Time-motion analysis as a novel approach for evaluating the impact of environmental heat exposure on labor loss in agriculture workers

Abstract

Introduction: In this study we (i) introduced time-motion analysis for assessing the impact of workplace heat on the work shift time spent doing labor (WTL) of grape-picking workers, (ii) examined whether seasonal environmental differences can influence their WTL, and (iii) investigated whether their WTL can be assessed by monitoring productivity or the vineyard manager's estimate of WTL. Methods: Seven grape-picking workers were assessed during the summer and/or autumn via video throughout four work shifts. Results: Air temperature (26.8 ± 4.8°C), wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT; 25.2 ± 4.1°C), universal thermal climate index (UTCI; 35.2 ± 6.7°C), and solar radiation (719.1 ± 187.5 W/m2) were associated with changes in mean skin temperature (1.7 ± 1.8°C) (p < 0.05). Time-motion analysis showed that 12.4% (summer 15.3% vs. autumn 10.0%; p < 0.001) of total work shift time was spent on irregular breaks (WTB). There was a 0.8%, 0.8%, 0.6%, and 2.1% increase in hourly WTB for every degree Celsius increase in temperature, WBGT, UTCI, and mean skin temperature, respectively (p < 0.01). Seasonal changes in UTCI explained 64.0% of the seasonal changes in WTL (p = 0.017). Productivity explained 36.6% of the variance in WTL (p < 0.001), while the vineyard manager's WTL estimate was too optimistic (p < 0.001) and explained only 2.8% of the variance in the true WTL (p = 0.456). Conclusion: Time-motion analysis accurately assesses WTL, evaluating every second spent by each worker during every work shift. The studied grape-picking workers experienced increased workplace heat, leading to significant labor loss. Monitoring productivity or the vineyard manager's estimate of each worker's WTL did not completely reflect the true WTL in these grape-picking workers.

Limited Role of Working Time Shift in Offsetting the Increasing Occupational‐Health Cost of Heat Exposure

“…Therefore, even if we consider these possible biases, we can still conclude that climate-change mitigation is indispensable for minimizing the climate-change impacts, regardless of the implementation of working time shift. Moreover, a larger portion of economic loss is caused by the construction sector (Figure 6b), and the current working time in the construction sector is not as early as that of the agricultural sector (Bates et al, 2010;Bodin et al, 2016;Chan & Yang, 2016;Chan et al, 2017;Crowe et al, 2010Crowe et al, , 2013Delgado Cortez, 2009;Hassan et al, 2017;Inaba & Mirbod, 2007;Ioannou et al, 2017;Maiti, 2008;Meade et al, 2017Meade et al, , 2015Miller et al, 2011;Sahu et al, 2013;Vatani et al, 2016, summarized in Table S4). In the sensitivity analysis, up to 3 hr of shift was assumed during the base period for the construction sector as well as the agricultural sectors.…”

Comprehension of climatic and occupational heat stress amongst agricultural advisers and workers in Slovenia

“…Collectively, these studies indicate that although action plans are available for these counties, there are large knowledge gaps on effective methods to mitigate heat stress and address associated risk amongst the agricultural workers. Recently, Ioannou et al (2017) applied time-motion analysis as a novel approach for evaluating the impact of environmental heat exposure on labor loss in agriculture workers in Greece and it is quite clear that heat is a pertinent problem for European workers already at current summer temperatures. But apart from that study there appears to be a marked gap in the knowledge of workplace heat on agricultural workers in Europe and it is unclear if knowledge amongst workers and advisers is sufficient.…”

Time-motion analysis in the big data era: A promising method to assess the effects of heat stress on physical performance

“…Ioannou et al demonstrated that 12.4% of the total work shift time was lost on irregular breaks in which the majority of the breaks were observed in the middle 4-h period of the work shift. More importantly, a higher total break time and a decreased duration of uninterrupted labor was found with an increasing WBGT and skin temperature [2]. These findings show that workplace heat stress leads to a reduced productivity of agriculture workers.…”

“…Alternatively, timemotion analysis, in which movement and time spent on each movement is examined using video analysis, can be used to obtain insight into the physiological demands and movement patterns of an individual [1]. In the current study, Ioannou and colleagues explored the applicability of time-motion analysis to determine the impact of heat stress on labor loss in agriculture workers [2]. For this purpose, the authors assessed the impact of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) on work time spent in irregular work breaks of grape-picking workers [2].…”

“…In the current study, Ioannou and colleagues explored the applicability of time-motion analysis to determine the impact of heat stress on labor loss in agriculture workers [2]. For this purpose, the authors assessed the impact of wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) on work time spent in irregular work breaks of grape-picking workers [2]. Quantitative information was extracted from timemotion analysis of video data to examine the impact of heat stress on occupational productivity.…”