We’ve recently been working with a number of clients in the education sector to address the growing problem of vaping across their sites.
In addition to the obvious health concerns, some schools were experiencing fire alarms being set off in toilets, which was interrupting the school day on a regular basis.
Air Quality Sensors supplied by our partner <a href=”https://www.verkada.com/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Verkada</a> monitor and detect PM2.5, TVOCs, smoke and vape emissions.
If conditions deviate beyond pre-set thresholds, a SMS notification goes out to site staff. Instead of manually checking each toilet block, a simple dashboard with all sensor readings allows staff to respond immediately, analyse data and guide students into making better decisions about their health.
However, although sensors are able to detect the presence of smoke and vape emissions, none of our clients have the intention to catch students in the act. Rather than punishment, their focus is on intervention and providing students with a program to learn about the dangers of vaping. For example, when the Vape Index unexpectedly spiked on days while students were sitting GCSEs, it was a discovery that opened up important conversations and informed intervention strategies.
Whilst many assumed their students wouldn’t take risks during an exam, the data informed them of the facts, and the suggestion that students might be driven to vape by stress and anxiety. The question then becomes, ‘how can we help them?’
To learn more about the hardware and install requirements, contact us.
