How Heat Affects The Productivity Of Your Staff

INCREASED COMFORT = INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

This month we’re talking about production in the workplace. When your staff are hot, uncomfortable and stuck in a poorly ventilated workspace, they just aren’t going to perform their best. You put thick protective work-gear and an irritable demeanour on top of that, and you’ll undoubtedly see a drop in your productivity and just general staff morale.

For every degree over 25°C, you lose 2% in productivity per staff member.

This is losing you money folks! Don’t think it’s an issue in the cooler months? We have measured some workplaces in SouthEast Queensland that can be 30°C or more even in the middle of winter. The sooner you start doing something about heat mitigation in your building, the safer your staff will be, and the more money you’ll save.

There are two main components to achieving thermal comfort.

ENVIRONMENTAL COOLING

Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

Every building has it’s own unique set of thermal challenges. It’s not just about buying a fan and hoping it’ll get the job done. There is much more detail to the set up of the perfect system to suit your space and the needs of your business.

Our expert airflow consultants are trained to assess the airflow in any space, designing a customised solution to maximise airflow, lower temperature, improve ventilation and reduce the effects of humidity. We have teamed up with industry-leading brands like MacroAir™, EBM Papst, and Airius to build upon our range of cooling products to guarantee the healthiest, safest and most energy-efficient airflow solution for any residential, commercial or industrial space.

A Natural Cool Air fan keeps you healthy and safe as it extracts the air and any nasties in it, and infuses your space with clean air from outside, freshening the air and cooling your space.

PERSONAL COOLING

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

Our friends at Thorzt have done miles of research into personal cooling and the effects of heat stress on the body. Once the environmental factors are improved, this would be the perfect next step in optimum staff performance and productivity in hotter, harsher work environments when staff are working with ovens, welding equipment and other heat-emitting machinery.

“People uniformly overestimate their capacity to work in the heat. There is definitely a degradation of productive output, not only with heat but also with humidity and dehydration.” – Professor Liz Hanna

What is Heat Stress?

Heat stress occurs when the body is unable to cool its core temperature to 37°C or less. It commonly affects workers performing hard manual labour on hot worksites or in underground mines, while wearing heat-inducing personal protective equipment (PPE).

Symptoms include:

diminished judgement
impaired coordination
dizziness
nausea
headache.

At worst, vital organs may fail, causing fatalities. Obesity, low physical fitness, some medications, sleep deprivation, illness, and dehydration
significantly increase the likelihood of heat stress.

The body has two key methods for releasing heat: sweating and increased blood flow to the skin. However, heat and humidity impede these functions and are increased when workers are wearing PPE. Workers also often overestimate their capacity to work in the heat.