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2022, Number 3

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Revista Cubana de Salud y Trabajo 2022; 23 (3)

A protocol for the ergonomic evaluation of the thermal environment in coffee roasting company

García RNV, Andrade GMD

Language: Spanish
References: 17
Page:
PDF size: 1033.37 Kb.


ABSTRACT

Introduction: The standardizing framework for occupational safety and health currently valid in Cuba establishes the use of indicators to evaluate the thermal environment; the most used is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index to evaluate thermal stress in environments with high thermal overload. Objective: To apply protocol for the ergonomic evaluation of the thermal environment in view of an ergonomic intervention in a coffee roasting company. Methods: For the ergonomic evaluation, a protocol with simul-taneous application of indicators was used to assess whether production workers performed their activities under conditions of thermal stress and physiological overload. Thermal stress in hot environments was evaluated with the WBGT index, while the thermal overload index was used for the degree of thermal overload. In addition, the degree of comfort in climate-controlled sites was evaluated using the Fanger’s mean rating index, compared with the heat overload index. Results: The workers were exposed to critical heat conditions in their work environment, but did not suffer from heat stress because the established work and rest regimes for each task or activity involving risk were correctly complied with. Conclusions: The simultaneous use of both indicators allowed a more detailed interpretation of the results obtained, as well as quantifying the time the worker spent in an environment with high thermal overload. This information should be taken into account when carrying out an adequate intervention in the indus-try.


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