BS 40102 and what it means for your business
BS 40102 is a new British standard that is currently under development. When introduced it will cover health and wellbeing, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and overheating in non-domestic buildings. In this article, we’ll be looking at what BS 40102 is in more details and what it could potentially mean for your business going forward.
What is BS 40102?
The BS 40102 began as PAS 3003, an industry specification that aimed to assess the quality of indoor environments and reduce the effects of overheated and poorly ventilated non-domestic buildings. This had the overall goal of improving the mental and physical health of building occupants.
PAS 3003 became BS 40102 when it was merged with a proposal from the British Standards and fast-tracked. The new standard deals with concerns relating to regulatory and commercial pressure, which has led building developers and managers to prioritise lowering operational costs, that may have come at the expense of the comfort and safety of occupants. An example of this is unsuitable ventilation.
As worries continue to develop over the long-term effects and cost of bad health and the added pressure on public services, it’s essential that improvements are made to the quality and standards of non-domestic premises.
The standard will implement a framework for assessing buildings to highlight where problems occur, and to lay out requirements for monitoring and evaluating health and wellbeing parameters. As expert factory design consultants we can help you make sure you’ve got all the best processes and practices in place to adhere to the upcoming BS 40102.
The two parts of BS 40102
Part 1- Health and Wellbeing in Buildings
Part one of the new standard will offer recommendations for the measuring, monitoring, and reporting of wellbeing and IEQ* (indoor environmental quality) performance of an occupied building and the relevant services. It will include an evaluation and rating system, with the goal of improving IEQ and creating generally healthier buildings and improving the wellbeing of those inside the building. The IEQ performance score, that is awarded after evaluation, can be used as a benchmark for businesses to understand areas for improvement.
Part one will apply to all types of non-domestic buildings including existing building stock.
*IEQ is used to measure any factors in a building that could adversely affect the occupants’ health and wellbeing. It is a more holistic way of measuring building conditions rather than just focusing on air quality, as it will cover extra factors like damp, sound, and lighting.
Part 2- Thermal Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Overheating
Part 2 will provide technical benchmarks that look at the health and wellbeing problems found in Part 1. Basically, it will develop the best approach for practices related to thermal comfort, overheating, and internal air quality.
What will BS 40102 mean for you?
The new standard is intended to offer tangible benefits to businesses such as employee loyalty, cost, and energy savings, and reducing greenhouse gases. For practical use in the food processing industry for example, the standard will be best used when retrofitting buildings.
British Standards are not enforced by law (although the contents might be covered in legislation), but it shows a commitment to upholding the highest standards. To conform to the standard, organisations will need to do things like:
- Improve thermal comfort
- Increase the quality of indoor air, specifically relating to factors that can be harmful to humans e.g., humidity, CO2, CO, NO2, volatile organic compounds (VOC), particulates, microbes, and moulds
- Make sure that any changes to how airtight the building is boost energy conservation
- Use expert consultants to design, install, and commission appropriate ventilation systems
- Take a whole-building approach to projects to ensure there is a safe route to net zero carbon buildings
When will BS 40102 be introduced?
BS 40102 has so far been drafted and opened up to public comment. It will go into the ‘comment resolution’ phase at the end of October, which is the last step before it’s officially approved and published.
The original proposal was initially tabled in August, but it is being fast-tracked. So, it is likely to be introduced quite quickly after the comment resolution stage has concluded. This is currently expected to happen in early 2023.
Summary
BS 40102 is an important standard that many industries with large commercial premises should be prepared for, particularly sectors where ventilation is especially important like agricultural, petrochemical, and food engineering.
Our team of experienced factory setup consultants can help ensure your operations and processes are prepared and in keeping with the new British Standard. We provide the resources you need onsite to manage your project works, from cost effective management support to health and safety and various other important elements to keep your company running as efficiently as possible.