Most safety issues are straightforward: Blocked aisles, trip hazards, missing machine guards, electrical problems and the like. Such problems are generally easy to identify and simple to correct. Indoor air quality (IAQ) issues aren't like most safety problems. In this article, I'll discuss the challenges posed by IAQ problems and provide you with some solutions to the most common complaints. There is also a sample IAQ Employee Survey and IAQ Complaint Investigation Form.

Recognizing IAQ Problems

One of the biggest challenges posed by IAQ problems is that they're invisible. You know them only by their effects on employees. Unfortunately, it often takes a long time to recognize those effects and connect them to an IAQ problem. How often have you heard these comments from your employees?

• When I come into work, it smells musty (or damp, stale, funny, etc.).
• After I've been here a while, I get stuffy (or a sore throat, a cough, dizzy, nauseous, light-headed, tired, a rash, a headache, watery eyes, etc.).
• It's too dry (or humid, hot, cold, drafty, stagnant, etc.).

And how often has your reply been something like:

• There's a lot of that going around.
• Yeah, sometimes I don't feel too good myself.
• Susan mentioned that last week.

Or the classic:

• Learn to live with it.

The Consequences of Not Recognizing IAQ Problems

Brushing off IAQ problems can aggravate an already bad situation. When IAQ issues are ignored or trivialized, one of two things can happen:

• Some people will indeed "learn to live with it." But this stoic stance leads to misery that may result in lowered productivity and morale. And, in some instances, those who live with it may suffer more ill effects than simple discomfort. That can lead to expensive lost time illnesses.
• If you don't address employees' IAQ complaints, they may get frustrated and complain to a regulatory agency, such as OSHA or the local Health Department. You'll then have no choice but to remedy the situation--and quickly.

Conclusion

The moral: You need to deal with IAQ complaints as you would any other safety issue. One of the first things to do is to conduct a survey asking employees to detail their complaints. This way you can determine whether a problem exists and how to deal with it. There's a Model Survey attached to this article. Next week, we’ll look at some of the most common kinds of IAQ complaints and how to address them.

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