A Safe and Healthy Workplace

In each of the business lines at Nvira, our experts adapt to the different needs of our varied clienteles to offer them integrated and personalized solutions. Therefore, it is not a surprise that one of the main objectives of our Hygiene, health and safety teams is to offer comprehensive services adapted to our customers’ environments.

At Nvira, we understand that contaminants in the air and in work environments can affect building occupants. This blog article aims to explain how our experts can support you in the implementation of prevention plans or corrective action plans to help you ensure comfort, health, safety and the productivity of the occupants of your commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.

Our teams specializing in hygiene, health and safety support the needs of our customers by providing complete project management concerning air quality, work supervision or compliance certifications. Starting with the needs assessment, our experts develop sampling and investigation strategies in the field, to produce comprehensive expert documents clearly identifying the problems and the appropriate solutions, while offering constant support throughout the projects.

In addition, whether for ad hoc or periodic analysis of the air quality in schools, for asbestos removal work in a building, for the management of hazardous materials in a factory or for the evaluation of the worker exposure, our professionals advise you on the best solutions to implement to ensure the health and safety of the occupants of your buildings.

Our know-how in hygiene, health and safety is divided into 2 major areas of expertise, namely industrial hygiene and asbestos as well as air quality.

Our industrial hygiene experts support several companies from multiple sectors to identify the various contaminants or chemicals to which employees are exposed. Our various interventions in this expertise allow us to verify the exposure of workers to contaminants and to verify compliance with the regulations in force. Following these assessments or interventions, our team can issue specific recommendations to ensure the health and safety of workers.

These interventions or assessments are carried out according to sampling and analysis protocols recognized in the field of industrial hygiene. To have reliable results and to give clear recommendations to our customers, the samples collected are analyzed in certified laboratories. These results allow us to verify whether the collective means of protection, the working methods in place and the personal protective equipment provided to workers are adequate.

If, however, some parameters did not comply with the permitted exposure values, our experts can quickly assist you in the implementation of recommendations and corrective measures to implement actions to obtain a safe work environment.

Our expertise in industrial hygiene allows us to guide our industrial customers at different levels.

• Assessment of contaminants in the workplace (dust, noise, welding fumes and metallic elements, isocyanates, lead, silica, beryllium [air and surfaces], gases and vapours, oil mists, solvents, etc.)

• Assessment of compressed breathing air

• Sampling and analysis of respirable, inhalable, total dust

• Building audits

• Occupational health and safety audits

• Assessment of occupational exposure

• Establishment, evaluation and improvement of the OHS program

• Training (respiratory protection—including fit tests, WHMIS, PPE, forklift, confined spaces, lockout, etc.)

The presence of asbestos or hazardous materials in a building (commercial, industrial or institutional) can be a concern. In this type of regulated context, it is always preferable to work with experts to characterize hazardous materials and/or to set up asbestos removal specifications and decontamination protocols.

Our team of multidisciplinary professionals has extensive expertise in the field. We are also privileged to have in our team fibre counters recognized by the IRSST, who are able to quickly carry out analysis of total fibres in the air and thus support you in the asbestos removal process. Regardless of the type of material to be analyzed (thermal insulation, flocking, plaster, vinyl tiles, etc.), our team supports you in all analysis, according to recognized methods.

• ELAP 198-1 method—Characterization of asbestos fibres in non-friable materials

• IRSST-244 method—Characterization of fibres in dust or bulk materials

Since it is essential to ensure the comfort and safety of occupants, it is also important to optimize air quality to maximize the comfort and productivity of occupants in your buildings. Our experts can also set up preventive air quality check plans to ensure compliance of many parameters at various times during the year. These checks give our customers peace of mind and allow them to be proactive if risky situations arise. We are present throughout the project, to support our customers and offer them solutions adapted to their reality.

In cases where a physical, chemical or biological parameter does not meet the applicable recommendations, our team of professionals can quickly provide clear recommendations to correct the problem. Whether in the context of specific certifications (e.g.: Boma Best, LEED, Well), or for environments that must meet some ISO standards for the preparation or manufacture of products (e.g.: pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, wards own, pharmacies, etc.), you can count on our team of professionals.

Our air quality experts can always accompany our customers, regardless of their needs.

• Preventive air quality checks

• Audits and management plan for air quality and indoor environment

• Verification and certification of clean rooms and controlled environments

• Management of odours and symptoms reported by occupants

• Evaluation of ventilation ducts

• Staff training (respiratory protection, Boma Best air quality management, etc.)

With our own laboratory accredited by MELCC, we can perform all the microbiological analysis necessary for our clients’ projects. Correct identification of moulds helps to avoid misdiagnosis and establish a reliable verdict.

Whether for analyzes related to microbiology (moulds, yeast, bacteria, fungi, etc.) or asbestos, we have the expertise and the resources to process them directly in our laboratory. In this way, our customers can be sure of having their results quickly, while having detailed reports on the analysis carried out.

Our building decontamination management experts support you in all your projects, from the audit to the decontamination certification, through characterization, drafting of quotes and monitoring the execution of the work. Whether it is during the discovery of asbestos, hazardous materials, mould or the outbreak of a virus, our team goes into action mode to set up decontamination and disinfection protocols as well as asbestos removal process. Our professionals quickly manage the work so that our customers can resume their activities without delay.

In addition, whether for legal expertise, for planning, for monitoring of work, or simply to check whether mould contamination could affect the air, our experts will provide you with quality services to achieve your goals and help you regain a healthy indoor environment.

Our investigations for the presence of mould are carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the BNQ 3009-600 standard concerning the contamination of building by mould. Our professionals apply recognized methods to carry out meticulous investigations of your building, establish a reliable diagnosis of the presence and impact of sources of contamination, and to develop an appropriate decontamination procedure. Even in the event of contamination by the devastating fungus Serpula Lacrymans, our professionals are there to help you correct the situation!

We can also assist you in applying the required protective measures and cleaning procedures. In addition, we offer training to workers to make them aware of the dangers and the importance of using good work methods. Once the fungal decontamination is complete, we provide a certificate of compliance attesting that the mould removal work has been carried out properly.

Finally, our experienced teams who form our expertise in hygiene, health and safety only have one goal in mind: to put in place adapted solutions to meet the various needs of our customers. This is what makes them a trusted team that you can count on for your industrial hygiene, asbestos and air quality projects.

If you would like to learn more about our various environmental solutions, we invite you to read one of our latest blog articles!