From the Editor
   How many times have you sat in an educational session at a trade show and heard something similar to: “…and because of our green building initiatives, we expect a boost in productivity by as much as 20 percent.”
    These days, when a presenter makes the mistake of claiming these unsubstantiated productivity gains, about 15 hands immediately shoot up and whoever the presenter calls on yells out, “Prove it!”.
    Common sense dictates that at some level these claims — though maybe not as drastic as 20 percent — are correct. But how do you measure productivity? One way is to compare sick days in a new green building with sick days or even health care costs in the previous, non-green building. Another way is occupant-satisfaction surveys — where you compare the before-and-after results. But do either of these methods really measure productivity? In its most literal form, productivity is an input/output measure. And absentee rate or occupant satisfaction only tangentially measure productivity.
    All is not lost, however. As I’ve been researching an article for Building Operating Management magazine on evidence-based design, I’ve learned that there is great deal of research being done to make a direct link between particular building strategies or characteristics (such as good IAQ) to specific white collar productivity outcomes (such as billable hours). It’s really an exciting and interesting field of research — and one with which health care facility executives no doubt are familiar already.
    So, my advice is to keep an eye on the idea of measuring productivity and watch for evidence-based design studies that endeavor to do so. Many experts say designing with productivity in mind is the next great trend in the facility industry. 
    Have you used specific facility strategies, whether design or operational, and then studied the outcomes in terms of productivity?  As always, I’d love to hear about it! 

Cheers,

Greg Zimmerman, editor  

Green Strategies
Greener Space, Better Space
This article explains ways design and product selection can have profound effects on the health and productivity of occupants.

In the News
Sustainable Design Can Boost Student Performance, Research Shows
A research paper from Air Quality Sciences Inc. evaluates the latest studies and scientific papers published on green school design and discusses the way improved indoor air quality and learning environments affect student and teacher performance, operations and maintenance, and the bottom line.

Green Toolkit
The Pebble Project
Whether or not you’re in the health care field, the Pebble Project offers resources and advice on how to do evidence-based design research in your own facilities. The site offers several case studies and examples of completed evidence-based design studies from facilities all over the country.

Green Pulse

Click here to respond to the poll. If you are not yet a member of MyFacilitiesnet.com, please click here first to register, then sign into your account, and then click here to vote.

GreenTech Conference & Exposition

Indoor Air Quality and Employee Productivity