A Lesson in Simplicity

A special software tool created for the Ministry of Education has proved so successful it’s been showcased at an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conference in Paris.

The conference titled “Higher Education in a World Changed Utterly: Doing More with Less” focused on how the higher education sector (including governments, institutions and individuals) could lead the way through the global financial crisis to sustainable recovery. Speakers discussed how effective and efficient results can be achieved at a time of greater demand with fewer resources.

Stephenson&Turner designed the tool to enable the Ministry to assess the environmental quality of its nationwide learning environments – encompassing more than 30,000 classrooms, science laboratories, workshops, gyms and other teaching spaces.

Instead of proposing the traditional (and boringly predictable) temperature devices and humidity loggers, S&T – in a first for the firm – created a tool that’s not only simple to use but has easy data storage capabilities to help the Ministry plan for its school building requirements well into the future. What’s more, we suggested that a student as young as 10 could use the tool to assess a room in just half an hour – an innovative approach that proved one of the keys to its appeal.

The tool is used to rate internal environments for thermal comfort, ventilation, lighting and acoustics. All that’s needed is a computer and tape measure, metre rule or clickwheel. Measurements are entered into the computer, with the software using rules of thumb, profiling and statistics to produce the ratings.

The Ministry is now using the data to identify areas that require further investigation by building professionals, and accessing potential solutions that come at little or no cost. It’s a win-win solution with simplicity at its core – capturing S&T’s technical expertise in a building solution that will deliver benefits for generations of teachers and students to come.

For more information, please contact Michael Warwick at 04.472.7899.

- Posted Sept. 16, 2010