Comparison of Subjective Symptoms and Cold Prevention Measures in Winter between Traffic Control Workers and Construction Workers in Japan

Abstract

To help making comfortable workplaces and to prevent health disorders induced by the exposure to moderate cold in two different groups of out-door workers, we conducted a survey to compare subjective symptoms and cold prevention measures in winter between traffic control workers and construction workers. The subjects of this study were 98 male traffic control workers and 149 male workers engaged in building construction. Work loads of traffic control workers and construction workers were estimated at RMR1~2 and RMR2~4, respectively. All subjects were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire covering age, occupational career, working figure, present illness, past history of diseases, individual preventive measures to the cold, subjective symptoms in the winter (43 items) and subjective symptoms occurred during daytime working in the winter (6 items). In two parts of the construction workplaces (the place where a morning assembly was held and on the 7th floor of the construction site) dry bulb, wet bulb and globe temperatures were measured in January. Windchill Index (kcal/cm 2 h) was calculated by the measured dry bulb temperature and wind velocity. Mean values of dry bulb temperature between 9:00 and 16:30 in the place where a morning assembly was held for three days were between 4.8 ± 1.2˚C at 9:00am and 9.3 ± 1.1˚C at noon. Mean values of Windchill Index in the place where a morning assembly was held were between 490.8 ± 23.9 kcal/cm 2 h at 9:30am and 608.2 ± 47.3 kcal/cm 2 h at 2:30pm. Occupational career, monthly working days, daily working hours, one way commuting hours, and daily smoking numbers of the traffic control workers were significantly shorter than the construction workers (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of chillness in the arms and legs between the traffic control workers (5.1%) and the construction workers (0.7%). Prevalence of wearing a warm underwear, body warmer, warm trousers, underpants, warm socks, shoe warmer and muffler in the traffic control workers were significantly higher than the construction workers. The subjective symptoms in winter complained most frequently were shoulder stiffness (51.0%), finger cold sensation (50.0%) and neck stiffness (48.0%) in the traffic control workers, and were easy to get fatigued (49.0%), lumbago (48.3%) and finger cold sensation (47.7%) in the construction workers. On the basis of the results obtained, it is clearly shown that the two groups are at the risk of disorders due to their working environment. Therefore, these workers are needed to undergo occupational health programs for prevention of cold exposure disorders. Applications of preventive countermeasures for both groups are discussed.

Exploring Fatalities and Injuries in Construction by Considering Thermal Comfort Using Uncertainty and Relative Importance Analysis

“…High temperature can cause heat rash, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke in construction workers [4]. Low temperature in winter also can cause fatigue, lumbago, and cold finger sensation [6]. Rameezdeen and Elmualim (2017) insisted that heat stress causes heat rash, heat cramp, heat fainting, heat exhaustion and heatstroke in construction workers [4], Mohammed et al (2019) noted how productivity losses, illnesses and injuries to workers may arise due to hot and humid weather conditions [13].…”

“…These issues can be related to fatal incidents or injuries caused by physical fatigue, mental disorder, slow response speeds, and poor reasoning abilities [ 5 ]. On the other hand, cold temperatures in winter can cause fatigue, lumbago, cold finger sensation, rigidity of the body, and shoulder and neck stiffness [ 6 ]. It has been reported that work conditions under 10 °C have a negative influence on concentration, memory, and performance capacity [ 7 ].…”

“…Accordingly, this research focuses on the thermal comfort of construction workers considering their work conditions, such as OEQ. Studies related to OEQ found that injury and fatal accidents occurred due to different temperature conditions and seasonal changes [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Earlier work analyzed the causes of injury and fatal accidents in relation to specific weather conditions, such as those in the summer and winter seasons [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Epidemiology

“…Table 2. Reported backache by sector and gender (Eurofound, 2007) It is reported that the ranges of a point or annual prevalence of LBP were from 27% to 75% for farmers (Kumudini & Hasegawa, 2009;Liu et al, 2011;Milosavljevic et al, 2011;O'Sullivan et al, 2009;Taechasubamorn et al, 2011), from 44% to 74% for drivers (Alperovitch-Najenson , 2010;Bovenzi, 2009;Rozali et al, 2009), from 32% to 78% for mine workers (Bio et al, 2007;Sarikaya et al, 2007), from 20% to 23% for construction workers (Inaba et al, 2007(Inaba et al, , 2009, from 46% to 83% for care workers (Jensen et al, 2009;Minematsu, 2007;Sorensen et al, 2011;Yalcinkaya et al, 2010) in recent studies. Guo et al reported the highest risk of back pain was among construction workers (22.6%) for men and among nursing aides (18.8%) for women (Guo et al, 1995).…”

Cold Stress at Work: Preventive Research

“…Inaba et al 11) report a higher frequency of shoulder and neck stiffness in traffic controllers and fatigue and lumbago in construction workers. Authors conclude that preventive measures are not sufficient for these workers to avoid risks of cold related disorders.…”