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IAQ Reference Guide

Appendix A - Hiring Professional Assistance

IAQ TfS Action Kit

Contents
 

Some indoor air quality (IAQ) problems are simple to resolve when school personnel understand the building investigation process. Many potential problems will be prevented if staff and students do their part to maintain good IAQ. However, a time may come when outside assistance is needed. For example, professional help might be necessary or desirable in the following situations:

Hiring Professional Help

As you prepare to hire professional services for a building investigation, be aware that IAQ is a developing area of knowledge. Most individuals working in IAQ received their primary training in other disciplines. It is important to define the scope of work clearly and discuss any potential consultant’s proposed approach to the investigation, including plans for coordinating efforts among team members. The school’s representatives must exercise vigilance in overseeing diagnostic activities and corrective action. Performance specifications can help to ensure the desired results. Sample performance specification language is provided at the end of this appendix in italicized font.

Other than for lead and asbestos remediation, there are no Federal regulations covering professional services in the general field of indoor air quality, although some disciplines (e.g., engineers, industrial hygienists) whose practitioners work with IAQ problems have licensing and certification requirements. Individuals and groups that offer services in this evolving field should be questioned closely about their related experience and their proposed approach to your problem. In addition, request and contact references.

Local, state, or Federal government agencies (e.g., education, health, or air pollution agencies) may be able to provide expert assistance or direction in solving IAQ problems. If available government agencies do not have personnel with the appropriate skills to assist in solving your IAQ problem, they may be able to direct you to firms in your area with experience in IAQ work. You may also be able to locate potential consultants by looking in the yellow pages (e.g., under "Engineers," "Environmental Services," "Laboratories – Testing," or "Industrial Hygienists"), or by asking other schools for referrals. Often, a multi-disciplinary team of professionals is needed to investigate and resolve an IAQ problem. The skills of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) engineers and industrial hygienists are typically useful for this type of investigation. Input from other disciplines such as chemistry, architecture, microbiology, or medicine may also be important.

If problems other than IAQ are involved, experts in lighting, acoustic design, interior design, psychology, or other fields may be helpful in resolving occupant complaints about the indoor environment.

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Evaluating Potential Consultants

As with any hiring process, the better you know your own needs, the easier it will be to select individuals or firms to service those needs. The more clearly you can define the project scope, the more likely you are to achieve the desired result without paying for unnecessary services. An investigation strategy based on evaluating building performance can be used to solve a problem without necessarily identifying a particular chemical compound as the cause. The idea of testing the air to learn whether it is "safe" or "unsafe" is very appealing. Most existing standards for airborne pollutants, however, were developed for industrial settings where most occupants are usually healthy adult men. Some state regulations call for the involvement of a professional engineer for any modifications or additions to a school HVAC system. Whether or not this is legally mandated for your school, the professional engineer’s knowledge of air handling, conditioning, and sequencing strategies will help to design ventilation system modifications without creating other problems. In many situations, proper engineering can save energy while improving IAQ. An example of this might be the redesign of outside air-handling strategies to improve the performance of an economizer cycle.

The following guidelines may be helpful in evaluating potential consultants:

  1. Competent professionals will ask questions about your situation to see whether they can offer services that will assist you.

    The causes and potential remedies for IAQ problems vary greatly. A firm needs at least a preliminary understanding of the facts about what is going on in your building to evaluate if it can offer the professional skills necessary to address your concerns and to make effective use of its personnel from the outset.


  2. Consultants should be able to describe how they expect to form and test explanations for and solutions to the problem.

    Discuss the proposed approach to the building investigation. It may involve moving suspected contaminant sources or manipulating HVAC controls to simulate conditions at the time of complaints or to test possible corrective actions. Poorly designed studies may lead to conclusions that are either "false negative" (i.e., falsely concluding that there is no problem) or "false positive" (i.e., falsely concluding that a specific condition caused the complaint).

    Some consultants may produce an inventory of problems in the building without determining which, if any, of those problems caused the original complaint. If investigators discover IAQ problems unrelated to the concern that prompted the evaluation, those problems should be noted and reported. It is important, however, that the original complaint is resolved.


  3. The decision to take IAQ measurements should be approached with caution. IAQ investigators often find a large number of potential sources contributing low levels of various contaminants to the air. These findings frequently raise more questions than they answer. Before starting to take measurements, investigators need a clear understanding of how the results will be used and interpreted. Without this understanding, planning appropriate sampling locations and times, instrumentation, and analysis procedures is impossible. Non-routine measurements (such as relatively expensive sampling for volatile organic compounds (VOCs)) should not be conducted without site-specific justification. Concentrations that comply with industrial occupational standards are not necessarily protective of children, or other school occupants.


  4. A qualified IAQ investigator should have appropriate experience, demonstrate a broad understanding of IAQ problems and the conditions that can lead to them (e.g., the relationship between IAQ and the building structure, mechanical systems, sources, and human activities), and use a phased diagnostic approach.

    Have the firm identify the personnel who would be responsible for your case, their specific experience, and related qualifications. Contract only for the services of those individuals, or require approval for substitutions. When hiring an engineer, look for someone with the equipment and expertise to perform a ventilation system assessment and with strong field experience. Some engineers rarely work outside the office.


  5. In the proposal and the interview, a prospective consultant should present a clear, detailed picture of the proposed services and work products, including the following information:

    • The basic goal(s), methodology, and sequence of the investigation, the information to be obtained, and the process of hypothesis development and testing, including criteria for decision-making about further data-gathering.
       
    • Any elements of the work that will require a time commitment from school staff, including information to be collected by the school.
       
    • The schedule, cost, and work product(s), such as a written report, specifications, and plans for mitigation work; supervision of mitigation work; and training program for school staff.
       
    • Additional tasks (and costs) that may be part of solving the IAQ problem but are outside the scope of the contract. Examples include: medical examination of complainants, laboratory fees, and contractor’s fees for mitigation work.
       
    • Communication between the IAQ professional and the client: How often will the contractor discuss the progress of the work with the school? Who will be notified of test results and other data? Will communications be in writing, by telephone, or face-to-face? Will the consultant meet with students and/or school staff to collect information? Will the consultant meet with staff, parent organizations, or others to discuss findings, if requested to do so?
       
    • References from clients who have received comparable services.

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IAQ-Related Ventilation Modifications

The school’s representatives need to remember: Oversee the work and ask questions that will help you ensure the work is properly performed. Specialized measurements of airflow or pre- and post-mitigation contaminant concentrations may be needed to know whether the corrective action is effective.

Performance specifications can be used as part of the contract package to establish critical goals for system design and operation. Performance specifications can be used to force contractors to demonstrate that they have met those goals. At the same time, performance specifications should avoid dictating specific design features such as duct sizes and locations, thus leaving HVAC system designers free to apply their professional expertise. You may be able to adapt appropriate sections of the following sample performance specifications for your school.

Performance Specifications

Demonstrating System Performance

Institutionalizing the Corrective Action

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