A Field Study on Thermal Comfort of Traditional Metal Processing Factories

摘要

A traditional metal processing factory is a hot workplace. Previously, the rationality of the work-rest time regimen and the hazard of workload on employee health have been evaluated; however, thermal comfort of workers in such a hot workplace has not been discussed. This paper uses the standard new effective temperature as the thermal environment index to investigate the neutral temperature, preferred temperature, and comfortable temperature range. The doors and windows in traditional metal processing factories are always open; therefore, the neutral temperature is almost the same as the neutral temperature in semi-outdoor and outdoor environments. In addition, the preferred temperature is slightly higher than the neutral temperature. We also discovered that the comfortable temperature range in traditional metal processing factories is larger than that in office environments, but smaller than that in semi-outdoor and outdoor environments.