businessinfomag.uk
magazine
08
IoT sensors to transform
working environment in
Microsoft offices
As part of a programme to use the Internet
of Things (IoT) to improve the working
environment in its offices, Microsoft is
deploying sensors that monitor CO2,
lighting, noise and temperature levels.
The first offices to be kitted out with
the sensors are the Luxembourg premises
of Microsoft’s Global Sales, Marketing and
Operations (GSMO) and Skype.
Microsoft hopes that the provision of
real-time data on their working environment
will enable staff to be more comfortable and
productive. For example, sensors in meeting
and collaboration rooms that change colour
when the air quality deteriorates will enable
staff to see at a glance when they should open
the door and/or take a break to avoid loss of
concentration.
Candi Carrera, Microsoft country manager,
said: “We wanted to create the best place
to work for our employees and guarantee
their well-being. This is the first phase in the
company’s campaign to improve its working
environment through the Internet of Things
(IoT). Ultimately, Microsoft wants to inspire
others with this project to initiate their own
digital transformations.”
Global professional services consultancy
Turner & Townsend, which since 2006 has
completed 54 projects worldwide for Microsoft,
provided project and cost management services
for the digital transformation of the tech giant’s
Luxembourg offices.
Spaces to launch
Liverpool site
Dutch creative workspace pioneer Spaces is
opening a 10,300 ft2 creative, co-working hub
in Liverpool. Occupying the second and third
floors of the Tea Factory, Spaces Liverpool will
provide local professionals with more than 120
open plan workstations, as well as a selection of
offices and meeting rooms for private meetings
and quieter work. The company already has hubs
in London (just off Oxford Street), Glasgow
and Gerrards Cross, as well as premises in the
Netherlands, USA, Australia, Mexico, Japan and
Singapore.
Drop-in workspace
membership
Addressing growing demand from freelancers
for flexible, drop-in workspace, The Office Group
(TOG) has launched a lounge membership
offering access to 22 lounges (including The
Shard) and 15 roof gardens for up to 32 hours a
month. Membership costs £50 per month. TOG
provides growing businesses with flexible office
space, co-working memberships, virtual business
addresses, meeting rooms and event spaces.
It has 33 locations, of which 31 are in central
London.
Co-working space
Studio RHE has completed a healthy and uplifting co-
working space for Huckletree in the Alphabeta building
in London. The shared workspace provides a wide
variety of spaces, atmospheres and functions, including
a kitchen, auditorium, break out space, presentation
space and social space.
Green buildings do more than just help the
environment. According to a new study from
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
and SUNY Upstate Medical University,
they also improve the health and cognitive
function of the people within them.
A United Technologies-supported study of
109 workers in 10 buildings in five US cities
found that people working in green-certified
buildings had 26% higher cognitive function
scores, 30% fewer sick building symptoms and
6% higher sleep quality scores than workers in
similarly high-performing buildings that were
not green-certified.
Participants in green buildings also had
73% higher crisis response scores; 44% higher
applied activity level scores, reflecting their
greater ability to gear decision-making towards
overall goals; and 38% higher focused activity
level scores, indicating a greater capacity to
concentrate on specific tasks.
This study builds on a 2015 COGfx Study –
COGfx is shorthand for your brain’s cognitive
function – which found significantly higher
cognitive function test scores for office workers
in a simulated green building environment with
better ventilation than a conventional building.
John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer
at United Technologies, said: “Certified green
buildings not only deliver environmental
benefits, they can have positive impacts on the
productivity and thinking of the people in those
buildings. That’s a powerful combination that
can accelerate the green building movement
globally.”
The full report
The Impact of Working in a
Green Certified Building on Cognitive Function
and Health
is available at
Green-certified
buildings best
for health
l to r: Dr Joseph Allen, Dr Usha Satish,
Dr Piers MacNaughton, Dr Jack Spengler
