Projects / Programmes
The effect of personal cooling strategies during heat waves
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 3.08.00 |
Medical sciences |
Public health (occupational safety) |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B690 |
Biomedical sciences |
Occupational health, industrial medicine |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 3.03 |
Medical and Health Sciences |
Health sciences |
Climate changes, industrial sector, thermal comfort of humans, productivity, personal cooling systems
Researchers (1)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
32523 |
PhD Urša Ciuha |
Public health (occupational safety) |
Head |
2018 - 2020 |
97 |
Organisations (1)
| no. |
Code |
Research organisation |
City |
Registration number |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
0106 |
Jožef Stefan Institute |
Ljubljana |
5051606000 |
90,742 |
Abstract
It is beyond any doubt that climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century with enormous consequences for humanity. Rising temperatures have been observed in Europe considerably more than in other areas and have become a growing challenge for our community. Problems are already experienced by millions of Europeans during the summer months particularly in occupational settings. In addition to the well-known effects of heat exposure, a number of studies have confirmed a 2% productivity loss for each degree centigrade above 25°C. Recent studies by members of the Heat-Shield consortium have shown that as the workforce ages, resilience to heat stress becomes diminished with even further negative effects on productivity. Thus, it is crucial to develop strategies to mitigate the detrimental health, societal, and economic effects of rising workplace temperatures.
Manufacturing, construction, transportation, tourism and agriculture are the core of Europe’s economy. Together, they represent 40% of EU’s GDP and 50% of its workforce. Reducing the impacts of rising workplace temperatures in these five industrial sectors will produce two strategic benefits for the EU: (i) it will ensure the wellbeing of EU’s workforce, and (ii) it will improve EU’s competitiveness and secure its future economy given the above-mentioned productivity loss associated with rising workplace temperatures.
The ongoing European Heat-Shield project (H2020) is already working on bringing together – in a harmonious and sustainable way – all these stakeholders in order to produce the most appropriate adaptation strategies that will ensure the workers’ health, as this will also lead economic and social benefits. The Josef Stefan Institute (Department for Automation, Biocybernetics and Robotics), a partner in the ongoing Heat-Shield project, is currently collaborating with manufacturing company odelo d.o.o. (Prebold Slovenija), producing automotive rear lights. The aim of this joint project is to document the weather conditions around the factory, and the ambient conditions in the production halls during heat waves. More importantly, we are documenting the effect of heat waves on the health and well-being of the workers, and on their productivity.
The work proposed in the present proposal is an extension of the Heat-Shield project, and the aim is to develop and evaluate solutions that would enhance the thermal resilience of the workers during heat waves, thereby also maintaining productivity. Currently, the majority of manufacturing companies cope with heat weaves by using heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. However, for companies with large production halls, constructed with minimal insulation, this presents a significant cost. Therefore, a different approach would be to implement personal cooling strategies. The present proposal aims to focus and evaluate cooling vests as one of the one of the options appropriate for the workers in odelo factory.
Significance for science
Testing of different cooling strategies and equipment in companies is often not possible, as this disturbs and hinders the work process. As a result, investments in inadequate and inefficient equipment are common. The proposed project will show the need to test new concepts of cooling in controlled laboratory conditions, on the basis of simulations of the industrial environment. The industrial environment is also not suitable for measuring complex physiological responses, as it is more appropriate to perform them in laboratory simulations. Measurements, such as the temperature of the skin and the core, which are essential for determining the heat stress of workers, are too invasive in the work process. The aim of the research project is to transfer the working conditions of the factory to a more controlled environment, where other measurements can be obtained (i.e. measurements of skin and core temperature, subjective interpretation of the environment).
a. Applied science: The principal aim of the study is to determined which design characteristics of ventilated vests determine the efficacy of a given ventilated vest. Once the best candidate and/or prototype vests are determined, their ability to mitigate heat strain during simulated and real heat waves will be evaluated. The assessment will be based on autonomic and behavioural responses observed in laboratory simulations and real-life scenarios. The analysis will not only be based on workers’ well-being, but also on their productivity.
b. Basic science: The autonomic and behavioural responses to heat stress are well documented, but the participants in studies previously reported do not incorporate participants representing worker demographics in Slovenia and Europe. Thus, one of the principle aims will be to augment the existing data in the literature to include the responses of a wider age and fitness range.
c. Transfer of technology to industry (socioeconomic benefits of the proposed study): Our previous investigations of ventilated vests focussed on their benefits for army personnel deployed on peace-keeping missions in desert (45°C, 10% relative humidity), and jungle (35°C, 90% relative humidity) conditions. The studies were designed to assess the tolerance, and survival time in such conditions. From these studies we realised the following:
i. Design characteristics impact on the functioning of the vests.
ii. The tasks conducted by the wearer may impact on the efficacy of the vest.
iii. No studies to date have evaluated the efficacy of the vests in an industrial environment during a heat wave.
Our intension is to pursue the collaboration of a Slovene/European industrial partner, that would be interested in designing/manufacturing a ventilated vest specifically for the industrial environment. In the past we have collaborated with Intersocks d.o.o. (Kočevje, Slovenia) in evaluating garment concepts, and hope to continue this collaboration within the framework of the current project.
Significance for the country
Testing of different cooling strategies and equipment in companies is often not possible, as this disturbs and hinders the work process. As a result, investments in inadequate and inefficient equipment are common. The proposed project will show the need to test new concepts of cooling in controlled laboratory conditions, on the basis of simulations of the industrial environment. The industrial environment is also not suitable for measuring complex physiological responses, as it is more appropriate to perform them in laboratory simulations. Measurements, such as the temperature of the skin and the core, which are essential for determining the heat stress of workers, are too invasive in the work process. The aim of the research project is to transfer the working conditions of the factory to a more controlled environment, where other measurements can be obtained (i.e. measurements of skin and core temperature, subjective interpretation of the environment).
a. Applied science: The principal aim of the study is to determined which design characteristics of ventilated vests determine the efficacy of a given ventilated vest. Once the best candidate and/or prototype vests are determined, their ability to mitigate heat strain during simulated and real heat waves will be evaluated. The assessment will be based on autonomic and behavioural responses observed in laboratory simulations and real-life scenarios. The analysis will not only be based on workers’ well-being, but also on their productivity.
b. Basic science: The autonomic and behavioural responses to heat stress are well documented, but the participants in studies previously reported do not incorporate participants representing worker demographics in Slovenia and Europe. Thus, one of the principle aims will be to augment the existing data in the literature to include the responses of a wider age and fitness range.
c. Transfer of technology to industry (socioeconomic benefits of the proposed study): Our previous investigations of ventilated vests focussed on their benefits for army personnel deployed on peace-keeping missions in desert (45°C, 10% relative humidity), and jungle (35°C, 90% relative humidity) conditions. The studies were designed to assess the tolerance, and survival time in such conditions. From these studies we realised the following:
i. Design characteristics impact on the functioning of the vests.
ii. The tasks conducted by the wearer may impact on the efficacy of the vest.
iii. No studies to date have evaluated the efficacy of the vests in an industrial environment during a heat wave.
Our intension is to pursue the collaboration of a Slovene/European industrial partner, that would be interested in designing/manufacturing a ventilated vest specifically for the industrial environment. In the past we have collaborated with Intersocks d.o.o. (Kočevje, Slovenia) in evaluating garment concepts, and hope to continue this collaboration within the framework of the current project.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report
