The effects of outdoor air supply rate on work performance during 8-h work period

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of ventilation rate on work performance and perceived air quality through short-term laboratory experiments. The experiment was designed to simulate office work, and a laboratory space was modified using new finish materials to become a typical office space. High levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found in the exposure chamber, most probably originating from the new finishing materials that were present. Twenty-four subjects were divided into six groups that were randomly exposed to the three ventilation rates, 5, 10, and 20 l/s per person. The subjects performed work tasks three separate times for each ventilation rate over an 8-h exposure period. The work performance of the subjects logarithmically improved with increased ventilation rates, which was similar to the previous research findings. Statistical significance was found for addition task, text-typing task, and memorization task. Increased work performance in this experiment was slightly lower than the results of previous short-term laboratory experiments, yet remained higher than results of previous long-term field experiments. However, it was difficult to directly compare the results of this experiment with those of previous experiments, because of the higher concentration of VOC present in the office rooms and the learning effect associated with the repeated tasks.

Practical implications: The results of this experiment show that ventilation had positive impacts on perceived air quality and work performance for the subjects tested. Work performance logarithmically increased by approximately 2.5-5% as ventilation rates were increased from 5 to 20 l/s per person. The positive effect of ventilation rate on work performance was shown to be limited at the low ventilation rate. The positive effects on work performance were at lower ventilation rates. The learning effect in repeated work performance tasks could increase the uncertainty of the work performance analysis in 8-h exposure period.