Maintenance Program For Air-Conditioning System For Best Indoor Air Quality

Literature Review

Good indoor quality of air enhances the comfort, health and the productivity of the workplace of the occupant. The quality mainly refers to the quality in indoor office, classrooms, and the environment of the laboratories or the residential rooms of the building as opposed to the industrial settings. These areas generally include natural ventilation from the windows that are accessible or the mechanical ventilation from the ventilation, heating and the air conditioning system (HVAC) system (Kumar et al. 2016). The quality of the air in the indoors illustrates the effect of indoor or inside air on the health, comfort and the ability of the person towards their productivity (Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, Department of OCcupational Safety and Health 2010). Factors such as the humidity, temperature, bacteria, poor ventilation, mould, and exposure to the chemicals has become a matter of the increased concern of the public concern regarding the degrading quality of the indoor air. According to the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 by the department of occupational safety and health it is essential towards the increase in the compliances of the designated workplaces (Godish 2016). Approved by the minister on the date of 30 August 2010, this code of practice in the industry highlights the requirement of the good indoor quality of air for a healthy environment in the indoors. The code of practice furthermore explains how the degrading quality if the indoor air have high tendency to result in a variety of both long and short term issues related to the health. Some of the health problems associated with quality indoor air quality (IAQ) includes respiratory issues, irritation in the eye, allergic reactions, pneumonia, bronchitis and other. Poor indoor air quality issue generally occurs in the buildings which generally includes the system of Mechanical and Ventilating and Air Conditioning System (MVAC) that included air cooled split unit (Steinemann, Wargocki and Rismanchi, 2017). The problems of the indoor air quality can also be for inadequate ventilation of the building. The main aim of the code of practice of the industry has been drawn for ensuring protection of the occupants and the employees from poor air quality in the indoors of the building which in turn has higher tendency to adversely affect their wellbeing and health. Stipulated under the Section 15 of Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1994 (OSHA), the code of practice emphasizes on the responsibilities of an occupier who undergoes the management of the work place of the building (Bruce et al. 2015). The assignment illustrates a proposal of research regarding the quality of air of the indoors and the maintenance program for the air conditioning system in the building for ensuring the best and comfortable working environment.

The indoor air and environmental quality are generally a combination of various parameters like the quality and climate of the indoor air, the visual comfort and the thermal comfort. According to various research studies, comfortable indoor air circulation improves the productivity and the performance of the individual who live, work or study in the building. According to the research study by Al Horr et al. (2016) indoor quality air takes into the consideration various categories  of air pollutants with regard of the relative humidity and the indoor air temperature. The research study highlights the most common pollutants in indoor air conditioning which are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ozone, sulfur dioxide, dust and volatile organic compounds (Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia, Department of OCcupational Safety and Health 2010). The authors of the study furthermore highlighted the concentration of carbon dioxide which is used as parameter of the indoor air quality for showing the efficiency of the roof ventilation (Sarijuddin et al. 2017).  The poor air quality tends to result in throat and eye infection, fatigue, headache and dry air issues. According to the research study by Bruce et al. (2015) acoustic discomfort is generally caused by the noise and the pollution from the air pollutants indoors and the visual comfort is basically possible to achieve by adequate awareness.

The Importance of Indoor Air Quality

In his research Ooi et al. (2017) raised the instances of relation among the rate of productivity and the air or the environment quality of the indoors. Productivity rate of the  individuals in the building can be affected by the quality of the air conditioning in the building. Ventilation systems are generally designed for the creation of comfortable thermal conditions and effective good indoor air quality in the buildings. Alteration of ventilation of the rate of the air flow has higher chances to improve the productivity of the individual (Abdul-Wahab et al. 2015). Studies regarding the connection among the rate of ventilation and the productivity depicts the factors such as the cold air or unnecessary heat among the room are some of the factors that furthermore affects the air conditioning system of the building and affects the comfortable and the peaceful working environment (Arif et al.2016). Studies furthermore depicted that the temperature related to the indoor air and the relative humidity, quality of indoor air and the pattern of air distribution strongly depends on the rate of ventilation air flow. The category of the ventilation system and the air distribution devices designate the rate of the air flow.

In the research study by Er et al. (2015) the authors illustrated the methodology in the basis of 15 cross sectional and 5 experimental investigations among 350 buildings and 30000 participants in the building which revealed the symptoms of sick building syndrome which are often registered at the rate of the ventilations that are lower than 10 dm³/s per individual (MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES, MALAYSIA, DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 2010).

Saad, Rasdi and Abidin (2016) in their research study mentioned high risk of respiratory infection among the employees of the workplace building. Most of the employees have to work in the rooms without proper ventilation system which are dangerous foe their health due to poor air quality. The study revealed how sickness tends to affects the health and the wellbeing of the human and their rate of productivity. The concentration of high carbon dioxide tends to one of the minimum reasons for reduced employee performances. The author in the methodology of his research study illustrated how a person inhales about 18 liters of oxygen and discharges about 144 liters of carbon dioxide. Ahmad and Hassim (2015) in their research study conducted a research recording the level of pollutants in the air and the percentage of the employee attendance together with their productivity in a multi national company. The indoor air humidity furthermore affects the productivity of the employees of the building. The research results revealed how most of the people complain regarding their discomfort caused by the temperature of the indoor conditioned air and the rate of air flow in the ventilation (MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES, MALAYSIA, DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 2010). Most of the studies revealed the connection among the ventilation rate and the air temperature that are strongly dependent on the building and the services in that place.

Potential Health Risks of Poor Indoor Air Quality

According to the National Building Code D2 /20/, the quality of the air and the temperature of the air temperature in the room building should be 21°C and should not exceed 25°C during the period of occupancy in the building (Abdul-Wahab et al. 2015). Concentration of various impurities in the indoor air like the microbes, gases and the harmful particles  have  harmful effects towards the health of the human and tends to increase the discomfort level of the individual. The industry code of practice establishes a vivid category of the acceptable exposure that is limited for the contaminants which are specifically chemical and biological (Persily, 2015). The study by various researchers tend to establishes a set of belief towards the acceptable valued for the parameters which are specifically physical. Zakaria et al. (2016) in their research study furthermore describes the scope of the industry code of practice that describes a mechanism towards the identification , evaluation and control of the indoor air contaminants and measures related to occupational safety and health. The study furthermore reveals the industry code of practice that is applicable to all the buildings and the rooms in the building that are basically served by the Mechanical Ventilation And The Air Condition (MVAC) system that furthermore includes split unit of the cooled air that furthermore tends to harm the productivity and the health of the individual.

From the above discussion in the literature review it can be summarized that air pollutants, concentration of high carbon dioxide and lack of efficient roof ventilation in the building serves as the primary and the fundamental ingredients towards the absence of poor indoor air quality and comfortable working environment in the building. Some of the other factors that the literature review of the proposal failed to note are the factors such as the poor maintenance of the air conditioning and the ventilation system, poor design and the unregulated modification of the air conditioning units in the building that contributes to the degrading air quality of the indoors (MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES, MALAYSIA, DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH 2010). Furthermore unplanned design of the building and the usage is one of the other cause that can disrupt the indoor air quality. Some of the other notable factors that effects the air conditioning quality of the building are the household paints that contains a large rate of VOCs which tends to cause headaches and health issues to the working individual.

Conclusion

People in the current days are more attentive to their productivity and health. Poor and degrading air quality are often the reason for health issues and discomfort. Buildings thus needs to be equipped and provided with good indoor environment for the satisfaction of the needs of the people. A healthy and a peaceful environment in the indoors is one of the essential factors contributing to the surroundings in terms of comfort, productivity, the sense of health and well being. The planned research study as per the research proposal will contain all the chapters including the research aim, the research questions and the objectives of the research. The research study will illustrate the maintenance program for the air condition system for ensuring the best quality of the air of the indoors in the building together with a comfortable and safe working environment.

Date	Activities	Frequency	Action records/Evaluation
Jan  – March	· Maintenance of Vehicle exhaust emission · Collection of garbage · Cleaning the Microbial sources · Preventing anthropogenic activities by human	Annually every 3 months	The health of the employees in the organization The rate of attendance of the employees The rate of productivity
April – June	· Cleaning the chemicals and other materials · Maintenance of the air conditioning system · Maintenance of the ventilation system ·  Improvement in the use of better organic components like paints and carpets · Improved maintenance	Once in a week	Feedback from the employees regarding the environment in the workplace Improved image of the corporate Gain in the revenue of the company
July – Sep	· Improvement of unregulated modifications · Modification of unplanned building design and usage	Monthly	Improvement from the sick building syndrome Improvement from the building related illness Developed communication strategies
Oct -Dec	· Internal pest control system · Servicing of air conditioner units ·  Cleaning and equipment services	Annually	Personal activity equipments Designing of the special areas Review of the housekeeping, hygiene, and the maintenance of the work practices

References

Abdul-Wahab, S.A., En, S.C.F., Elkamel, A., Ahmadi, L. and Yetilmezsoy, K., 2015. A review of standards and guidelines set by international bodies for the parameters of indoor air quality. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 6(5), pp.751-767.

Ahmad, N. and Hassim, M.H., 2015. Assessment of Indoor Air Quality Level and Sick Building Syndrome According to the Ages of Building in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Jurnal Teknologi, 76(1), pp.163-170.

Al Horr, Y., Arif, M., Kaushik, A., Mazroei, A., Katafygiotou, M. and Elsarrag, E., 2016. Occupant productivity and office indoor environment quality: A review of the literature. Building and environment, 105, pp.369-389.

Arif, M., Katafygiotou, M., Mazroei, A., Kaushik, A. and Elsarrag, E., 2016. Impact of indoor environmental quality on occupant well-being and comfort: A review of the literature. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 5(1), pp.1-11.

Bruce, N., Pope, D., Rehfuess, E., Balakrishnan, K., Adair-Rohani, H. and Dora, C., 2015. WHO indoor air quality guidelines on household fuel combustion: Strategy implications of new evidence on interventions and exposure–risk functions. Atmospheric Environment, 106, pp.451-457.

Er, C.M., Sunar, N.M., Leman, A.M., Othman, N., Emparan, Q., Parjo, U.K., Gani, P., Jamal, N.A. and Ideris, N.A., 2015. The evaluation of indoor microbial air quality in two new commissioning higher educational buildings in Johor, Malaysia. In Applied Mechanics and Materials (Vol. 773, pp. 1068-1072). Trans Tech Publications.

Godish, T., 2016. Indoor environmental quality. CRC press.

Kumar, P., Martani, C., Morawska, L., Norford, L., Choudhary, R., Bell, M. and Leach, M., 2016. Indoor air quality and energy management through real-time sensing in commercial buildings. Energy and Buildings, 111, pp.145-153.

MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES, MALAYSIA, DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH, 2010. INDUSTRY CODE OF PRACTICE ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY 2010, [Online]. JKKP DP(S) 127/379/4-39, 1-45. Available at: www.dosh.gov.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download [Accessed 27 November 2018].

Ooi, S.S., Mak, J.W., Chen, D.K. and Ambu, S., 2017. The correlation of Acanthamoeba from the ventilation system with other environmental parameters in commercial buildings as possible indicator for indoor air quality. Industrial health, 55(1), pp.35-45.

Persily, A., 2015. Challenges in developing ventilation and indoor air quality standards: The story of ASHRAE Standard 62. Building and Environment, 91, pp.61-69.

Saad, Z.M., Rasdi, I. and Abidin, E.Z., 2016. Indoor Air Quality and Prevalence of Sick Building Syndrome among University Laboratory Workers. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Sciences, 29(2), pp.130-140.

Sarijuddin, F.A., Saudi, A.S.M., Kamarudin, M.K.A., Isa, K.N.A., Mahmud, M., Azid, A., Balakrishnan, A., Abu, I.F., Amin, N.A. and Rizman, Z.I., 2017. Assement on level of indoor air quality at kindergartens in Ampang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, 9(4S), pp.801-811.

Steinemann, A., Wargocki, P. and Rismanchi, B., 2017. Ten questions concerning green buildings and indoor air quality. Building and Environment, 112, pp.351-358.

Zakaria, S., Leman, A.M., Feriyanto, D., Hariri, A. and Nazri, A.A., 2016. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Monitoring In Academic Management Centre. Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 13(1), pp.33-40.