Human Performance in Industrial Design Centers with Small Unit Air Conditioning Systems
Keywords:
Indoor air quality, A/C & Taguchi designs, ASHRAE standards.Abstract
Many industrial buildings are characterized by unhealthy work environments with regard to indoor air quality, which not only result in unproductive performances, but also disability to perform satisfactorily. Design centers in industry, including industrial design labs in India, inhabit design engineers for ranging 6-9 hours in air conditioned workplaces. Prolonged use of air conditioners in closed spaces exerts serious health effects both physically and mentally, as a consequence of which operators do feel the pain of tiredness, but they are little aware of the other health hazards incident upon them. The design and environment of the workplace is thus critical. The present study investigates the levels of CO2 generated in different indoor spaces that affects mental abilities of human beings. The experimental investigations involve variables, viz., number of occupants, time of occupancy and volume served by window air conditioners to study as to how carbon dioxide levels got influenced with changing occupancy, time and space. The objective extended to explore impact of decayed environment that did not seem to conform to the ASHRAE standards, on personnel efficiency and consequently on the productivity or output delivered to the organizations.
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