Much has been made of the link between indoor air quality and a number of health concerns, with attention largely being paid to office spaces and inside homes. Given that we spend 90% of our lives indoors, there is increasing pressure on those tasked with delivering ventilation to consider how effectively air is being circulated.

The Health and Safety Executive provides minimum requirements for indoor air quality, but it is important to be aware that more could be done to improve the working environment. 

Providing effective ventilation in industrial buildings presents a unique challenge, since it must create an environment that is healthy for both staff and machinery. This often means removing airborne contaminants, toxins, flammable vapours, and large amounts of heat, which industrial process and machines invariably produce.

It is an area of indoor air quality that has not received enough attention, perhaps owing to a damaging misconception that pollutants are unavoidable in industrial settings. However, employees that spend most of their working day in industrial premises have as much right to clean air as those working in an office, and appropriate measures must be taken to alleviate this issue.

Alongside the direct health implications of working in bad atmospheric conditions, there is also evidence to suggest a link between air quality and concentration. When you consider the dangerous machinery that employees are often operating in industrial premises, it is critical that they are as alert as possible. 

A major issue is that industrial buildings vary significantly in layout and design, which means the type of ventilation required is dependent on the specific application. For example, in factories where contaminant sources are weak or of low toxicity, satisfactory ambient conditions can be achieved by dilution. Distribution depots present a different challenge, as vast storage areas and high ceilings dictate a solution that is equipped to deal with these factors. 

Clearly, there is no one size fits all when it comes to industrial ventilation, with the vast majority of buildings in this environment requiring a specialist solution. To ensure the health of employees and maximise productivity, it is important that businesses open a dialogue with air movement specialists. Elta Fans, for example, has a range of products specially designed to meet industrial requirements, and in cases where something more advanced is required, its Applied Technology division is able to provide bespoke solutions.