posted on May 06, 2010 23:39
Many office buildings across the nation are operating in ways that result in lost productivity and added costs, according to a survey of U.S. office workers by International Business Machines Corp.
The IBM Smarter Buildings study asked 6,486 office workers in 16 cities about their experiences with elevator wait times and how environmentally-friendly their building is. The study also asked whether their buildings had Internet access, badge access, lights and thermostats that adjust automatically when people enter and leave rooms and utilized renewable energy sources.
Los Angeles had the most efficient buildings among the 16 cities surveyed, which included Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Denver and Chicago.
Results show that a lot of time is wasted waiting for elevators and being stuck in elevators across the country.
Houston respondents said they spent a cumulative 2.9 years worth of time stuck in elevators during the last 12 months. A total of 125 years worth of time was wasted in this fashion by all of the respondents, IBM stated.
The Houston workers spent another 6.8 years worth of time just waiting on an elevator, the study shows. All of the respondents combined estimate they spent the equivalent of 92 years worth of time standing by an elevator during the last 12 months.
Other findings from the IBM Smarter Buildings study include:
• One-third of respondents said their buildings are environmentally responsible
• 27 percent of office workers said their buildings adjust the environment automatically based on occupancy
• 14 percent said their buildings use renewable energy sources
• 65 percent would help redesign workplace to make it more environmentally responsible
April 30th, 2010 | Houston Business Journal