Methodology of investigation of hot working conditions in the field

The paper describes the methods used by the different teams contributing to the European interlaboratory validation of techniques study for assessing hot environments. It describes the methodology used for assessing the primary parameters (temperature, humidity, radiation, air velocity, metabolic rate and clothing) of the hot environments and the physiological constraints resulting from them (core temperature, sweat rate, heart rate). It draws attention to the practical problems and issues that need to be addressed when selecting a monitoring method (zonal or ambulatory method), when choosing appropriate instruments and also when opting for a specific heat strain index

Strategy for prevention and control of the risks due to noise.

OBJECTIVES: To propose a strategy for progressively controlling the exposure to noise in industry as much as possible. To propose a method that could, in the first stage, be used by the workers and management themselves to control exposures to noise as much as possible, and then, in later stages, when necessary, progressively call in the assistance of specialists and experts to identify more complex solutions and organise personal protection and medical surveillance. METHODS: The strategy includes three stages. Stage 1 is observation, simple and easy to use by the workers to recognise the problems, identify straightforward solutions, and call for assistance when needed. Stage 2 is analysis, more complex but more costly, performed with the assistance of occupational health specialists to identify more technical control measures and set up a programme to conserve hearing. Stage 3 is expertise, performed with the assistance of acoustic experts for special measurements and control measures. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed strategy enriches the assessment procedure that is usually recommended, by providing for one preliminary stage used by the people directly concerned. It explicitly recognises (a) the competence of the workers and management about their working conditions and (b) that knowledge and measurements of acoustics are not an absolute prerequisite for solving-at least partly-noise problems. It attempts to organise in sequence and optimise the cooperation between the workers, the occupational health specialists, and the experts in acoustics

Participative management strategy for occupational health, safety and well-being risks.

The article discusses the principles that underlie a coherent and efficient prevention program for occupational health, safety and well-being: the need of a global approach of these problems not only at the workplace but for the whole of the living conditions at work; a clear understanding of the complementarity between the different partners of this prevention; the role of actor of the workers and therefore the absolute necessity of a participative approach; the real usefulness of measurements and of risk quantification in general; the differences between risk assessment and risk management and the specificities of small and medium size enterprises. On the basis of these principles, the various steps and levels of intervention are defined. The SOBANE prevention strategy is introduced and its 4 levels (Screening, Observation, Analysis and Expertise) are described as well as the consultation guide Déparis for the Screening level. The strategy proved to make it possible to approach the work situations progressively in small as well as in large companies, to coordinate the cooperation between the workers, the technical staff and the occupational health practitioners and to prevent the problems more rapidly, more efficiently and more economically. The paper describes the role of a 'facilitator' to introduce the philosophy and the tools of the SOBANE strategy in the company, to monitor its application and insure the continuity and the efficiency of the participatory approach

State of the art in heat stress evaluation and its future in the context of the European directives.

This address is divided in two parts. The first reviews the problems of heat stress evaluation: it describes the comprehensive approach adopted by ISO standards and in particular the rationale of the Required Sweat Rate index, and presents the work done during the ECSC interlaboratory study, which extends the application of this index to intermittent or fluctuating conditions of exposure. The second part presents a rapid overview of the European economic and social Directives proposed in anticipation of 1993. It suggests that occupational hygienists, occupational physicians, safety specialists, toxicologists and ergonomists should adopt a common view about the practical implications of these new Directives and contribute to their incorporation into national regulations