Workers Health & Safety Centre

Smartphone app assesses indoor air quality

Worker uses indoor air quality monitor
Are you suffering with dry skin, nausea or asthmatic reactions at work? If so, a new smartphone app can help identify if poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is the culprit.
 
AirAssess is a survey-based app, designed by the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to gather information about air quality including temperature, humidity and airborne contaminants. App users will also be asked about asthma-related and other symptoms of ill-health along with work-related stressors.  
 
The app considers all of this information and offers immediate feedback in terms of potential links between air quality and the reported symptoms. The app user will also be provided basic workplace actions to address poor air quality, issue-specific tip sheets and any relevant legislation or recognized guidelines.
 

How it works

The app user follows three easy steps:
Step 1 Answer a series of questions about air quality, symptoms of ill-health, work-related stress.
Step 2 Read a series of results related to your answers that may clarify potential causes of harmful IAQ and prevention solutions. 
Step 3 Take action against poor IAQ by following the five step action plan and seek further assistance to address specific IAQ hazards and training needs.

Prompting preventive action

An important part of the AirAssess app is the handy share function allowing you to forward the results to co-workers and other workplace parties to further raise awareness, including the wide range of symptoms related to poor air quality. This can range from irritation of the eyes, nose and skin to nausea, fatigue and breathing difficulties. Equally important, sharing the results can kick-start discussions about the prevention efforts needed to address poor indoor air quality.

Accessing Apps

You can download AirAssess from Google Play, the Apple App Store, and BlackBerry World.
 
AirAssess is the latest in a series of app developed by OHCOW in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) including workplace stress and musculoskeletal pain and disorders.

For our part, the Workers Health and Safety Centre continues to assist workplace parties through training programs and information services aimed at raising awareness about all these issues and many more. Many OHCOW tools are also included in our training programs. The new Air Assess app surely will be too.
 
To learn more:
Visit www.whsc.on.ca  or
Call 1-888-869-7950 and ask to speak to a WHSC training services representative.