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Building Contagion Mitigation Certification ToolPlease take the COVID-19 Ventilation Survey - Since mid-2020 when it was disclosed that COVID-19 is airborne, the guidance has been to increase ventilation inside public spaces. However, do people know what increasing ventilation means and have they taken steps to properly increase ventilation. BCMC is a free tool. It is available as an online service or as a download that runs on your computers. The Building Contagion Mitigation Certification (BCMC) Tool is a dashboard that allows building owner operators to assess Virus Mitigation Levels in their buildings and provides information to increase the Virus Mitigation Levels, if needed. The BCMC easily performs before and after analysis when upgrades are being considered so that choices can be made based on data not speculation. The BCMC Tool is particularly useful for organizations with limited budgets and resources like schools, restaurants, bars, community clubhouses because it can be used by anyone. There are no special skills that are needed other than the ability to read and the desire to do the work. Yet the BCMC Tool easily scales up to massive projects involving hundreds of buildings and thousands of rooms. For example, on Hawaiian Airlines A330 flights to and from Hawaii and JFK, the passenger entertainment screen clearly shows that the cabin air is exchanged every 3 minutes and that the HEPA filters remove 99.99% of bacteria and viruses. The exchange of every 3 minutes is 20 ACH. The ventilation is always on at the gate, tarmac, taxi, runway, in flight, and not controlled by the passengers. This is an engineering tool based on science and systems engineering principles but it can be used by anyone. It falls into the category of systems engineering decision support tools and uses techniques that are used on mission critical systems. Mission critical systems are systems where there is the possibility of loss of life. These systems rely on analysis where quantitative data is reduced to a level where informed systems engineering tradeoffs and risk management are performed. This approach was developed in the last century and was matured on large complex systems like the NASA space programs, air defense systems, air traffic control systems and other very serious and important systems.
The tool comes with demo keys and is available via download (on the right)
or an online account (see Sign In above for online version).
The BCMC Tool comes with:
The BCMC Tool can be used by building facilities staff, HVAC companies, engineering companies, construction companies, building inspection companies, real estate management companies, very large companies with massive real estate holdings, local public works departments, and small business owner operators. It easily fits in with air balance reports performed as part of periodic checks on building systems. It can be used for all building types and sizes:
The BCMC Tool can be used on transportation vehicles. This is significant because most view transportation vehicles as separate and distinct from buildings but they have the same needs for maintaining a healthy environment as buildings. Example Reports:
Organizations can use this tool to show the before and after results when system upgrades are being considered. Ultimately the purpose of BCMC is to produce certificates that can be posted in rooms and building lobbies. These certificates are documented evidence seen by occupants indicating that someone took the time to understand the building ventilation and that they trying to do the right thing from a contagion risk mitigation perspective. This is contrary to building users not knowing if anyone did anything to provide for a healthier building. |
BCMC
Research FAQ
Systems
System Architecture
Systems Software Systems Perspectives
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Table of Contents
Background
There is evidence that some are heavily focused on the goal of providing healthy buildings in the wake of the COVID-19 disaster and the realization of other existing illnesses and possible future disasters. The problem is that there are no standards traceable to significant science and engineering performed in government labs capable of making those assessments. Industry is left to self regulate and determine what it thinks is best for an indoor building environment. The government only offers vague guidance and the guidance is usually ignored except in rare cases. Regardless, the current situation is leading to a social bifurcation where some will live, play, work, shop, and learn in healthy buildings and most will not have that opportunity.
To
deal with the disparity between healthy facilities and other facilities the
Building Contagion Mitigation Certification (BCMC) Tool allows users to
understand their buildings from a contagion mitigation level and determine
if upgrades are needed. It is the result of research on COVID-19 from a systems
perspective that started in March 2020. It is because of that research that
the ventilation story broke in 2020. Other engineers and scientists were
signing petitions but this research published numbers that no one could refute.
The research eventually resulted in system architecture solutions to mitigate and eliminate the COVID-19 virus. It was found that the problem is massive within small enclosed spaces, problematic in large spaces, and extremely rare in outdoor spaces. It was also found that the technology exists, is relatively low cost, and is part of the system solution in elite settings. The problem is a social problem where the technology and system solutions must find their way into all facilities especially schools, airports, airplanes, bars, restaurants, etc. where large numbers of people congregate and where the facilities are not properly maintained and use the available technologies to mitigate and eliminate contagions from the air.
A word about the term guidelines before we move into the details. Throughout the COVID-19 disaster the term "guidelines" was used. That is an inappropriate term used to engage in management damage control. Engineers work from specifications that are testable and must be followed or the design is rejected. The BCMC Tool is based on the engineering method. It is not a guideline document. You either follow what is in the BCMC tool findings or you are not compliant with the engineering needed to assess and improve your building virus mitigation levels.
A book was produced that includes the 2020 COVID-19 research published on a website in 2020 and additional systems engineering content: COVID-19 A Systems Perspective. This is a textbook that provides the raw information for findings that resulted in the BCMC tool.
The approach that is used to make your building safer from all airborne contagions is to first determine the current condition of the building and compare it with a virus mitigation scale that was developed with the COVID-19 research from a systems perspective that was performed in 2020. The scale is based on how often the air is changed in a room. The BCMC Tool considers:
When a building assessment is performed using the BCMC Tool a Virus Mitigation Certificate is posted in each room and for the building as a whole. Once the current condition of the building is known then either nothing needs to be done or various upgrades can be performed as suggested in BCMC findings.
But COVID-19 Will Soon Disappear
Unfortunately COVID-19 will not disappear even with the massive vaccination efforts. The problem is not COVID-19. The problem is the level of contagions that make people sick inside some of our buildings. The issue has been known for decades but once the deadly COVID-19 virus surfaced the problem became tragically visible with the result that our civilization shutdown. COVID-19 will be present for years and people will be infected, some will quickly recover, some will get very sick, and some will die. It is unclear if this is the start of a new generation of deadly viruses that will be with us in this new century. The following table shows Flu data over the past several years.
Flu Season Date |
COVID19 |
2019-2020 |
2018-2019 |
2017-2018 |
2017-2018 |
2015-2016 |
2014-2015 |
2013-2014 |
2012-2013 |
2011-2012 |
2010-2011 |
Symptomatic Illnesses |
28,405,925 |
38,000,000 |
36,000,000 |
45,000,000 |
29,000,000 |
24,000,000 |
30,000,000 |
30,000,000 |
34,000,000 |
9,300,000 |
21,000,000 |
Medical Visits |
- |
18,000,000 |
17,000,000 |
21,000,000 |
14,000,000 |
11,000,000 |
14,000,000 |
13,000,000 |
16,000,000 |
4,300,000 |
10,000,000 |
Hospitalizations |
20,643,016 |
400,000 |
490,000 |
810,000 |
500,000 |
280,000 |
590,000 |
350,000 |
570,000 |
140,000 |
290,000 |
Intensive Care Unit |
4,056,815 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
On Ventilator |
1,383,024 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Loss of Life |
548,162 |
22,000 |
34,000 |
61,000 |
38,000 |
23,000 |
51,000 |
38,000 |
43,000 |
12,000 |
37,000 |
Illnesses caused by unhealthy buildings translates to direct and indirect costs. Moving towards healthier buildings is not only the right thing to do, it also is sound financially. The costs associated with upgrading buildings is trivial once compared to lost time from work and chronic health conditions. The issue is to understand if upgrades are needed and where they may be needed. The BCMC Tool will provide that information.
The Case for BCMC
Previous generations were faced with the same challenge and they made the right choices. This is not new in our history. This is just new for this generation. The case for BCMC is as follows.
The immediate damage from the COVID-19 disaster is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be people suffering for decades from physical and psychological damage. A real impact will be the constant subconscious fear that people will have when they enter buildings, especially if they have small enclosed spaces with no outdoor natural ventilation. A simple contagion mitigation certificate posted in a building will greatly help to reduced that fear and stress.
Healthy Infrastructure
The
Philadelphia Water Works was the first water treatment facility in the United
States. It was a model for all future water works to follow in the New World.
People would flock from around the planet to see this facility which combined
engineering and art to solve a massive problem of safe water for the inhabitants
of Philadelphia. It was born of necessity as the people decided they would
not tolerate yet another yellow fever outbreak. The Museum sits on top of
the original water reservoir that provided the city with water. As Philadelphia
grew the reservoir and Water Works could no longer meet the needs of the
city and new projects eventually replaced this once great technological and
artistic achievement. It stopped operations in 1909.
A post vaccine world implies that everyone has received a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. However, we know that will not happen. In the USA some will refuse the vaccine. In many countries the poor will not have access to the vaccine. The idea of a post vaccine world also suggests that we can return to the pre-COVID world. However, we know that is not the case. The contagion and its variants will be in the environment for decades. This is not unlike the situation that existed in the early part of the last century where there were deadly contagions that were part of normal life. It was not until multiple technologies were introduced in multiple systems that there was a decline in many deadly contagions in the USA and other parts of the world. These technologies and systems were embedded in:
In the wake of the COVID-19 disaster the city of Philadelphia has once again taken lead actions like the Enhanced Ventilation Standards for Indoor Dining and Application Form for Increased Dining Capacity dated February 14, 2021. The Enhanced Ventilation Standard calls for 15 air changes per hour (ACH) for establishments wanting to increase their seating capacity from 25% to 50% [1]. The approach is brilliant and uses the incentive to increase income to offset any possible costs that may be needed to increase ventilation. The ventilation level increase is large and will significantly mitigate contagion levels in the restaurant. It is obvious that it is traceable to existing engineering requirements associated with contagions rather than subjective minimum comfort levels. As part of the initiative they posted howto videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlneLDi9r54
(video on how to calculate air changes per hour)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58uRfAxh6Cw
(video on how to complete the application)
These people are brilliant. The city of Philadelphia is leading the world on how to deal with the COVID-19 disaster for indoor settings. Unfortunately this program stopped in May 2021 leaving a void in this very important area of ensuring public buildings have ventilation levels that mitigate contagions rather than just provide minimum comfort levels. However, the model exists along with the recommended ACH level and this just builds the case for BCMC.
The city of Philadelphia has also taken the time and effort to understand their school facilities and they have performed an extensive site survey (air balance reports) of all their school. The school district has 240+ schools and 12,000+ rooms [2]. They made this critical information public via their website. Once again Philadelphia has taken a lead in trying to deal with another aspect of the COVID-19 disaster and that is to understand the current state of the schools and share the data with the Philadelphia taxpayers and people everywhere.
References
[1] Enhanced Ventilation Standards for Indoor Dining and Application Form for Increased Dining Capacity, City of Philadelphia, February 14, 2021. webpage https://www.phila.gov/media/20210216105327/Enhanced-Ventilation-Standards-for-Indoor-Dining_2_16_21.pdf. PDF . local
[2] Ventilation and Air Balance Reports, City of Philadelphia, March 22, 2021. webpage https://www.philasd.org/coronavirus/schoolstart2020/#ventilation, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XULamBiR3v1sB_u15rcyXOxQlq1ygsGT, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18Kn2h5zS6ivX27-msM2Pdy10HUUWaUAomAaXJJ2FK7w/edit?usp=sharing (spreadsheet) May 2021. Ventilation . Spreadsheet . local spreadsheet
Why Use BCMC
The BCMC tool is a dashboard that uses engineering data to determine the contagion mitigation level using a common scale that is traceable to engineering standards, recommendations from the World Health Organization, and the US Centers for Disease Control. It offers a common framework that easily adapts to all building types and conditions. Once a building or collection of buildings are assessed it is easy to compare the results and know how each building compares with another building. The framework also identifies the technologies that can be applied to increase a buildings Contagion Mitigation Level, if needed. Finally the BCMC produces a Certificate that is hung in each room and in the building lobby.
The Philadelphia School District performed a site survey of their schools and published the findings on the school district website. Each school is captured in a separate tab in a spreadsheet. There are 220 schools with over 12,000 rooms that were surveyed. The spreadsheet was processed so that all the rooms in all the schools could be easily analyzed for Air Update Changes (AUC) and Contagion Mitigation Level (CML). The CML is the number used for the Contagion Mitigation Certification Level (CMCL). The pre-contagion mitigation results are as follows.
Room Ratings
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Overall District Rating
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The overall District Rating is 1 Red before contagion mitigation. The post contagion mitigation results are as follow. This school district moved from Level 1 Red to Level 2 Orange. We also see that a large number of rooms moved from Level 0 and 1 Red to higher levels with a significant jump into Level 3 Yellow. The Level 3 category is approaching hospital room airborne contagion mitigation levels.
Room Ratings
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Overall District Rating
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The Philadelphia School District is extremely large and the BCMC Tool easily scaled to that large system level. The BCMC tool is just as effective for the small buildings like a restaurant, bar, or a clubhouse.
Reasons to Get a Building Contagion Mitigation Certification
The reasons to get a Building Contagion Mitigation Certification are simple.
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The following scenarios are an example of how the tool can provide insight into the Contagion Mitigation Levels for different buildings:
1. Eating in outside restaurants. They are Level 5 or 6 Green
2. Eating indoors in a restaurant in Philadelphia that participated in the program. They are Level 3 Yellow (still very good)
3. Eating in a restaurant from someone that recently came from another country they would follow WHO guidance and would be Level 4 Yellow (better yet)
4. Hawaii kids would be going to open air schools and they would be Level 5 or 6 Green
5. For any of the following facilities, The combined UCGI + HVAC might be as high as 50 ACH which is Level 5 Green.
[1] The Blind Horse Becomes First Restaurant In The United States To Install Far-UVC Light Technology For Real-Time Virus Mitigation And Indoor Sanitization, Globe Newswire, October 13, 2020. webpage https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/13/2107717/0/en/THE-BLIND-HORSE-BECOMES-FIRST-RESTAURANT- IN-THE-UNITED-STATES-TO-INSTALL-FAR-UVC-LIGHT-TECHNOLOGY-FOR-REAL-TIME- VIRUS-MITIGATION-AND-INDOOR-SANITIZATION.html, January 2021.
[2] Wisconsin Restaurant Installs COVID-Killing UV Lights, Spectrum News1, October 14, 2020. webpage https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/madison/coronavirus/2020/10/14/wisconsin-restaurant-installs-covid-killing-uv-lights-, January 2021. Wisconsin Restaurant Installs COVID-Killing UV Lights
[3] With winter approaching, some restaurants turn to UV light to make indoors safer, Products that use UV rays to purify the air are popping up in restaurants., September 02, 2020. webpage https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/winter-approaching-some-restaurants-turn-uv-light-make-indoors-safer, January 2021. With winter approaching, some restaurants turn to UV light to make indoors safer
[4] Breathe Easier: Seattle-area restaurants invest in fancy air filtration systems, seattlerefined Sinclair Broadcast Group, October 02, 2020, webpage http://seattlerefined.com/eat-drink/breathe-easier-forward-thinking-restaurants-invest-in-air-filtration-systems, January 2021. Breathe Easier: Seattle-area restaurants invest in fancy air filtration systems
[5] Margate condo first in state to install ultraviolet light sanitizing technology, they say, Press Of Atlantic City, September 09, 2020. webpage https://pressofatlanticcity.com/margate-condo-first-in-state-to-install-ultraviolet-light-sanitizing-technology-they-say/article_5c259798-7c35-5ad8-be85-e5b7a5838aa3.html, January 2021. Margate condo first in state to install ultraviolet light sanitizing technology, they say
[6] Technology at the Forefront for Healthier High-Rise Buildings, The COVID-19 pandemic has real estate developers turning to new tech, like UV light treatments and touchless entrances, to create safer environments for residents, Mansion Global June 07, 2020. webpage https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/technology-at-the-forefront-for-healthier-high-rise-buildings-216579, January 2021. Technology at the Forefront for Healthier High-Rise Buildings
[7] UV lights, ozone cleaners, sanitizers help shelter keep homeless safe, Catholic News Service, June 16, 2020. webpage https://angelusnews.com/news/nation/uv-lights-ozone-cleaners-sanitizers-help-shelter-keep-homeless-safe/, January 2021. UV lights, ozone cleaners, sanitizers help shelter keep homeless safe
[8] High school installs ultraviolet light system to keep students safe, WNNC, May 20, 2020. webpage https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/queens-grant-high-school-uv-light-system-coronavirus/275-c3e54672-905f-4fab-8e5f-8c58d5ca49f3, January 2021. High school installs ultraviolet light system to keep students safe
[9] Some SC schools to use ultraviolet light to fight coronavirus. A few things to know. The Herald November 10, 2020. webpage https://www.heraldonline.com/news/coronavirus/article247021112.html, January 2021. Some SC schools to use ultraviolet light to fight coronavirus. A few things to know
So the concept is simple. Responsible organizations will do the right thing and they should be able to clearly show that they are doing the right thing. For example someone looking for a care facility finds two different facilities. They are both equal in all areas except for one area. One facility has taken the time and resources to understand their facility contagion mitigation levels and the other has not. The choice is simple and the market will decide in the absence of government regulation and oversight. But first the market needs a tool to help make that decision.
For more background and theory see Healthy Buildings Certification Needs.
School Data Support
The following are links to school data that has been formatted for BCMC.
Installation Instructions:
| School District | Source Data | Download BCMC Formatted Data |
Comments |
| Philadelphia School District October 2020 | Ventilation and Air Balance Reports, City of Philadelphia. Ventilation . Spreadsheet | There are 240+ schools with 12,000+ rooms. The reports are old but they provide a great example for any school district because of the massive size and diversity of the system. | |
| New York City School District Nov 18, 2021 | School ventilation and COVID | see FVSE |
Data was formatted and placed into the CAB database. There is an analysis that links infection data to possible ACH levels but the ACH database was not populated because it is an analysis rather than measure results. As of February 2023 there is no measure ventilation data. |
| Boston School District March 18, 2021 | Air Changes Per Hour Reports . PDF Report | see FVSE |
Data will be formatted and placed into the CAB and ACH database. There are internal inconsistencies but this is a complete measurement of the ACH levels performed by Boston for all the public school classrooms in Boston. |
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Please let us know if you would like us to format your school data so that BCMC can provide you with analysis reports. There is no cost for the data conversion and the BCMC demo version is always free.
