Dr Michelle Agha-Hossein, Building Sustainability Consultant, BSRIA

Bracknell, Berkshire, UK, 19 February 2019: BSRIA (owned by The Building Services Research and Information Association), a test, instruments, research and consultancy organisation, providing specialist services in construction and building services, is staging an event on well-being, as part of its Well-being Network, which will examine the issues around “happy and healthy staff”, on Friday, March 29, 2019, in Manchester, United Kingdom, the body said in a Press communiqué.

According to BSRIA, the Building 4 Well-being Network event will examine a number of aspects, such as:

• Wellness Matters: a guide published by The British Council for Offices.
• The WELL Building Standard.
• Overheating.
• The role of Facilities Managers in maintaining well-being.
• BSRIA’s strategy for supporting the industry in this area.

Dr Michelle Agha-Hossein, Building Sustainability Consultant, BSRIA, said: “A large part of our life is spent indoors and it is generally accepted that there is a direct link between occupants’ health and productivity. So, getting it right is one of the key factors in giving an organisation a competitive advantage, while putting the best interests of their staff first.”

The importance of employee well-being has attracted more attention recently, as organisations try to adopt practices that can help them to increase their energy efficiency, while optimising the productivity and increasing retention of staff, the communiqué said. It is now generally accepted that if an employee’s well-being reduces, her/his productivity will typically reduce as well, the communiqué further said.

According to BSRIA, the agenda for the event is as follows:

09:30: Registration and coffee
10:00: Welcome – Tracey Tilbry, BSRIA
10:05: Introduction – Michelle Agha-Hossein, BSRIA
10:10: The WELL Standard – Ant Wilson MBE, AECOM
10:35: Case study: WELL and Fitwel – Georgia Elliott Smith, fourfront group
11:00: How do FMs deliver a healthy environment? – Nick Blake, BSRIA
11:25: Q and A chaired by Michelle Agha-Hossein, BSRIA
11:35: Coffee break
11:45: Wellness Matters – Professor Derek Clements-Croome, University of Reading
12:10  Causes, effects and mitigation of overheating in buildings – Dmitri Korolenko,  BuroHappold
12:35: Q and A chaired by Michelle Agha-Hossein, BSRIA
12:45: BSRIA’s strategy for supporting the industry in this area – Krystyna Dawson, BSRIA
13:00: Networking lunch
14:00: Close

The communiqué said, for more information, visit: https://www.bsria.co.uk/information-membership/events/details/managing-the-environment-engineering-wellbeing-network/.