The quality of air you breathe at work can significantly affect your health, comfort and ultimately, your productivity. Air quality should be on every employer’s agenda and the CCOHS (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety) has joined forces with the OHCOW (Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers) to create a new app that will help workers reach solutions for poor indoor air quality in their place of work.
 The mobile app called ‘AirAssess’ (or Improve Indoor Air Quality at Work), will offer users a simple questionnaire which prompts answers about current working conditions – including:
- workplace stress levels
- allergies
- environmental factors
These answers will form the basis for uncovering issues which could be related to the air quality in an individual’s place of work. In the second step, the app will search for links and offer users ideas to help their employers take action on any possible air quality issues.
Gareth Jones, CCOHS President and Chief Executive Officer commented:
“CCOHS has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with OHCOW and it is always exciting when our shared goals and collaborations produce something that can truly make a positive impact on the health and safety of workers. The app is one such example.”
Valerie Wolfe, Executive Director, South Central Region, at the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) said:
“OHCOW has been successfully using an Indoor Climate survey since 1993 in over 120 buildings. Now, as a result of our valuable partnership with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), we are very pleased to be launching an app version of this validated survey. Once again, we are putting health and safety in the hands of workers. Assess your air, share the results, brainstorm solutions – and breathe easier!”
The free app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store, BlackBerry World, and Google Play, as well as from both the OHCOW and CCOHS websites.
For more information on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in Canada, please visit the CCOHS website. http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/iaq_intro.html | 
