ESI Group helps manage the risk of COVID- 19 contamination in the workplace
ESI Group, a world player in Virtual Prototyping software and services for industrials, relies on its historical background in simulation and the talent of its engineers to help manage and prevent the risk of cross-contamination and the spread of infection in the offices in the current post-COVID-19 context.
ESI's experts, throughout the United States, Asia and Europe, have collaborated with various organizations, including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), to investigate different scenarios to demonstrate the effect of occupant proximity, ventilation systems and contamination avoidance unique to each office and plant environment.
The customized simulations that were carried out provided answers to the following questions:
- How can open spaces and offices be rearranged to be in line with the rules of social distancing?
- How to adapt air-conditioning ventilation and fan speed to create air curtains and protect against aerosol penetration?
- How does the opening and closing of doors affect ventilation and air movement?
- Establish rules for travel and employees’ gatherings based on fresh air circulation.
- Locate, avoid and clean "dead spots" where aerosol particles could linger.
"The Coronavirus crisis, that we have all been experiencing for several months, is distressing a lot of habits and has resulted in new issues to be addressed by companies. Employee safety has always been key, but when the danger is invisible yet circulating in the air, the topic appears to be more complicated and crystallized. Just like other industrial and technological players, we seek to provide as many people as possible with solutions to help rebuild, secure and reassure. Simulation is an ideal tool that enables testing a very large range of scenarios without endangering anyone. Our expertise in material physics, Multiphysics and more precisely in fluid mechanics has allowed us to create realistic scenarios of droplet behavior in more or less enclosed and ventilated spaces. We are pleased to provide our input and to continue being faithful to our values: being as close as possible to our customers to help them achieve their goals, including the most challenging ones.", commented Anshul Gupta, COO at ESI India Business Operations on behalf of his team leading this project.