Prediction of physiological strain of workers on the production floor

Abstract

A group of twenty volunteers from difficult production jobs was used to evaluate the hypotheses that (1) the physiological strain resulting from production floor stress will be high, (2) production floor strain can be predicted from apparatus tests and (3) production floor strain will adversely affect performance. Each subjoct had his heart rate and respiration rato measured as he performed a sot of apparatus tests in a laboratory and as he performed his job on the production floor.The psychological stress and the resulting physiological strain were found to be low for experienced production workers. The apparatus test failed to predict production floor strain because of the discrepancy between tho stress levels in the laboratory and on the production floor. The low stress levels on the production floor made it difficult to evaluate the effect of stress on performance, however, there was evidence that stress does affect performance.