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Clean Air Classroom! By Roberta MacGillivray, President of The Filter Shop at B.G.E.
Billions of dollars are invested every year in our schools at the elementary, junior high, high school and post-secondary levels to ensure our students have everything they need to learn and become our country’s future leaders. Clean air is important to the learning process and we believe the more we learn, the better we are at providing clean air. An important part of service we provide to our customers. A key element to our philosophy at The Filter Shop is education; we travel all over Western Canada, working with school boards and post-secondary institutions providing education about the intricacies of the “Unseen World of Filtration” through our Clean Air Clinics. Firstly, we provide insight on the unseen world of filtration, discussing the things you can see like dust, hair, poplar fuzz, feathers, etc. – but also discussing the stuff you can’t see, like mould spores, viruses, pollen, and other volatile organic compounds. These are the greatest cause for concern for students, teachers and administrators, in particular those with allergies, asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Our Clean Air Clinics talk about how we can prevent outdoor contaminants from coming into the classrooms, labs and schools, as well as how not to re-introduce existing pol62
Ops Talk • Fall 2013
lutants into the space. For instance, what is going on in the woodworking shop shouldn’t be affecting the food studies kitchen. Secondly, we talk about HVAC equipment. We all know that budgets are squeezed and the best thing to do is to take care of existing equipment so that it doesn’t need to be replaced. Through proper filter selection and simple maintenance programs, you can improve performance and extend the life of the HVAC equipment. The motto, “If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t filter” is key. Proper filter selection and proper fit will always ensure the best filtration. We talk about the initial cost of a filter versus the total cost of ownership. Not all filters are created equal, and not all filters are right for each application. We spend a lot of time explaining the different filtration principles and work with school facility maintenance officials to come up with a mix of products that are effective, long-lasting, and are right for their schools. We recognize that school administrators need to find the balance between budget and quality. With one particular school board, we were able to educate the school facility maintenance officials on a number of topics at our Clean Air Clinic that allowed them to understand what was re-
quired to get longer filter life while providing better air quality for their schools. Over time, we’ve developed a long-term relationship with them and they’ve been able to better understand their filtration management program and thus reduce the need for emergency change-outs of filters in between their preventative maintenance schedule. The Filter Shop at B.G.E. has been in the business of providing clean air for schools, hospitals, commercial buildings, industrial plants, manufacturing plants, and even homes for 45 years. Our goal is, and always has been, to provide the right solution for the right application. In the case of schools, it’s important to take into account who and what we are trying to protect when it comes to air filtration. Please contact us as we’d be happy to bring the Clean Air Classroom/Clinic to your school administration. About the Author: Roberta MacGillivray, president of The Filter Shop at B.G.E., is the second generation leader of this family-owned business that has spent the last 45 years travelling to schools and colleges to share with them best practices on how to protect their students, educators, and buildings. b
