Activity 54

A number of recent incident reports has highlighted the need for, and factors involved in, the provision and maintenance of temperature in both moderate and extreme thermal environments. One incident involved dehydration and heat stroke for a harvest worker, and another involved frost-nip to fingers and face of a coolstore worker who was working in the chiller.

Draft a policy and procedure document for the organisation covering:

• The importance of maintaining heat balance in the body
  
• The effects of working in high and low temperatures and humidity
• Parameters affecting thermal comfort: environmental (air and radiant temperature, relative humidity, air velocity), metabolic rate, clothing, sweat rate, duration of exposure
• The meaning of thermal comfort and the need to provide a reasonable working temperature,as far as possible
• The purpose of the heat stress index WBGT
• The practical control measures to minimise the risks when working in extreme thermal environments
  
  

(1400 - 1600 words approx.)