LCMB Workplace Optimisation Presentation

This presentation was part of WLP+ project's dissemination, presented to British Council for Offices (BCO) members at Wedlake Bell's offices, November 2018.

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More information can be found here: https://www.lcmb.co.uk/new-uk-research-shows-high-co2-concentrations-in-offices-are-decreasing-peoples-cognitive-capability/

The biggest cost to most businesses are its people. The second biggest are typically its premises. The problem is, most buildings aren't optimised to benefit the performance of its most expensive asset.

Through improving indoor environment quality, a business can directly impact the performance, productivity and wellbeing of its staff. With that in mind - buildings should be managed to provide the best environment for its occupants' well-being and performance - ultimately resulting in workplaces where people and organisations can thrive.

This presentation explains the basis underpinning our approach to improve workplace productivity, download our guide for further information: https://www.lcmb.co.uk/productive-workplace-guide-2/

Get in touch if you would like to explore what our team can do to make your buildings and people more productive.
[email protected]

1. 1 LCMB – improving performance by making buildings work harder . Who we are: LCMB are a building performance consultancy that are driven to make buildings and workplaces spaces for people and organisations to thrive.

2. The UK productivity challenge A UK worker currently produces less output per hour than a German, French or US worker. Over the long term, the UK’s competitiveness, wealth and everyone’s standard of living will be determined by our productivity.

3. There’s compelling evidence that IEQ helps Evidence: Previous studies 1, 2  have shown that UK productivity can be improved by between 2 and 3.5% by optimising workplaces, which equates to £40 – £70 billion of additional output to the UK economy. After three years of development, LCMB have developed a solution that takes the benefits previously demonstrated in the laboratory into something that every company can easily benefit from, using the knowledge gained from our unique research.

4. WLP+ proves an impact in the real world The research: Whole Life Performance Plus (WLP+) is a £530,000 three-year study, led by Oxford Brookes University and LCMB Building Performance, with funding support by Innovate UK and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). We studied people’s performance in real world environments and found that office environments can dramatically undermine people’s wellbeing and productivity. Between February 2017 and October 2018, the WLP+ project monitored two office buildings that represent UK working conditions – one modern and one older building. Workers from the two case study buildings took proofreading, numerical, and Stroop tests in a variety of indoor temperatures, CO 2  levels and Relative Humidity conditions which were adjusted to test the impact on performance. Over 250 staff undertook a total of over 7,850 surveys and tasks to complete the analysis. The lessons learnt were applied in another ultra-modern building. The findings: The research found that when CO 2  levels were lowered, people completed the tests dramatically faster and scored better: Test scores improved by up to 12% Where test speed was measured in one building, people worked 60% faster in lower CO 2 concentrations, taking a mean of 8.2 minutes to complete a test in low CO 2  concentrations, compared with 13.3 minutes in modest CO 2  concentrations. The implications of this ground-breaking study are dramatic. 

5. How to improve workplace productivity Our research adds to the growing body of evidence that Indoor Environmental Quality (often referred to as IEQ) impacts worker productivity. Our research is important because most research to date has been carried out in laboratories and climate chambers. In contrast, the WLP+ project is the first significant study of productivity and the indoor environmental conditions temperature, CO 2  and relative humidity in real world conditions.

6. How to improve workplace productivity Existing buildings New buildings All of this work, and research, suggests that UK businesses and organisations are sitting on untapped potential of 2-3.5% productivity gains by optimising their workplace environments.

7. 37 John O’Brien, LCMB, Founder and MD: t: 01295 722823 e: [email protected] www.lcmb.co.uk www.bco.org.uk t: 01295 722823 e: [email protected] www.lcmb.co.uk Contact John O’Brien, LCMB Founder and MD on t: 01295 722823 or e: [email protected] for a chat.