TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing the physiological and perceptual responses of construction workers (bar benders and bar fixers) in a hot environment
AU - Wong, Del Pui lam
AU - Chung, Joanne Wai yee
AU - Chan, Albert Ping chuen
AU - Wong, Francis Kwan wah
AU - Yi, Wen
N1 - Funding Information:
This project is funded by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (RGC Project No. PolyU510409 ). The support from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) is deeply appreciated. The research team is also indebted to the technical support from technicians of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Institute of Education. In particular, the participation of volunteers in this experimental study is gratefully acknowledged. This paper forms part of the research project titled “Experimental research on health and safety measures for working in hot weather”, from which other deliverables will be produced with different objectives/scopes but sharing common background and methodology. The authors also wish to acknowledge the contributions of other team members including Dr Michael Yam, Dr Daniel Chan, Prof Esmond Mok, Dr Geoffrey Shea, Dr Min Wu, Dr Herbert Biggs, Dr Donald Dingsdag, and Miss Alice Guan.
Funding Information:
This project is funded by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (RGC Project No. PolyU510409 ).
PY - 2014/11
Y1 - 2014/11
N2 - This study aimed to (1) quantify the respective physical workloads of bar bending and fixing; and (2) compare the physiological and perceptual responses between bar benders and bar fixers. Field studies were conducted during the summer in Hong Kong from July 2011 to August 2011 over six construction sites. Synchronized physiological, perceptual, and environmental parameters were measured from construction rebar workers. The average duration of the 39 field measurements was 151.1 ± 22.4 min under hot environment (WBGT = 31.4 ± 2.2 °C), during which physiological, perceptual and environmental parameters were synchronized. Energy expenditure of overall rebar work, bar bending, and bar fixing were 2.57, 2.26 and 2.67 Kcal/min (179, 158 and 186 W), respectively. Bar fixing induced significantly higher physiological responses in heart rate (113.6 vs. 102.3 beat/min, p < 0.05), oxygen consumption (9.53 vs. 7.14 ml/min/kg, p < 0.05), and energy expenditure (2.67 vs. 2.26 Kcal/min, p < 0.05) (186 vs. 158 W, p < 0.05) as compared to bar bending. Perceptual response was higher in bar fixing but such difference was not statistically significant. Findings of this study enable the calculation of daily energy expenditure of rebar work.
AB - This study aimed to (1) quantify the respective physical workloads of bar bending and fixing; and (2) compare the physiological and perceptual responses between bar benders and bar fixers. Field studies were conducted during the summer in Hong Kong from July 2011 to August 2011 over six construction sites. Synchronized physiological, perceptual, and environmental parameters were measured from construction rebar workers. The average duration of the 39 field measurements was 151.1 ± 22.4 min under hot environment (WBGT = 31.4 ± 2.2 °C), during which physiological, perceptual and environmental parameters were synchronized. Energy expenditure of overall rebar work, bar bending, and bar fixing were 2.57, 2.26 and 2.67 Kcal/min (179, 158 and 186 W), respectively. Bar fixing induced significantly higher physiological responses in heart rate (113.6 vs. 102.3 beat/min, p < 0.05), oxygen consumption (9.53 vs. 7.14 ml/min/kg, p < 0.05), and energy expenditure (2.67 vs. 2.26 Kcal/min, p < 0.05) (186 vs. 158 W, p < 0.05) as compared to bar bending. Perceptual response was higher in bar fixing but such difference was not statistically significant. Findings of this study enable the calculation of daily energy expenditure of rebar work.
KW - Construction work
KW - Heat stress
KW - Oxygen consumption
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904989667&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apergo.2014.06.002
DO - 10.1016/j.apergo.2014.06.002
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 24980679
SN - 0003-6870
VL - 45
SP - 1705
EP - 1711
JO - Applied Ergonomics
JF - Applied Ergonomics
IS - 6
ER -