French retailer protects employees by improving air quality in the workplace 

Created 28 April 2021
French retail giant chooses camfil solutions to provide a healthy high-quality indoor air free of viruses such as sars-cov-2 to their employees.

THE CUSTOMER

This French retailing group includes many hypermarkets brands, supermarkets and DIY shops. The group is present in many countries in Europe and between 3,000 and 4,000 people visit its headquarters and training center located in the Paris region every day.

THE SITUATION

Further to the lockdown in France in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this large retailing group wanted to go on welcoming its staff to the premises of its headquarters in the best and safest way. The group wanted to be able to continue to train its new employees and franchisees in its hundred or so dedicated rooms. The control of the indoor air quality is a key factor for the health safety of the staff and trainees and also to help them feel protected, reassured, and confident. There were many different types of rooms involved: individual or two-person offices, open spaces, or large training amphitheaters. The customer did not want any work to be done in the rooms to clean the air.

THE SOLUTION

To be able to guarantee the continuity of its activities and to ensure the safety of people with clean air free of airborne particles and viruses in the various buildings, Camfil proposed professional air purifiers equipped with HEPA H14 filters certified according to EN 1822

About 180 units of City M and 350 units of City S were installed to maintain good air quality in areas respectively of 45 square meters and 75 square meters. To ensure the filters’ filtration efficiency, each H14 filter has a serial number, is individually tested before it is shipped and delivered with its test report.

“We were looking for high-performance equipment effective against viruses, easy to install and maintain, and that could be used in both small and large rooms without the need for major work. Camfil met our demand with its air purifiers. The solution to our needs was provided quickly and we are fully satisfied“ - Maintenance and Works Manager of the end customer‘s installer

THE RESULTS

All the employees were able to work on the site as soon as September 2020. All training and the annual negotiation meetings with the franchisees are now carried out on the site. Once the health crisis is over, the staff will continue to benefit from clean air and reduce allergic reactions thanks to the ECARF (European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation)- certified City M and City S air purifiers (ideal for eradicating allergies). Improved air quality and fewer allergies contribute to less absenteeism and better productivity of staff.

According to INRS’ (National Institute for Research and Security), the City M air purifier includes HEPA filtration technology and is highly recommended to remove airborne contaminants such as the Covid-19 virus. A study financed by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region on the City M equipped with HEPA H14 filters was carried out in January 2021. This study confirms the efficiency of our HEPA H14 technology with filtration of up to 99.9% of the virus in 20 minutes of use (10 cycles of air recirculation) and total disappearance of infectious viruses on the filters at 48 hours. This allows for maintenance of the filters, without the risk of contamination of the operators.