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Russ1977  
#1 Posted : 19 July 2013 10:41:46(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Russ1977

Hi all,

A very quick one, does anyone have a link to an example of a thermal comfort risk assessment.

Thanks
sadlass  
#2 Posted : 19 July 2013 13:49:31(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
sadlass

Russ, see "Removal of the ACOP L21 - an opportunity?"

I suspect what you may be seeking is how to justify that you have done all that is reasonably practicable to a situation at work where it's hot. (just a guess!).

My advice for what it's worth is just list everything you have done / are doing, and then ask (managers) 'is that enough?' and 'can we do more?'.

Apologies if I am off the mark.
Russ1977  
#3 Posted : 19 July 2013 15:00:50(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Russ1977

Thanks Sadlass,

The situation for us is that is this extremely hot weather we obviously have the air con on cool, as folk are moaning about being hot etc.

We now have a plethora of people moaning that they are freezing, we have adjusted the temperature and air flow of the air con, told them to wear more clothing etc but they are still complaining.
We have digital thermometers on at various point throughout the office and the temperature has never fallen below 22c on those.

The problem is the our unit are quite cold and the people sitting directly below are being blasted by swathes of cold air. We don't have an option to shift people about as we simply do not have the room.

What I would like to do is have some written documentation to support what we have put in place and thought a thermal RA would be the way to go.

Any thoughts Sadlass/anyone?

Nicola Kemmery  
#4 Posted : 19 July 2013 16:59:45(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Nicola Kemmery

Thermal comfort is a very personal issue - even in 'normal' temperatures. I think it is about doing what you can and giving people some choices, where possible, about where they sit - i.e. those who are more sensitive to heat are located closer to the chiller. Some people may be able to temporarily swap locations?

Rather than resorting to documents to justify your position - it would be better to talk to them about what you have done / tried to do and ask them what other ideas they have that might help. That way they get involved and become part of the solution rather than the problem!
hsawact  
#5 Posted : 22 July 2013 10:16:24(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
hsawact

Excellent sensible Heath and Safety advice.

Well done Nicola

Regards

Brian
malcarleton  
#6 Posted : 22 July 2013 18:59:33(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
malcarleton

I think Nicola hit the nail on the head with her reply, thermal comfort is a difficult thing to manage because everyone's thresholds of comfort in hot climates is different. In multi occupancy situations, where you have lots of people subjected to the same thermal conditions, finding a mean average of what people find comfortable is a starting point and then set your HVAC or Air conditioning on the average temperature plus or minus 2 degrees c. If your workers are working in extreme conditions of outdoor (Or enclosed) temperatures of 40 to 55 degrees Centigrade as we do here, then management of time spent on task is critical. You need to enforce a water drinking and "Cool Break" regime and have a supervisor monitoring peoples performance. We also use "Cool Vests" for outdoor workers (Basically Hi Viz vests with built in pouches to carry bags of frozen coolant that are effective for 2 to 3 hours) the cool break system is normally based on 15 minutes off in every hour but is totally dependent on local conditions. Temperatures here can reach 58 degrees Centigrade in peak periods so its something we are very aware of
teh_boy  
#7 Posted : 23 July 2013 08:46:20(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
teh_boy

Agree with above - but there are ways to put numbers to it... I don't have BS references to hand, but the HSE might link to them....

http://www.hse.gov.uk/te...re/thermal/explained.htm

(NEBOSH even posted a thermal comfort question (that was hard) in the latest diploma B paper)
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