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This study aims to explore the effect of different volumes of indoor greenery on perceived stress, stress, perceived productivity, productivity and perceived workplace satisfaction to support employees’ well-being.

In a cross-over experimental design, a homogeneous group of students was randomised in different orders where each participant experienced the same three conditions. Different volumes of indoor greenery were added to the experiment room (0%, 0.5% and 8%). With a Fitbit, sudoku and a questionnaire, the five variables were measured.

Findings show that perceived stress and heart rate (physical stress) are lower in the 8% condition. Productivity scores did not improve significantly, however perceived productivity did in the 8% condition. Positive trends could be seen for the variables in the 0.5% condition. Furthermore, 2/3 of the participants preferred the 8% condition, whereas the other 1/3 preferred the 0.5% condition. Overall, 1/3 of the participants mentioned that their optimal volume of greenery would be more than 0.5% but less than 8%. This research shows that the implementation of 8% indoor greenery contributes to a happier and more relaxing office place where employees get the feeling of being less stressed and more productive.

This research found that the largest volume of plants used (8%) has the most positive effect on the variables studied in this research. This study shows that participants’ heart rate, and therefore physical stress, became lower in the 8% condition. In this 8% condition, participants experienced less stress and perceived themselves to be more productive. Besides, 2/3 of the participants preferred being in the 8% condition, suggesting that after adding this volume of indoor greenery employees will be more satisfied with their workplace.

Where previous research discovered that indoor greenery has a positive effect on variables like (perceived) stress, (perceived) productivity and perceived workplace satisfaction, this research also provides support for the effect of different volumes of indoor greenery. Results obtained by the spatial coverage ratio approach can be easily applied to future research and practice.

Indoor greenery can contribute to making the office a happier and more relaxing place where employees get the feeling of being less stressed and more productive which in the long term might contribute to the overall well-being of employees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study focusing on the effect of different volumes of indoor greenery on these five variables.

This paper describes a novel drive mechanism for a robotic tractor for traversing pipelines, including sewers, in a poor condition. Traction is obtained by the reciprocating motion of two cylindrical brushes of a diameter larger than the pipe bore. The brushes move forwards down the pipe but grip the pipe wall to resist backward translation. A simple analytical model of the gripping mechanism is described. Three tractors here have been designed, manufactured and used on 20 field trials. The sewers inspected were initially considered to be uninspectable using conventional tractors. The novel tractors were easily able to deal with the majority of the sewers and the paper describes the three most difficult cases, illustrating the considerable capability of the tractors to deal with extremely poor sewer conditions.