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Comfortmeter

 is a web-based survey tool that assesses the user satisfaction in office buildings.

This kind of survey is often referred to as a ‘Post-Occupancy Evaluation’ (POE) or Occupant Survey.

Three versions

There are two standard versions of Comfortmeter. They are both available as online tool but each focuses on different aspects. As a third option, a questionnaire can be developed based a customer’s needs.

Comfortmeter - indoor climate (IEQ)

The survey focuses on the Indoor Environmental Quality of a workspace (basically: thermal comfort, acoustics, quality of air and light). The survey enables Technical Facility managers to diagnose a building.

Comfortmeter - user well-being (WELL)

 

This survey is compliant with the WELL Building Standard v2. It is a holistic survey that goes beyond IEQ, and takes into account other factors that impact the health and well-being of building users.

Custom-made

 

 We adjust our existing surveys to your needs, e.g. to integrate them with already existing HR-surveys. Also, we are flexible to translate our surveys into other languages. 

DO YOU KNOW HOW SATISFIED YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE WITH THEIR WORK ENVIRONMENT ?

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)

The survey focuses on the Indoor Environmental Quality of a workspace.

It enables Technical Facility managers to diagnose a (‘sick’) building. It also makes it possible to compare the comfort satisfaction before & after implementing measures intended to improve the comfort satisfaction. The survey can also be used to monitor the comfort level during the execution of Building Performance Contracts (BPC).

This survey is compliant with the WELL Building Standard v1. It contains questions about thermal comfort, acoustics, quality of air and light. It also checks how users feel about the individual control they have over the environmental conditions in their workspace. It also assesses the building’s appearance and the workspace’s ergonomics.

user Well-being (WELL)

This survey is compliant with the WELL Building Standard v2. It is a holistic survey that goes beyond IEQ.

The survey is a helpful tool for HR or Sustainability managers who would like to monitor the impact of their workplace policies on employees.

In addition to the IEQ questions, it also checks other factors like health & wellness policies, access to healthy food, access to nature, etc.

Comfortmeter is accredited by the WELL Standard organization as ‘pre-approved survey provider’.

    Comfortmeter stats

    minutes to complete

    People surveyed

    Buildings checked

    Why conducting
    pOST-OCCUPANCY SURVEYS?

     

     A number of scientific studies have clearly shown that the job satisfaction, well-being, health and productivity of building users are directly affected by their work environment. Hence, Post-Occupancy Evaluations (POE) are of key importance for organizations that wish to monitor the satisfaction of their employees about their workspaces.  

    POEs have added value in the following contexts:

    • Reality check of comfort in newly constructed buildings during the commissioning process
    • Human validation of sensor data captured by the building management system.
    • Diagnosis of ‘sick buildings’ by Facility Manager
    • Being employer of choice in the war for talent, by offering state of the art workspaces
    • Evidence based promotion of attractive buildings by real estate brokers
    • Generating credits in compliance schemes such as WELL, BREEAM-in-use
    • Comparison of comfort levels before/after taking comfort enhancing measures


    ARTICLES ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
    IEQ & HEALTH, WELL-BEING, PRODUCTIVITY

     

    Frequently asked questions

    Survey languages

    The Comfortmeter IEQ survey is available in 10+ languages: English, Dutch BE / NL, French, German, Italian, Danish, Norsk, Greek, Latvian and Czech.
    The Comfortmeter WELL-survey is available in English (US).
    We are flexible to translate the survey into other languages, depending on the commercial terms and conditions.

    Survey report

    The Comfortmeter IEQ report is available in 4 languages: English, Dutch BE / NL, French, German
    The Comfortmeter WELL-report is available in English (US)

    How long does it take to complete the survey?

    The IEQ version takes  on average 10 minutes to complete. The WELL version 15 minutes.

    How is the survey process structured?
    The survey process consists in 4 main steps:

    1. Preparing the survey (in close cooperation with the client):
    gathering all e-mail addresses of the persons working in a building. Possibly, subdividing a building in zones (e.g. multi-tenant building, or a building with 2 clearly different characteristics). Drafting the invitation text to the survey, in concertation with the HR Manager, or Facility Manager, that is ordering the survey.
    2. Conducting the actual survey:
    sending out the e-mails including links to the online-survey.
    3. Reporting the survey:
    processing the survey results; subsequently sending the report to the customer.
    4. Commenting the survey results:
    webinar (1 hour).
    The above described activities normally take 6 weeks. Upon specific request, the duration of the survey process may be shortened.

    What is the average response rate of a CM survey?
    The average response rate is 57%, which is high in comparison with online surveys in general. This is explained by the fact that most addressees value the fact that their opinion is being asked on a topic that has an important impact on their (professional) life. Beyond this intrinsic motivation, it also appears that a well written introduction text, in which the context/objective of the survey is explained by the HR Manager, or by the Facility Manager, is crucial to stimulate the addressees to spend some time to provide feedback on the perceived comfort within their office.
    The high response rate increases considerably the representativeness and the reliability of the measured results.

    What is the minimum number of respondents required to have a reliable statistical outcome?
    More than 100 is the ideal situation. 40 respondents generate a low estimation error. 20 respondents is a minimum requirement and generates a high estimation error.

    For which type of buildings is the Comfortmeter suited?
    In principle, the Comfortmeter survey is intended for use in any building with people that have their own workspace (offices, schools, universities, retail,…). However, the type of questions will vary slightly according to the type of building. Factor4 has started by developing and commercialising a survey for offices. Other variants of the Comfortmeter survey may follow (schools, retail, care,…).
    Organizations using flex working can also be surveyed with the Comfortmeter, as long as the flex workers work most of the time in the same building zone (not necessarily on the very same spot).

    How is determined where the respondents are located in the building?
    At the start of the survey a drop down menu enables the respondents to indicate where they (normally) work.

     

    Specifically for Comfortmeter-IEQ :

    How are the subjective responses objectified?
    The challenge when surveying buildings users lies in objectifying these persons’ replies. This kind of ‘calibration’ – so to speak – is accomplished by incorporating a few questions which allow us to get to know the respondent better, e.g. gender, age, etc. Based on various scientifically known correlations between, for example gender and thermal satisfaction, we have developed an econometric model that allows us to recalculate and objectify the responses.

    Does the Comfortmeter report the impact of IEQ on absence due to sick leave?
    Presently the Comfortmeter does not calculate the financial effect of (reduced) sick leave. However, the Comfortmeter produces essential information which enables the client to decide if further investigation of ‘office-related-sick-leave’ is required.

     

    Is Comfortmeter GDPR compliant?
    Yes, Comfortmeter is compliant with the informed consent rules stipulated by GDPR with respect to the following topics, e.g. purpose, voluntary participation, privacy and confidentiality of the acquired data.

    News about comfortmeter

    WELL certification in Poland

    BuroHappold has used Comfortmeter to conduct a Post Occupancy Survey in their office in Warsaw, Poland. BuroHappold wanted to measure how their recently refurbished healthy office impacts their people. The survey is also part of the WELL Building Standard certification process. More information is available via this link.

     

    WELL certification in the Netherlands

    Comfortmeter was used as ‘Post-Occupancy Survey’ tool by consultancy DEERNS when conducting the 1st complete WELL certification in the Nederlands.  The offices of  Pleijsierbouw en Borghese Real Estate obtained a WELL Gold certificate.

    POEs in 20 offices in Belgium

    VDAB uses Comfortmeter to monitor their employee satisfaction in 20 office buildings in Flanders. Upon request of VDAB, a number of tailor-made questions were added to the core questionnaire of Comfortmeter. The additional questions focused on the Facility services.

    COMFORTMETER IN THE PRESS

    • TVVL Magazine, HELSEN, L..; COOLEN, J.; e.a. (2013)
      Comfortervaring in kantoren mét en zonder Geotabs.
      Article (in Dutch) that presents the scientific results of a comfort evaluation of Geotabs buildings in the frame of the research project GeoTabs.
    • Facility vastgoed Magazine, COOLEN, J. (2015),
      Comfortmeter helpt bij nemen van maatregelen
      The added value of Comfortmeter is explained in the context of taking measures to make office buildings more green hence more productive (article in Dutch).

     

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    Comfortmeter is commercialized by Factor4 in Belgium.
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    Comfortmeter is co-developed by