Work Environment Productivity Assessment (WEPA)

Productivity Assessments

It is well recognized that the quality of the work environment directly affects the performance of workers, business outcomes, facilities management and human resources.

Human perceptions and psychology impacts are also significant; an employee uses the tangible physical environment as heuristic for the intangible aspects of an organisation, such as organisational culture and management.

It is therefore important to measure the physical work environment and the productivity of the workforce in order to determine where opportunities for improvement are possible and to capitalise on some of the significant cost savings available for organisations. CETEC has the tools to make such assessments possible.

Work Environment Productivity Assessments (WEPAs)

Using elements of the NABERS Indoor Environment Validation Protocol as a framework for the collection of data (benchmarked comparisons), CETEC’s WEPAs assess both the quantitative and qualitative elements of the indoor environment.

This includes:

  • Thermal Comfort
    • Temperature, Relative Humidity, and Air Velocity
  • Indoor Air Quality
    • Particulate Matter, Airborne Microbials, Carbon Monoxide, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and Formaldehyde
  • Ventilation Effectiveness
    • Carbon Dioxide
  • Lighting
    • Horizontal Task Illuminance, Vertical Task Illuminance, Lighting Uniformity
  • Office Layout
  • Office Cleanliness and Maintenance

Importantly, WEPAs are robust, predictable and measurable. Many tools currently use a qualitative, “soft-science” approach to measuring IEQ parameters and this often involves the use of satisfaction surveys only. Whilst perception is important, in order to derive measurable productivity conclusions and provide effective solutions, a quantitative, rational and measurable approach is required in addition to sourcing occupant feedback.


The WEPA assessment structure is;

  1. Data Collection
  2. Evaluation of results
    • Comparing collected data against our internationally recognised models
  3. Report
    • Results
    • Interpretation of results
    • Recommended changes
    • Predicted productivity increases
    • Cost benefit analysis - To allow prioritisation and business rationale

Related Services

The recommendations generated from WEPAs can lead to significant savings resulting from a higher performing workforce.

It may be as simple as adjusting the temperature or lighting within an office space or changing the cleaning schedule.

CETEC has conducted over twenty WEPAs for a wide range of clients, including SA Water, Sydney Water, National Australia Bank, Woods Bagot, ISIS, Slattery Australia, Umow Lai, GE Capital, and Local Government Super.

Read about Local Government Super and what they have achieved at 120 Sussex St, Sydney using CETEC's services. They found:

  • Average tenant satisfaction rose from 66 to 82 % after the base building upgrade 
  • Improved IEQ, including better air quality, thermal comfort and lighting, gave tenants an average financial benefit of $188 per square metre

This building is now the lowest energy intensity office building in any Australian CBD.

For Umow Lai, CETEC was able to quantitatively demonstrate that the refurbishment of their office space led to a productivity gain for the organisation of $2.6 million a year. This equated to a saving of $5,600 per employee per year.

Productivity and the Built Environment

In 2015 CETEC were appointed by the Property Council of Australia to provide expertise for a Productivity Position Paper.  This paper can assist you to better understand how you can improve your productivity including the drivers of productivity improvement, benchmarking indoor environment performance and the measurement of productivity.

Read more

PCA Position Paper