Environmental Ergonomics: Thermal Environments in Iranian Bakeries.

Environmental Ergonomics is an integral part of the discipline of ergonomics and concentrates on the interaction between humans and their physical environment (Thermal environments, Illuminations, Noise, Vibration and Hypo and Hyperbaric environments). Most of researches are on thermal environments (extreme heat and cold). Kashan city is one of the tropical regions of Iran and workers in bakeries are susceptible to heat stress during the summer in particular. This study was conducted on bakers of Kashan city to determine the risk of heat stress and its corresponding factors. The research was carried out descriptively on 175 bakers within 100 bakeries randomly chosen. In order to determine the environment heat stress, the measurements were all performed in the hottest hours of summer days using WBGT meter model HSM 100 while considering WBGT and exerting ISO 7243 throughout the procedure. Factors such as baking technique, type of bakery, type of ventilation system and the space of the bakeries were taken all into account. Out of 100 bakeries under survey, 51 possessed the technology of mechanized and 49 followed the conventional method and out of 175 workers studied in the bakeries, 107 ones (61.1%) were working in hot environments with stress. The rate of heat stress has been estimated as 54.2 and 45.8 in conventional and mechanized bakeries respectively. Workers working in the conventional bakeries were all at risk of heat stress 3.3 times more than those working in the mechanized bakeries (OR=3.3). Stressful Environments in bakeries of Kashan seems to be the problem of maintaining human comfort, activity and health and more common in conventional bakeries than in mechanized ones and Intervention Ergonomics to change the technology of conventional baking is recommended.

کلیدواژه ها:

Heat stress ، WBGT ، bakery