Just by shifting the temperature up from 20°C to 25°C, errors fell by 44% and general output increased by 150%.

Of course, an office setting where an open window might bring in occasional unwanted cold is very different to factories where equipment is running for hours on end and temperatures can increase considerably. In these settings, where staff are on their feet and moving around, their own internal temperature means that even a small increase in their own internal temperatures can make a huge difference to their ability to work.

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive states that “temperature in the workrooms should normally be at least 16°C unless much of the work involves severe physical effort in which case the temperature should be at least 13°C”, so it’s vital that you keep the work environment cool.

How do you make sure that environments stay at the right temperature?

Of course, running air conditioning all day is only going to increase your energy expenditure, both monetarily and in terms of the environmental cost. And as business the world over try to reduce unnecessary energy usage on their journey towards net zero, how can you better control the temperature within your facility?

1. Regularly service your equipment

The best first step you can take is making sure your air conditioning and heating units are running efficiently. By cleaning and properly servicing them, you don’t just make sure that they run efficiently, but it also helps avoid potential breakdowns.

2. Investing in UVGI (Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation)

UVGI can be installed within HVAC systems to help avoid mould or bacteria growing within them by killing the biofilm on your system’s cooling coil. They don’t just help to eliminate germs within air conditioning; UVGI help to keep the air quality high.

3. Install supporting technology

Your HVAC system isn’t the only piece of equipment you can use to make sure that the environment on your site stays at the right temperature. In many places with open doors or windows, or large rooms, you need extra technology to help avoid your systems overrunning.

Enershield Air Barriers are an ideal way of making sure large openings – whether between two internal rooms like refrigeration units or between internal and external spaces – don’t cause a significant exchange of temperature. Designed to create a strong flow of air that creates an effective seal between the opening, they’re a much more efficient, cleaner and safer alternative to PVC Plastic Curtains.

Enershield Air Barriers are useful if you find your facility has a lot of temperature transfer, but if you need to reduce the heat within a building, the best option might not be air conditioning; it’s actually evaporative cooling.

In comparison to traditional air conditioning, evaporative cooling can save up to 85% of the cost in terms of energy usage. Based on the principles of evaporation, hot and dry outside air is drawn through water-soaked cooling pads. As the air is pulled through these pads, the water evaporates and the heat is absorbed, lowering the air temperature. A fan then pushes the cool air throughout the building via a network of ducts.

Heating or cooling larger spaces with high ceilings, like warehouses or factory floors, is very difficult for traditional HVAC units – because warm air rises, HVAC systems need to be constantly adding new warm air at ground level to keep your staff warm.

Destratification fans help cycle the air through your facility meaning you don’t have to use so much energy powering your HVAC systems. These don’t just work at keeping spaces warm; setting them at higher speeds causing a ‘wind chill’ effect which keeps circulating air cooler.

Thermal comfort isn’t the only factor worth considering in order to help maximise productivity; cleanliness can also play a huge role in how productive your staff are. Poor smells from mould, or illness caused by air pollution or germs spreading, can significantly impact your workers’ productivity.

As mentioned above, Enershield Air Barriers help separate the temperature transfer between two environments, but they can also help avoid ingress of particulate matter and insects helping keep your staff safe from the risks of air pollution. And of course, UVGI also helps eliminate the spread of bacteria with your HVAC systems.

If you’d like to know more about how warm temperatures can impact air quality, we published an article on how summer impacts indoor air quality which you can read here.

Creating an environment where your staff feel comfortable doesn’t just help with productivity; discomfort in work can be a factor towards staff leaving their job. Building the right system that supports your staff, your facility and your systems is an investment in your business’s future.