What is ‘Clean Air as a Service’ and how is it tackling airborne transmission

The Covid pandemic has shaken the world, and the response has been the development of new tech services that could vastly improve quality of life and health services. One of the sectors targeted presently is air filtration services, introducing Clean Air as a Service (CAaaS). 

This service combines air quality monitoring and air filtration, presenting business owners with a means to create a cleaner and healthier environment for their employees. 

For businesses monitoring and improving air quality is not just going to lower the risk of Covid-19 and protect employees but also presents an opportunity for companies to save money. Employees breathing in harmful airborne particles creates a significant health risk and can easily result in sickness absences or decreased employee morale.

Businesses lose an average of £544 per employee absent due to sickness per day of leave. This statistic is based solely on the salaries of individuals on sick leave. However, many companies provided feedback stating they do not believe that data is accurate to calculate the loss. The issue here is that few businesses included the cost of overtime, missed business opportunities, and reduced performance or services. This number would then dramatically increase. Once companies add on the £14 billion costs of mental illness absence from work costs (reported by the ons.gov.uk studies in 2019), there becomes a real incentive to improve the workplace environment and lower these losses.

The specialists at Airscan have taken their previous knowledge of Outdoor Air Quality (OAQ) and traffic congestion, using its state of the art technology to launch its Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) monitoring system using the same technology that has proved successful in the past. Business places can have this installed. Using a web-based management dashboard, they can easily monitor air purity and health risks with tailored scans to pick up specific threats (dependant on the environment).

As a whole, this system saves money and provides peace of mind to employees when returning to the workplace is understandably daunting. The founder of Airscan, Julia McNally, says, “Smart building technology is becoming adopted at speed with a focus on employee well-being and productivity. Air quality is an area that can improve employee productivity and health. As we adapt to the new normal, monitoring the air inside buildings and activating frequent air cleaning events ensures the healthiest environment for employees and allows them to return to the workplace with confidence.” 

In reference to the pandemic crisis, McNally also comments, “We’ve looked at many products on the market, but GojiAir is the only medical-grade system that uses the global patented NCCO technology, which neutralises 99.95% of viruses and bacteria, including human coronavirus and COVID-19. By combining Airscan with GojiAir and offering Clean Air as a Service, businesses can benefit from clean air monitoring and cleaning from as little as £1.20 per day.” 

When you think about the cost of sickness absences, the price of implementing this system into the workplace seems nearly nothing and, more importantly, can save lives. 

Studies have shown that over 4 million people die prematurely from illnesses attributed to indoor air pollution, many of which are entirely avoidable. This number is several times higher than outdoor levels due to the enclosed space or lack of ventilation/ clean air. 

We have covered what companies could save when it comes to cost, but there is also evidence that indoor air quality can improve employee performance and increase profits. Studies found that employees performed 61% better on cognitive tasks in areas with superior air filtration than those without a filtration device. 

Businesses presently are more aware of the need for improved hygiene in the workplace; with COVID-19 still being a serious concern, the need to improve cleanliness in the workplace is no longer just about preventing a staff member from spreading the common cold. The main focus now is saving lives. 

Many have already seen the need to protect their employees. George Kasparis, Business Development Manager at Goji Group, states, “We’ve sold over two million NCCO filtration systems globally, which are suitable for offices, schools, residential care homes, salons, hospitals, and organisations of all sizes and delivers a highly effective layer of hygiene. We look forward to working with Airscan and offering Clean Air as a Service”. 

For some business owners having their workforce return following the pandemic using systems like this could help them recover financially from the costs of social distancing precautions, PPE, and in the worst cases, the need to close down for deep cleans and send employees home to self-isolate.

With COVID-19 proven by scientists to be an airborne virus, the most innovative way to eliminate risk in the office would be a comprehensive filtration system. The benefits of reducing these health risks and contaminants and improving air quality at work highly outweigh the cost of implementing them and the daily expenditure of running the system. Interestingly before Covid-19, a vast 68% of employees expected to spread viruses and bugs in the office and accepted that as unavoidable. This cost the UK 38.8 million lost workdays, and the economy lost £16.2 million each year. Now our eyes have been opened to the importance of hygiene and maintaining a safe environment. 

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