The New Standard

Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) is a type of UV light used in hospitals and labs since the 1800s to effectively disinfect occupied spaces. It is a type of UV light similar to far-UV light, which we discussed in our last post, but with a few different properties and uses. As UVGI becomes more accessible for […]

With ASHRAE’s new standards for maintaining clean indoor air, UV-C light is quickly becoming a leading method in deactivating microorganisms effectively and affordably. Constantly running an HVAC system to cycle in clean air has significant energy and financial costs, but cleaning the air in place with the power of UV-C light has the same effect […]

It’s natural to be concerned about the impact of ozone on human health and ask if a particular technology creates risk. But to make the right choice, it’s important to distinguish facts from fears. Below, we explain ozone production in various products, the link between Far-UV light and ozone, and how California’s stringent standards protect […]

Disinfection is a key element for any healthy communal living space, but it is crucial in nursing homes and senior care facilities. A population with a higher percentage of frail or immunocompromised members requires regular, high-quality disinfection to support everyone’s safety. UV-C technology can provide that disinfection at a cost and efficacy advantage to rapidly […]

For decades, it has been known that a layered approach to disinfection is the key to making hospitals safer and reducing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). A 2020 meta-analysis of many different studies on reducing HAIs found six predominant methods. The first two methods were hand hygiene and maintaining a safe and clean hospital environment. Hand hygiene […]

Even as the pandemic has receded into our everyday consciousness, school districts worldwide remain attuned to the importance of indoor air quality and limiting the spread of infectious diseases. Traditional methods of disinfection can be expensive and time-consuming, but disinfection doesn’t have to break the budget — in fact, it can save you money. Today, […]

If you’ve been looking into safe and sustainable disinfection methods for your building, you’ve probably heard about germicidal ultraviolet-C light. But what is germicidal ultraviolet-C light, and what can it do to reduce microbial loads that increase the risk of infection or illness spreading? To answer that question, we’re going to have to start by […]

Greenbuild 2023 is all about building transformation, and you don’t want to miss the chance to talk with R-Zero about how we’re transforming the field of safer indoor air. Here’s where you can find us at the conference: Hear Our CEO Speak Our CEO, Jennifer Nuckles, will be hosting the “Revolutionizing Sanitation: Harnessing the Power […]

As we navigate this new academic year, it’s important to stay informed about the latest outbreaks. We’ve gathered and condensed some of the most noteworthy stories that our team has been reading so you can stay ahead of the headlines. From school closures in Texas and Kentucky, to mask mandates being reinstated, or some schools […]

In recent years, the healthcare field in the United States has been concerned about the rapid spread of Candida auris (C. auris), a yeast-type fungus. This aggressive pathogen has taken center stage due to its alarming capacity to spread within healthcare facilities, posing a significant threat to vulnerable populations, particularly individuals with compromised immune systems.  […]

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recently approved groundbreaking new guidelines, ASHRAE Standard 241, to reduce the risk of disease transmission in indoor spaces. This standard is a breakthrough in public health and has the potential to drastically reduce the spread of contagious illnesses in places like schools, office buildings, and […]

It’s no secret that Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) has stayed a significant concern since the Covid-19 pandemic. More recently, devastating wildfires in Canada again heightened the public’s awareness of the potential health risks of poor air quality. We recently performed a comprehensive survey to quantify how IAQ impacts Americans’ physical and mental health, and the […]

Carbon reduction and energy efficiency are subjects we care deeply about at R-Zero. We want to help break down the silos that occupancy data traditionally resides in and apply it toward initiatives that are meaningful for the entire business. As such, we have built some basic calculations that can help organizations understand their emissions and […]

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us were familiar with hand washing and disinfecting wipes, but less familiar with effective mitigation strategies for airborne diseases. Fortunately, we have significantly improved our understanding of the importance of indoor air quality and the role clean air plays in keeping us safe from airborne pathogens. Hospitals have […]

ASHRAE sets the stage for healthier indoor spaces for everyone by committing to support the development of a national indoor air quality (IAQ) pathogen mitigation standard within six months. Rising to the Challenge of Improving IAQ Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Clean Air in Building Challenge, there’s been a widespread […]

In the mid-1800s, British obstetrician Sir James Young Simpson argued that infections after surgical procedures were closely related to deficiencies in hospital design, ventilation, and management. Simpson observed the negative effects of overcrowding in hospitals and studied the correlation between poor hospital conditions and mortality rates. He used the term hospitalism to describe “the hygienic […]

Hello Friends, Who ended 2022 where you thought you would? Well, many of our customers did not and some ended the year finding themselves in the middle of surprising new trends. We’d like to share with you some of our 2022 sensor-based Utilization Benchmark Data. If you are curious about any of these key findings, […]

A new way of working is here to stay. What started as a pandemic-era necessity has rapidly become the norm in many industries, including many fortune 500 companies and global corporations. Studies have shown that 73% percent of employees say they need a better reason to go into the office than just company expectations. It’s […]

“We felt confident and made a bold move…we really couldn’t be happier.” – Parker Lacy, VP of Facilities Management and Trilogy Health Services For assistance managing how to secure and apply for this grant funding, contact us at (909) 583-4270 or schedule a time to chat. Decrease social isolation while utilizing affordable solutions. Utilizing MDHHS […]

One thing we know for sure is that the future is uncertain. Instead of being stuck in a daze of wonder, real estate professionals are grounding their planning processes in data. So long as they have data to guide them, they can plan for hybrid work environments that are bound to change over time. Fortune […]

If you’re a facility manager or otherwise deal with the business of organizing your office’s space, there are two terms you need to be familiar with: allocation and utilization. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to very specific yet equally important aspects of creating a cost-effective and space-efficient workplace environment. Learning […]

For healthcare facilities struggling through another COVID-19 spike, traditional protocols are a sure way to help destroy various viruses and microorganisms, but can leave patients feeling isolated, while piling on the stress for caregivers. Would a proactive solution to a cleaner indoor environment help healthcare facilities prepare and offer a cost-effective alternative? A Coast-to-Coast Triple […]

As cases spike in LA County and Southern California, do current coronavirus measures cause major disruption for students, teachers, and lesson plans, what are the proactive alternatives school districts should take to prepare for the next outbreak?  Southern California’s COVID Tipping Point Since late October, LA County’s coronavirus case rate has tripled with a reported […]

Furthering hands-on developmental learning – with indoor safety. Safer indoor, in-person learning with TEA Funds As the world began to return to in-person activities, and organizations started leading their teams back to in-office environments, schools worldwide knew that returning in-person was necessary for hands-on collaboration and more engaging educational experiences. But how were educational facility […]

Safe, acceptable indoor air quality is top of mind for organizations of all types and sizes. However, meeting strict air quality standards in the healthcare space is more than a nice-to-have—it’s a business-critical necessity. Improving indoor air quality enhances a facility’s occupant and patient satisfaction, facility ratings, staff and clinician morale, and even financial reimbursement. […]

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality Plus the Innovations Needed to Remediate Concerns. Indoor Air Quality Standards are now Higher than Ever Collectively, we all measure the health of the water we drink on a daily basis and the outdoor air pollutants that affect our breathing everyday, but why has indoor air quality been an […]

When it comes to selling a product, ROI is easy to visualize by simply comparing expenditure to profit—but what about estimating returns on your actual workspace? Office space is a company’s second largest cost behind people, and managers tasked with improving workplace utilization often have little reference for what drives productivity and thus makes workspace […]

Monkeypox—it’s the latest virus to make headlines, but there’s still so much we don’t know about it. How contagious is it? Which public settings are most susceptible to community spread? What is monkeypox? Characterized by rash, lesions, and flu-like symptoms, monkeypox is of the same family as the smallpox virus and is endemic to central […]

As humans, we spend 90% of our lives indoors. Yet for decades, the built environment has been optimized for energy efficiency, instead of people. And while society has made strides in ensuring the water we drink and the food we eat is safe — the indoor air we breathe 18-20,000 times per day has long […]

With most American companies still in the throes of what RTO means to them, now is an opportunity for owners, operators, and tenants to reinvent the kind of space their workforce will be working in for the coming years. The pandemic has presented the business world with the opportunity to take part in the Great […]

At R-Zero we care deeply about the health of the world around us – as a company and as people in this society. As COVID spikes continue across the nation, new data taking a hard look at cases through the lens of the largest healthcare system in the US, the Department of Veterans Affairs*, finds […]

Among the most vulnerable citizens in the U.S. and worldwide, our senior population was the hardest hit group during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the CDC and other organizations, seniors aged 65 and older account for nearly 75% of COVID-19 deaths thus far. This staggering statistic has caused many care centers to reevaluate their cleaning […]

The time for senior care facilities to consider new methods of disinfection is here. Actually, it has been here for nearly three years due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 and its variants. As with many other viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated to create altered versions of itself. In order to successfully mutate, […]

Since the announcement by the Biden administration focusing on clean air in buildings as part of their National Covid Strategy, interest in the Healthy Buildings movement has picked up momentum. The growing understanding of the need for buildings to provide more than shelter for businesses and families is becoming a topic of frequent conversation. From […]

Challenges for Senior Care Providers Over the past two years, senior care facilities have struggled with difficult challenges and hard-fought battles. They’ve endured challenges to their reputations and their credibility at the deepest level. But why has this particular segment of the healthcare industry received so much attention? The most apparent reason lies with the […]

The idea of healthy buildings (and how HVAC systems contribute to them) existed for decades before the outbreak of the pandemic. But only in recent years did it become the rallying cry for many different sectors. The White House announcement this spring about the launch of the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge represents a call […]

Discussions about healthy buildings are becoming increasingly relevant in conversations about changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout history, wars, famines, plagues, and natural disasters have all challenged the human species. At every turn, humans have proven their adaptability, problem-solving abilities, and determination not only to survive but to grow, learn, and emerge better […]

The Covid-19 pandemic forced the introduction of plenty of creative solutions to coworking in the lockdown era. Almost overnight, and with literal lives on the line, companies around the world had to fundamentally change the way they did business to accommodate social distancing protocols and quarantines. Two years on, many businesses have grown accustomed to […]

At the 2022 South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, R-Zero’s Co-founder, Grant Morgan, moderated a panel discussion entitled “Public Health – Tech is Coming for You.” The esteemed panel featured the following participants: Together, the panelists discussed how the devastation of COVID-19 has accelerated much-needed change in the field of public health, with specific focus on […]

The past ten days have brought exciting and potentially revolutionary changes to national health. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency released the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge, a set of guiding principles and call to action to reduce risks from airborne viruses and other contaminants indoors for better indoor air quality. This initiative, which is part […]

On March 9, 2022, R-Zero hosted a webinar to explore UV-C disinfection for healthcare, education, senior care and other non healthcare settings with two of the nation’s leading UV-C experts: Dr. Edward Nardell, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. David Brenner, Director of the Columbia University Center for Radiological Research. Dr. […]

On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, R-Zero hosted a webinar entitled, “Disinfection Using Ultraviolet Radiation to Advance Environmental Safety in Healthcare.” The webinar featured Dr. Edward Nardell and Dr. David Brenner. These two UV experts provided a compelling, in-depth look at the history, safety, science, and efficacy behind UV-C disinfection in public spaces. Dr. Edward Nardell, […]

COVID-19 has caused regular people to pay more attention to science-backed efficacy. COVID has also changed the way we communicate, how we work, how we educate, how we protect, and how we live. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the health of indoor spaces received minimal consideration. As the pandemic progressed, human-to-human interaction in […]

When the Covid-19 pandemic spread to the mainland United States in March of 2020, unbeknownst to the public, a huge scale experiment in altering the layout of the American business culture was about to begin. With nationwide quarantine orders in effect, businesses spent billions investing in Work From Home infrastructure—including things like altered scheduling, teleconference, […]

On Monday, January 24th, R-Zero hosted a webinar discussion about navigating the risks associated with keeping schools open. This challenging issue has forced the public education system to confront the social and educational consequences associated with learning disruptions during the global pandemic.  Moderated by R-Zero Co-founder, Grant Morgan, the webinar featured former U.S. Secretary of […]

It’s the basic question that every manager or business owner needs to answer: “What can I do to help my employees be more productive?” However, recent studies have shown that question may already be answered by the time your employees first set foot in their workspace. Factors like temperature, lighting, and noise can have a […]

Since the COVID pandemic began in March 2020, the U.S. government has provided Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. The complex funding program supports schools in the fight against coronavirus. With over 4,600 U.S. schools closed due to Omicron during the first week of 2022, spending ESSER funding to avoid learning disruptions and […]

R-Zero is proud to announce that built environment expert Jeff Wagner, former Chief of Facilities for Clark County School District in Nevada, has joined the team as General Manager of Education. As a trained architect and former college professor, Jeff brings a wealth of experience regarding the impact of the built environment on people-performance. Before […]

The right to privacy in the workplace has become a hot-button legal and ethical issue. As technology evolves to better automate, codify, and streamline our work, so do the increasingly intrusive methods by which our lives are monitored—both online in the real world. Detailed information about the workplace is invaluable for it’s cost-saving applications, but […]

No matter how much employers or building managers wish there was a magic formula for improving employee efficiency, it remains a complex problem that depends on a lot of factors. issues with scheduling, space management, and even office comfort levels all directly influence the quality of work your employees are capable of. When confronting an […]

Investing in the new generation of smart office technology can sometimes feel like a leap of faith, especially when you don’t know what systems will work best for your unique business environment. Occupancy sensors for offices can provide crucial data about how your office or workplace is actually used by employees—data which can translate to […]

As the role of digital technology in the workplace has grown exponentially over the past two decades, so has the need for oversight of what information is collected by digital services used by employers. A Pew Research survey on consumer privacy found that “93% of adults say that being in control of who can get […]

Cleaning and disinfecting with chemicals such as bleach have been go-to methods since the start of the last century. Chemical products are often inexpensive and convenient cleaners used in organizations, public facilities, and people’s homes. Recently, bleach and other chemical disinfection methods have been an integral part of disinfecting surfaces during the pandemic, helping curb […]

According to renowned Harvard researchers, by the time we reach 80, we will have spent 72 years of our lives indoors. This staggering fact means that healthy indoor environments and indoor air quality (IAQ) matter. Furthermore, facilities leaders responsible for the indoor spaces where we spend our time play an instrumental role in stewarding our […]

By Grant Morgan, Co-Founder In the introduction to their influential 2020 book Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, Joseph G. Allen and John D. Macomber describe the multidisciplinary pursuit of healthier indoor spaces as “the greatest untapped business and health opportunity of our time.” Today, R-Zero is significantly advancing the future of […]

Going to the office isn’t like what it used to be. Instead of giant labyrinths of cubicles and meeting spaces, modern workspaces need to be flexible, and designed to meet employee demands. In the digital age, workplace management is really about data management, and that’s where R-Zero occupancy sensors can mean the difference between wasted […]

By Grant Morgan, Co-Founder R-Zero is a company with an ambitious vision: to create a world without sick days. Today, while a global pandemic continues to claim lives and devastate economies, that vision seems particularly far fetched. But we see a hopeful future – one even better than what we knew before – and we will […]

Since R-Zero’s first deployment study in 2014, we have collected over 6M days of data. This is an enormous amount of utilization information that represents a wide range of sectors like tech, pharma, financial, and more. This data represents a time in workplace occupancy that we may not be able to replicate for years to […]

Facilities Management is a crucial, and sometimes underappreciated, aspect of any business where an office or workspace is a necessity. Proper FM balances both employee experience with cost-balancing measures and is crucial to a comfortable, well-functioning workplace. In 2021, as businesses are returning to work but stay mindful of lessons learned during the pandemic, FM […]

by Scott Rhymes, The ABD Team When a social norm as common as a handshake may go the way of the Dodo bird, new expectations are bubbling to the surface that will influence how we reduce the spread of communicable diseases into the future. The pandemic has taught society, employers, and employees a lot about […]

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco was arguably the coworking capital of the U.S. In 2018, the city had more coworking spaces per capita than any other major city in the country. In San Francisco’s ecosystem of tech startups, entrepreneurs and creatives, coworking spaces have in recent years served as a preferred […]

By Kevin Samy, Government Affairs Lead at R-Zero In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring issued a stern warning against neglecting the immense risks of hazardous chemicals use, especially in pesticides. Her book helped encourage policymakers to take a hard look at the widespread application of DDT, a harmful pesticide, adding fuel to a burgeoning environmental […]

It’s not uncommon for an organization’s assumed workplace utilization to be vastly different from reality. We’ve found this to be due to several things— a lack of understanding in what utilization represents and the low fidelity of the tools used when measuring. Historic methods for determining utilization are not actually processes of measuring at all […]

Passive infrared sensing devices have become ubiquitous in commercial real estate. The technology has become a standard in many applications due to its simple and completely anonymous method of detecting presence. Historically, building systems have utilized the integration of granular motion sensors and their basic occupancy event data for driving improvements in energy usage. Sensors […]

Not everyone analyzing workplace data has experience in workplace metrics and, even for professionals, there can be confusion when comparing occupancy to utilization. While the two are often used interchangeably, they are in fact very different. Think back to the days when companies would pay a person to walk through a building with a clipboard […]

We’ve always considered workplace productivity the golden metric because it relates to growth, worker satisfaction, and retention. We have recently seen how digital tools can lead to time efficiency, continuity, and effectiveness while working from home. The area of productivity that real estate and facilities teams can have the most impact on is in the […]

There is a lot of confusion about real-time workplace data. When R-Zero talks real-time, we mean it. Our sensors update to the cloud instantaneously when a seat or space becomes occupied or vacated. Why is this important? Because real-time data will run the future office. Making data available to staff can alleviate fears and build […]

While North American companies are depending on summertime heat to quell the virus and usher in the commencement of business, experts believe that this virus may be here to stay, returning each fall and winter, as an endemic seasonal concern. We all know that lockdown can’t go on forever, yet to ensure the safety and […]

In the shadow of COVID-19, business strategists are finding themselves suddenly stranded in dark and uncharted territory. Struggling to reclaim and retain market stability under a nail-biting stock-market decline, businesses are seeing an en-mass clearing of desks as entire workforces are ordered into self-quarantine, to care for loved ones whilst trying to manage their work […]