10 minute read
The Role of Technology in the Re-Entry Process
By: Dusty Muck, Rubbermaid Commercial Products
“Georgia is open for business”. This was Governor Brian Kemp’s message to all Georgians in a press conference held on April 6 where he lifted the last of the state’s Covid restrictions on businesses and individuals.
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Over the last year, we have had many ZOOM meetings, sitting in our sweatpants, educating our children at home, while listening to discussions of what our new normal would look like and how Georgians could re-enter their workplaces safely. We heard about Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, touch-free technology, hand hygiene, and we learned about new products like electrostatic sprayers. But in an industry where technology plays an increasingly greater role every year, one must wonder, what role will technology play in making our return to work safer? And, of course, the question on everyone’s mind, when will our tenants return to the office?
“We want people to come back in, and Portman has done a tremendous amount of great work to ensure the building is safe,” Michael Knox, chief engineer at CODA said. “We have no problems getting tenants back into the office safely, the problem is the tenants don’t want to come back into the office. Everyone is still so concerned especially with the new variant out now, no one is sure how that is going to affect the vaccine programs out there. Are the vaccines even going to be effective against the new variants? So, everyone is on a ‘wait-and-see’ because of that.”
Tom Melton, chief engineer with Madison Marquette, agrees with the importance the vaccine will play. “I think they (tenants) are not going to be comfortable coming back until everyone is vaccinated,” Melton said.
The commercial real estate Industry has been busier than ever, during the lockdown period, ensuring the safety of everyone’s return.
“For instance, we are upgrading facilities, making it newer, fresher, brighter,” Leigh McGibboney, senior property manager with Cushman & Wakefield, said. “We are upgrading elevators, we are updating lobby areas, we are creating safe workplaces. Being in the banking industry, it used to be all suits and ties, now it has become more casual. It is really going to flex workspaces. We are even turning a plaza to an outside, comfortable area to eat lunch, while enjoying the fresh air. We are even going to pipe in music. It will make the space look good and encourage people to come back in to work. That is some of the other areas we are looking at.”
McGibboney continued, “We have put in sanitation stations. We put on all the floors a paper towel dispenser and a spray they can take to their desk and spray their own work areas. We have totally increased hand sanitizers on all the floors. Near the restrooms, breakrooms, elevators. We feel like hand sanitizers are a good thing and will remain here for quite a while.”
Melton and his team said they feel they are basically doing everything everybody else is doing. They have placed floor stickers, restroom signs, and have bought a couple of the electrostatic machines. “That is a part of our maintenance daily plans to hit the toilets, stalls, and urinals,” Melton said. “We are disinfecting restrooms nightly with an electrostatic sprayer, wiping down door handles, etc.”
While most all our commercial real estate teams are taking similar steps around sanitization and social distancing, some are using technology in different ways to keep tenants safe. Melton is working with Ultraviolet C (UVC), which it turns out is not necessarily new technology, but it is playing a key role in keeping tenants safe in his office building today.
“We are looking at actually testing a UVC Product from a company from Florida,” Melton said. “The UVC has been around about a century. Hospitals use it, ER’s use it, schools use it. The CDC and ASHRAE have affirmed that it is a product that works. And they come out and said that. We are testing one of these as we speak, we have about a 90-day test on it. I have about 20 years of experience with this product as I have it at my own home.”
This technology protects the coils and makes the unit run more efficiently. Melton said it kills mold, mildew, and it is supposed to kill viruses, but the kicker is it will save a lot of energy. Melton and his team set a test for 90 days. They put kilowatt meters on two separate units, one with and one without the system and will see if they have some savings.
Melton and his team are also considering different technologies but are waiting for official recommendations from different authorities. “The other technology is the bipolar ionization,” Melton said. “What that technology does is ionizes in the atmosphere and it encapsulates the virus and any dust particles, and they fall to the floor and it is very interesting. The only problem I have with it is ASHRAE and the CDC have not affirmed it. Once they affirm it, the technology will take off, but it is tough for me to go to the owner without these affirmations.”
But bipolar technology does have its supporters.
“We probably discussed it for a couple months,” Knox said. “We looked at multiple vendors and compared installation requirements, ongoing maintenance costs, initial costs. The bipolar checked all the marks.”
Knox said is more economical, there was less maintenance needed for it, and it provided a more thorough sanitizing of the area. He said that while because that data isn’t out there yet, he wanted to do some lab tests here in their building.
McGibboney has also installed the ionization technology.
“We had a team of ten people who put in the research and spent about six months investigating the different technologies,” McGibboney said. “Then we put out an RFP in October and we installed in December 2020. We have been monitoring each month. I only have a small market about what tenants say, but the tenants that due come in say, it is so clean in here, what is so different? I know I can feel a difference.”
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McGibboney said that many visitors and vendors noticed the effects. Their janitorial company said the building is not as dusty as it used to be and since it is an older building, and dust is always an issue, but it has not been as bad recently. She said their long-term plans are to use it ongoing.
McGibboney investigated the UV light technology before deciding upon ionization.
“You have to very careful about the placement and you have to be willing to be able to replace parts down the road. In my building we have five large air handlers, about the size of a large room taking care of 30 floors, so that would be a high cost for us,” McGibboney said.
She said their engineers started the investigation that they shared it with the tenant, and they wanted to explore it with all their other locations as well. She said they all worked as a team and decided on the ionization technology.
However, McGibboney did incorporate UV in a very interesting manner, elsewhere in her building.
“Where we did use the UV, light is in our escalators,” McGibboney said. “We have a small UV light that goes on the moving handrail and the device is powered by the movement of the rail itself. As the rail moves along its path the light is constantly disinfecting the rail.”
Melton’s advice for others looking at all these technologies is simple.
“I would say take a hard look at installing either the older more proven UVC technology, or the newer Bi-polar Ionization technology, along with filter MERV upgrades, and possibly air monitoring systems,” Melton said. He said that while the cost may be high, it is important to consider the comfort and piece of mind of the tenant. He said those factors are priceless and may be well worth the cost of new investments.
This pandemic has certainly changed the needs for tenants. In fact, in a recent survey commission by BOMA International and conducted by Brightline Strategies, safety, which includes health safety, is the number three attribute tenants look for when choosing a new location. Safety fell only behind rent and cost and proximity to talent and clients. In the same study, it was found four out of 10 tenants would be willing to pay a premium or have an extra line item added to their contract to have sanitization stations containing masks, gloves, and sanitizer, etc., located around the building. The commercial real estate industry is innovative, creative and continues to push forward, ensuring all the tenants upon their return will have a safe and healthy office. But it will not be without some obstacles.
“I think the biggest obstacle will be people adhering to property guidelines. Government and property regulations are evolving and changing, so the interpersonal element of managing visitors and adhering to guidelines may prove challenging ,” Knox said.
Melton continues to think about his tenants return and what part he and his team will play. He said that staying on top of technology and exploring the options is part of tenant relations and making sure the tenants feel comfortable to return.
“You have got to make them comfortable, and once they come back, we must follow protocol and make sure they are good with coming back,” Melton said. “They are our customers, and we will do whatever it takes to keep them comfortable and safe as far as I am concerned.”
About the Author
Dusty Muck is an Account Manager for Rubbermaid Commercial Products, providing washroom solutions, cleaning, waste/recycling, material handling, and foodservice products to Commercial Real Estate, Healthcare, Travel/Entertainment, Manufacturing, and Education facilities in Georgia. Dusty is currently Chair of the Membership Committee, a member of the Editorial Board, and works on the BOMA Government Affairs Committee, assisting strategies on legislative and regulatory matters affecting the commercial real estate industry in Georgia.
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