Covid-19 Airborne Transmission Control

With airborne transmission of Covid-19 in buildings possibly amplified by building services, BSE|FM are here to help you reduce the spread of Covid-19 particles in your building.

Whether you are looking to reopen your premises, or are currently open, we are here to reduce the risk of airborne transmission of Covid-19 and therefore the risk of infection to your staff, customers and visitors.

Covid-19 is a small particle of less than 1 micron that can exist in the air for up to three hours and travel long distances. Ventilation services in buildings can enable the virus to travel further, and therefore increase the risk of infection to the building occupants. The following measures outline how BSE|FM can help your business.

Supply and Extract Ventilation

The current advice is to increase the supply of outside air as far is practicable. We can review your mechanical ventilation and increase its operation time to maintain fresh air to the building. Additionally, we recommend that where you have fewer staff, avoid moving the staff to a smaller space, instead keep them in a larger space to increase the proportion of fresh air per person.

Exhaust ventilation in WCs should be put into continuous operation, with negative pressure ensured to reduce the faecal-oral transmission route as recognised the the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Heat Recovery

Heat recovery devices that do not prevent cross contamination, such as rotary heat exchangers (e.g. thermal wheels), should be turned off. This will prevent coronavirus particles removed by the exhaust system reentering the building through the supply ducts. 

Heat recovery equipment that does guarantee the separation of air, and therefore does not risk airborne transmission from exhaust to supply, can remain in operation.

BSE|FM can assess whether or not your current heat recovery devices can remain in operation during the current climate. If taken out of operation, once the advice changes we can put your heat recovery plant back into operation.

Recirculation Systems

Like the recommendation to stop operation of heat recovery devices that do not guarantee air separation, recirculation within ventilation systems should also be avoided. Recirculation applies to both centralised plant (such as air handling units), and local plant (such as fan coil units).

BSE|FM can inspect your current system and reconfigure it where necessary to reduce the risk posed to the building occupants. We can either turn off equipment, of where that is not practical, we can implement a strict cleaning schedule of the required equipment. Both routes will help reduce the risk of airborne transmission through ventilation systems in your building.