10C, a not-for-profit community hub that offers coworking and event space, is better planning its virus-mitigation strategies to offer peace of mind for its members and community.
Welcoming the community back
Like everywhere, 10C wasn’t exempt from the disruption and tough lessons delivered by COVID. But in keeping with its longstanding resolution to work collaboratively to create new opportunities, its team resolved to use the pandemic experience to enhance its shared spaces moving forward.
Before reopening after government-mandated lockdowns were lifted, 10C was committed to offering truly healthy spaces where people can be productive, knowing that their well-being is a top priority.
The challenge was understanding exactly what to do. Public health guidelines provided general guidance, but the distinctiveness of 10C spaces, including its coworking hubs, presented unique challenges.
Homegrown solutions
Guelph-based RWDI is a global climate and environmental engineering firm known for solving some of the world’s most demanding building performance and environmental challenges. When COVID hit, they channeled their unique expertise in ventilation and air quality to answer the very questions that 10C and many other building owners were asking.
“Restoring our community and productivity matters more than ever. It is user-friendly tech like ParticleOne that will help us adapt to living with COVID, but without compromising the safety and health of our people.”
Nathan Lawr, Community Operations Lead – 10C
In December 2021, just as Omicron forced many shared spaces to shut down again, RWDI invited 10C to run a pilot using its new virus risk-management software, ParticleOne. Informed by RWDI’s 50 years of building-science data and integrated with the epidemiology intelligence platform BlueDot, ParticleOne models spaces based on their specific building mechanics, layouts, location, and occupant profiles (including infection and vaccination rates).
After inputting information for key 10C spaces (including its coworking spaces, meeting rooms, the kitchen, and more), ParticleOne ran thousands of simulations and applied a risk rating to each space. The platform then outlined what mitigations were needed in each space to classify it as “Prepared”—meaning it was within a reasonable risk for people to safely return to it.
Ongoing monitoring
Now, every week, the platform monitors these spaces for any changes, alerting 10C to emerging variants or changes, and guiding them on what to do to stay safe.
“With ParticleOne we have a better understanding of how occupancy and other variables affect the air quality in our spaces. It provides us with the science-backed solutions we need as we navigate difficult decisions like mask and vaccine mandates.”
Nathan Lawr, 10C’s Community Operations Lead
To mask or not to mask
In March 2022, when Ontario lifted its mask mandate, 10C wanted to know for sure if this made sense in its building. Modeling by ParticleOne confirmed that 10C’s existing portable HEPA air-cleaning devices in strategic areas would make it possible for staff and visitors to be mask free in certain settings. Knowing the measurable and positive impact of masking previously, however, 10C opted to maintain its mask policy for another 30 days and then reassess. Less than two weeks later, this measured approach was validated when increased community infections, driven by the BA.2 variant, shifted ParticleOne modeling to recommend that masks be worn in all areas again.
The mask policy decision is a good example of how data empowers organizations like 10C to make science-backed decisions—and communicate them with stakeholders—to meet their objectives with less debate and operational disruption.
Lawr concurs: “Restoring our community and productivity matters more than ever. It is user-friendly tech like ParticleOne that will help us adapt to living with airborne viruses, but without compromising the safety and health of our people.”
To achieve healthy air that includes virus controls, contact hello@particleone.com.