This complex is well maintained, in no small part due to Gary Diley, former VP of Property Management Department; Pat Feikles, VP of Environmental Management and Energy; and the Erie Insurance facilities team. Over the past several decades, this team has created a comfortable and healthy indoor environment throughout Erie Insurance’s facilities.

Recognizing that indoor air quality is an important aspect of occupant health and comfort, Erie Insurance has long placed emphasis on both monitoring and improving IAQ. While Erie has not seen the levels of heavy industry that other nearby cities have, Erie Insurance’s headquarters lies in close proximity to Erie’s wastewater treatment facility, and until 2019, the Erie Coke Plant.

Erie Insurance has spent many years monitoring for the presence of potential harms within their indoor air, including CO2, CO, VOCs (volatile organic compounds), particulate matter, mold, and radon.

Testing is conducted periodically as a preventive maintenance measure, and any identified issues or complaints are addressed promptly to maintain a healthy environment.

Erie Insurance’s leadership view their IAQ practices as a critical investment in supporting their most valuable resource: their employees. Placing a premium on staff wellbeing and a safe, welcoming environment, the company began implementing the highest standards of IAQ maintenance voluntarily, prior to pandemic-led awareness of air quality issues. And alongside their monitoring procedures, Erie Insurance has numerous operational policies designed to improve IAQ, all meeting or exceeding industry standards for air quality optimization. While the industry default for humidity control hovers around 15-20% humidity in winter, Mr. Diley opted to implement a 30% humidity saturation level for some buildings – the standard for healthcare facilities – because of research demonstrating reductions in airborne illness transmission.

The company began adopting MERV-13 filters in their HVAC systems long before COVID, creating much healthier spaces through enhanced removal of particulate matter, allergens, bacteria, and viruses. Their initiatives extend beyond air quality to address broader indoor environmental quality, ensuring green cleaning practices, consistent preventative maintenance, and an emphasis on providing employees access to ample natural light.

Supporting Erie-Area Schools With IAQ Leadership

Erie Insurance leadership have expanded their individual and company legacy to schools in the broader community. Around 2011, Gary Diley partnered with GBA’s Green & Healthy Schools Academy personnel to establish an environmental quality initiative in the Erie School District. Spurred by teacher and student enthusiasm for enhancing the schools’ air quality, water quality, energy performance, and environmental impact, the initiative comprised bimonthly meetings with students and staff, helping them to develop improved practices, systems, metering, and testing. Students took the lead on implementing air quality testing, meter reading, and resource consumption tracking, demonstrating a true synergy between learning and stewardship in their school facilities. With this contribution of expertise, Mr. Diley brought Erie Insurance’s mission to bear on behalf of youth thriving in the community, kickstarting an effort that organically grew to include community gardens and more.

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