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. 2022 Jul 14;19(14):8572.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19148572.

Influence of the Thermal Environment on Occupational Health and Safety in Automotive Industry: A Case Study

Constanța Rînjea  1 , Oana Roxana Chivu  1 , Doru-Costin Darabont  2 , Anamaria Ioana Feier  3 , Claudia Borda  1 , Marilena Gheorghe  1 , Dan Florin Nitoi  1
Affiliations

Influence of the Thermal Environment on Occupational Health and Safety in Automotive Industry: A Case Study

Constanța Rînjea et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Considering thermal environment aspects have a major impact not only on occupational health and safety (OH&S) performance but also on the productivity and satisfaction of the workers, the aim of the case study was to assess the thermal comfort of a group of 33 workers in an automotive industry company, starting with collecting data about the thermal environment from different workplaces, continuing with the analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort using the calculation of the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) indices, according to provisions of the standard ISO 7730:2005, and comparing the results with the subjective perception of the workers revealed by applying individual questionnaires. The results of the study represent an important input element for establishing the preventive and protective measures for the analysed workplaces in correlation with the measures addressing other specific risks and, also, could serve as a model for extending and applying to other similar workplaces in future studies. Moreover, the mathematical model and the software instrument used for this study case could be used in further similar studies on larger groups of workers and in any industrial domain.

Keywords: automotive industry; ergonomics; human thermal comfort; occupational health and safety; thermal environment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Seven-point thermal sensation scale.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Software instrument for calculating the values of PMV and PPD.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scheme of the workplaces’ location on the production floor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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