This week, the sky over our offices has been filled with an orange-grey haze due to Canadian wildfire smoke, pushing the AQI into “very unhealthy” territory across NYC and Jersey. This situation makes indoor air quality feel much more tangible.

Most people don’t consider air quality once they step inside a building. However, behind this assumption lies a building automation system that determines whether to pull in outside air or recirculate it, along with filtration systems working to keep PM2.5 out, all monitored by an engineering team in real time.

Days like this remind us of the true purpose of facilities management. It’s not just about maintaining lighting and comfortable temperatures; it’s about making real-time decisions to protect the people inside. This includes tightening outdoor air intake, upgrading filtration as necessary, and running purifiers in high-traffic areas.

This week, our GSH teams have been actively monitoring conditions and adjusting building systems across client sites, ensuring that occupants remain unaware of the hazardous conditions outside.

Clean indoor air is often taken for granted until the outside world looks like this. I am grateful for the teams who work diligently to maintain it.

Steve Wallis, GSH CEO USA