Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the Effect of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) on the Performance of Building Technology Lecturers in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Methodology: Three research questions guided the study in which survey research design was used. The entire population of the study was 216, comprising 84 building technology lecturers and 132 higher technical officers from six tertiary institutions in Nigeria. A 38-item questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument at a coefficient of 0.89. A total of 216 copies of the questionnaire were administered and 210 copies were retrieved, representing a 92% return rate. The data collected was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. Results: The study found out that there exist 5 items on how the indoor air quality (IAQ) affect building technology lecturers’ performance in Nigerian tertiary institutions, 5 items on how thermal comfort affect building technology lecturers’ performance in Nigerian tertiary institutions, 7 items on how building acoustics affect building technology lecturers’ performance in Nigerian tertiary institutions and 6 items on how ergonomics affects building technology lecturers’ performance in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The study also found 6 items on challenges of installing Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), facilities and 10 items on the ways of providing and improving Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), in Nigerian tertiary institutions. Practical Implications: Lecturers’ role on monitoring and maintenance of IEQ in offices could be enhanced through appointment of Desk officer in each faculty of the tertiary institutions. The Desk officer will liaise between the lecturers and maintenance unit of the institutions on IEQ issues. Originality/Value: The study concluded that improved indoor environmental quality has a tremendous impact on lecturer’s performance, comfort, workspace utilization and overall productivity.

Highlights

  • Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is the condition created in buildings by contextual features like characteristics of building elements, characteristics of the occupant, furniture and furnishing and mechanical and electrical conditioning facilities (Frontczak, 2012)

  • The findings are in agreement with the findings of Kolokotsa and Santamouris (2015) in which they posited that poor indoor air quality can encourage biological contaminants to be harboured in curtains, ceilings, carpets, rugs, walls and tiles of the building, which can expose the staff to some health risks

  • The findings revealed how ergonomics affects building technology lecturer’s performance in Nigerian tertiary institutions which include; poor office layout can lead to limited space for the staff to store and keep research/educational materials in their offices, inadequate provision of large classrooms and laboratories amounts to large number of students sharing limited spaces during lecture periods and this can be very frustrating to both staff and students and poor space allocation to workshops and laboratories can lead to poor spacing of machines, tools and other laboratory equipments

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Summary

Introduction

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is the condition created in buildings by contextual features like characteristics of building elements, characteristics of the occupant, furniture and furnishing and mechanical and electrical conditioning facilities (Frontczak, 2012). It is described as the conditions inside the building which include air quality, access to daylight and views, pleasant acoustic conditions, and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort. The Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) studies in educational buildings have largely focused on students with limited attention to office workers in post-secondary institutions like universities, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries (Asmara et al, 2014). Lecturers’ performance in such buildings is usually affected by the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), which, in turn, is influenced by the characteristics of the users and the building itself (Frontczak et al, 2012)

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