The effect of hot days on occupational heat stress in the manufacturing industry: implications for workers’ well-being and productivity

Abstract

Climate change is expected to exacerbate heat stress at the workplace in temperate regions, such as Slovenia. It is therefore of paramount importance to study present and future summer heat conditions and analyze the impact of heat on workers. A set of climate indices based on summer mean (Tmean) and maximum (Tmax) air temperatures, such as the number of hot days (HD: Tmax above 30 °C), and Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) were used to account for heat conditions in Slovenia at six locations in the period 1981–2010. Observed trends (1961–2011) of Tmean and Tmax in July were positive, being larger in the eastern part of the country. Climate change projections showed an increase up to 4.5 °C for mean temperature and 35 days for HD by the end of the twenty-first century under the high emission scenario. The increase in WBGT was smaller, although sufficiently high to increase the frequency of days with a high risk of heat stress up to an average of a third of the summer days. A case study performed at a Slovenian automobile parts manufacturing plant revealed non-optimal working conditions during summer 2016 (WBGT mainly between 20 and 25 °C). A survey conducted on 400 workers revealed that 96% perceived the temperature conditions as unsuitable, and 56% experienced headaches and fatigue. Given these conditions and climate change projections, the escalating problem of heat is worrisome. The European Commission initiated a program of research within the Horizon 2020 program to develop a heat warning system for European workers and employers, which will incorporate case-specific solutions to mitigate heat stress.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00484-018-1530-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Escalating environmental summer heat exposure—a future threat for the European workforce

“…Mean surface temperature as well as the frequency and duration of heat waves have increased in the last decades in Europe (IPCC 2013), in particular in the south-east of the continent (Pogačar et al 2018; Barriopedro et al 2011;Morabito et al 2017). Also, future heat waves are very likely to be more frequent and longer-lasting (IPCC 2013), mainly as a direct consequence of the increase in mean temperatures (Schär, et al 2004;Fischer and Schär 2010).…”

On Future Occupational Safety and Health Challenges

“…In addition, during hot seasons, employees do not always recover sufficiently between working days. Individual factors such as age, weight, physical condition, alcohol and drug use, illnesses, and clothing affect heat-caused symptoms (Gatto et al, 2016;Marchetti et al, 2016;Pogačar et al, 2018).…”

“…Many authors have suggested that more research is needed on climate change and its effects, such as regarding work performance, pesticides use, solutions to mitigate heat stress, and the long-term effects of infectious diseases (Gatto et al, 2016;Kjellstrom et al, 2016;Vonesch et al, 2016;Pogačar et al, 2018). Schulte et al (2016) proposed that follow-up, research, and risk assessment are needed to better understand and classify the connections between OSH and climate change.…”

Climate projections of a multi-variate heat stress index: the role of downscaling and bias correction

“…Such conditions directly affect human well-being and can develop into heat-related illnesses such as fatigue, muscle cramps and heat stroke. In the context of working people, several studies revealed the negative impact of heat stress on workers' health (Pogačar, et al, 2018) and labour productivity 10 (Kjellstrom, et al, 2009;Ioannou, et al, 2017). International organizations such as the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have developed guidelines to protect working people against heat stress (ISO, 1989;ISO, 2017;NIOSH, 2016).…”