Improving Ventilation Standards in Building and Construction

Ventilation is an essential aspect of building design and performance. Proper ventilation in buildings can help maintain healthy indoor air quality and reduce the spread of airborne contaminants, including viruses.

However, despite the availability of training programs and regulatory frameworks, fundamental mistakes in ventilation design, installation, and commissioning continue to occur repeatedly.

This article explores the reasons behind these persistent errors and proposes strategies to improve ventilation standards in building design and construction.

 

The Persistence of Fundamental Mistakes

For over a decade, various training programs and compliance guides have been available in the UK and Ireland to improve ventilation
standards in building design and construction. These programs aim to equip professionals with the knowledge and skills required to
design, install, and commission ventilation systems that meet minimum standards.

Since 2010 and the release of the Domestic Ventilation Compliance guide in the UK, there have been 2-3 day courses on ventilation
aimed at the industry with a mix of theory and practical assessment. These have included BPEC and NICEIC training with, and in theory,
enhanced policing of companies under the NICEIC umbrella and now Trustmark.

In Ireland since 2019 it has been a requirement that all ventilation systems are installed by competent persons, backed by regulations.
This training mirrors the training given in the UK under the schemes there. Despite the availability of these programs, however, fundamental
mistakes in ventilation design, installation, and commissioning continue to occur repeatedly.

One possible reason for the persistence of these errors is a lack of accountability. Building control has been a long-standing concept,
yet compliance with minimum standards remains elusive in the UK and most European countries.

Many countries are now pushing for some form of third-party independent validation of ventilation systems, but the implementation and
enforcement of these regulations are often weak.

For example, in Ireland, all new houses and major renovations should have been inspected by third-party entities from 2019 onwards,
but as of today, there is no organised or formal database that building control can access to view these validations.

This lack of accountability makes it easier for professionals to ignore minimum standards or deliberately obfuscate their non-compliance.

Another possible reason for the persistence of fundamental mistakes has to be the training itself. After all, if 10 years of broadly similar
training programs still produce poor results, are we training in the right way at all, or enforcing training adequately?

For example, some programs may only include a few hours of practical assessment on rigs, which may not be sufficient to impart practical
skills or ensure compliance with minimum standards.

Inadequate training can lead to a lack of knowledge, skills, or motivation to implement good ventilation design practices.

Training also needs to be repeated and reinforced. If this is not done in-house within the organisation trades work,
then skills will be lost and bad practices repeated.

    Breaking the Cycle: Strategies for Improving Ventilation Standards

o improve ventilation standards in building design and construction, several strategies can be implemented. These strategies focus on improving accountability, enforcing training requirements, and providing practical
support to professionals.

   Enforcing Accountability:

To enforce accountability, building control authorities need to implement and enforce regulations that require
third-party independent validation of ventilation systems. These validations should be accessible to building
control in an organized and formal database to enable effective monitoring and enforcement of minimum standards.
Non-compliance should also attract significant penalties to discourage professionals from ignoring minimum standards
or obfuscating their non-compliance.

If third-party validations are not part of the system yet, as in the UK, then building control will simply have to resource
this properly and do it themselves. When was the last time you saw a building inspector with any equipment capable of testing a ventilation system?

   Training Requirements:

Practical assessment should also be adequately enforced and standardized to ensure that professionals acquire the
necessary skills to design, install, and commission ventilation systems that meet minimum standards.

Providing Practical Support:

To provide practical support, manufacturers of ventilation products can offer on-site support and training with their products.
This support can include advice, nudges, and toolbox training, free of charge to professionals. Manufacturers can also offer
simple and straightforward ways of assessing the quality of the installation to maintain a high bar of installation quality.

This practical support can help reinforce good habits and improve outcomes for new entrants.

   Ongoing Performance:

With more and more standards requiring some form of ongoing monitoring of spaces, building professionals will need to
ensure that ventilation systems remain fit for purpose throughout their lifecycle.

Manufacturers can help by designing systems that can adapt and remain effective even as building usage and occupancy
change over time. Building professionals will increasingly use monitoring data to identify issues and make necessary adjustments.

The flip side to that is, brands and systems will inevitably be judged on the ongoing performance of their products not just
their commissioned performance or theoretical specification.