HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Indoor living conditions have a direct impact on the health and well-being of a building’s occupants, considering the fact that we spend more than 90%¹ of our time indoors. Nowadays, it is essential to create favourable indoor conditions that go beyond basic needs to provide comfort regardless of the climate. A holistic approach must be taken to balance the various parameters and maximize occupants’ well-being. Health and safety should also be ensured during construction and on job sites, as workers can be exposed to health risks during their labour time. 

 

At Saint-Gobain Glass, we offer a wide range of glass solutions to ensure comfort indoors while taking care to provide health and safety for workers.  

 

Health & well-being indoors

It is necessary to address basic needs first so that occupants don’t suffer from sick building syndrome where they can develop poor health conditions. Secondly, it is important to go beyond basic needs to provide occupants with better living conditions.   

 

Health and well-being considerations in the design of indoor environments address issues related to indoor environmental quality (including air quality and ventilation systems), daylight access, lighting control, acoustic comfort, thermal insulation, and the environmental impact of the building solutions. 

 

Health & safety on job sites

Furthermore, working on construction sites can cause a variety of risks to builders. These sites often contain hazardous substances that can be extremely harmful to the health and well-being of workers. Some processes for instance release gases, dust and fumes into the air.  

 

Significant progress has been made in recent years to reduce the injury rate in the construction sector by providing builders with better conditions during all construction, renovation or demolition phases. However, to keep improving safety on job sites, products should include little to no hazardous materials and building processes should be enhanced continuously. 

 

 

¹ World Health Organization: Combined or Multiple Exposure to Health Stressors in Indoor Built Environments (2014)