Effect of Environmental Parameters on Performance and Fatigue of a Worker Performing a Metal Pouring Operation

Casting industry is generally considered risky, with workers being exposed to hazards like heat, fumes, and manual handling of hot material. Further, in small-scale units, most of the work is carried out manually where workers are exposed to unfavorable environmental conditions like high temperature and noise levels and poor illumination, which adds to the hazardous nature of work involved. The present study investigated the effect of environmental factors on workers performing a manual metal pouring operation. Subjects performed a simulated metal pouring operation at different levels of noise (80, 90, and 100 dB (A)), illumination (300, 400, and 500 lx), and temperature (34, 37, and 40 °C). The number of molds filled, heart rate, and oxygen saturation were taken as the dependent parameters. ANOVA carried out on the data revealed that temperature, noise and illumination had a statistically significant effect on task performance. It was further found that temperature also had a statistically significant effect on heart rate of the subjects performing the task.