It’s well known that productivity at manufacturing plants plummets when temperatures persistently exceed 25C – and that’s a normal summer day. Surveys have shown that every degree above 20C can reduce productivity by as much as 4 percent. That means a rise of just 5 degrees can cut your output by an eye-watering 20 percent.
When the working environment is too hot, people work far less efficiently, morale plunges, and accidents and absenteeism rise. Cooling the factory shop floor is essential to keep productivity levels high - and for the wellbeing of the people working in this environment. But conventional cooling systems are not a viable solution: they are expensive, installation is costly, and so is the energy they use to bring the temperature down to desired levels.
Fortunately, new technologies such as heat pumps and evaporative cooling offer cost-effective solutions for production facilities.
If you think productivity at your manufacturing operation may be suffering because of excessive temperature levels, the first thing to do is evaluate the degree of discomfort of the people working in your facility. Colt’s white paper, A Productive Environment for Production Personnel, shows you exactly what to do. It explains the ISO 7730 standard, which governs thermal standards in the workplace. It also makes clear recommendations as to how you can achieve comfortable, highly productive conditions for your employees, based on the factors that influence their perception of comfort – temperature, humidity, air quality, air movement, clothing and effort.
If you want to ensure high productivity levels in your factory, regardless of the weather outside, download the white paper right away.
Paul Langford is an Engineering Director with experience in product development, manufacturing and testing for HVAC, solar shading, louvre systems and smoke control applications.
