Hi, I have question regarding option (b) under part 1, which states that:
Building policy states that all cooling coils are inspected on a quarterly basis for mold growth and cleaned if necessary. Dated photos demonstrating adherence are provided to the IWBI on an annual basis.
According to my understanding and after discussion with mechanical engineer, this work can cost very high. For example: in a typical medium size office floor, number of cooling coils are approximately 90. And it takes 30 minutes to inspect every coil according to ISO 16000:18. This will add up to 45 hours of job per floor. Since, frequency is quarterly this will be significant operating cost per year.
Do you have any thoughts about this? or what is the intent behind this feature requirement ?
Thanks
Dionisio Franca
DirectorWoonerf Inc.
30 thumbs up
July 24, 2017 - 12:00 am
Nirwair,
The visual inspection does not have to follow ISO standards. The WELL Building Standard does not refer to ISO standards.
Nirwair Singh Bajwa
SUSTAINABILITY SCHOLAR, LEED GREEN ASSOCIATESTANTEC CONSTRUCTION
1 thumbs up
July 24, 2017 - 2:13 am
Hi Dionisio,
Thanks for your comments. There is a alternate adherence path.
http://standard.wellcertified.com/air/microbe-and-mold-control?view=aap
which requires follow of ISO standard for inspection. Even if coils do not requires ISO inspection, operator need to open the system in order to see visually and take photos, which takes around 15 to 20 minutes per coil (still expensive)
Dionisio Franca
DirectorWoonerf Inc.
30 thumbs up
July 25, 2017 - 1:36 am
Nirwair, thank you for letting me know of the ADP. Perhaps doing the inspection at the same time the maintenance staff is cleaning filters or doing regular maintenance could help minimize costs.
Tara Smith
Co-FounderG R O O T E D
August 16, 2018 - 4:13 pm
Hi Dionisio and Niwair - what was the final outcome for this? Thanks!
Dionisio Franca
DirectorWoonerf Inc.
30 thumbs up
August 16, 2018 - 8:59 pm
Hi Tara,
I recommend you check WELL v2. On WELL v2, Microbe and Mold Control is no longer a precondition, but an optimization'https://v2.wellcertified.com/v2.1/en/air/feature/14
Julian McGrath
November 13, 2020 - 5:34 pm
It is hard to get rid of mold. I had no idea it was there until I did inspection, it is worth doing it.
Clare Epke
Manager of Sustainability + Wellness ServicesNORESCO
2 thumbs up
November 16, 2020 - 4:12 pm
Here is the AAP language. It does in fact reference ISO standards. The estimated time originally posted would be for the entire year vs. per quarter. If you have a WELL Approved Performance Testing Agent do this inspection + annual water testing + annual air quality testing, the results can count toward the 3 year recirtification. Otherwise, there will be a need for either GBCI or a WELL Approved Performance Tesint Agent to do the final inspection/testing in year 3 to count toward recertification. Also another note, is that with graduated v2, your project may choose not to recertify under the newest version. That would be a different strategy for the annual ongoing Features.
AAP Post Date: 17 Jan, 2017
Status: Approved
As an alternative to the quarterly inspection of cooling coils required in Feature 6, Part 1b, projects may sample 25% of the project’s cooling coils per quarter (representative of all building orientations and equal to 100% of cooling coils per year) through either visual inspection or performance inspection tests. Policy documentation must be provided that includes a detailed description of the inspection protocols for cooling coils and drain pans, and confirming that cleaning will be provided if mold is found before the annual inspection. The inspection and analyses must be performed in accordance with ISO 16000-18 and ISO 16000-17. Note that dated photos must still be provided to IWBI on a yearly basis.