Albert Pc Chan

Evaluating the physiological and perceptual responses of wearing a newly designed construction work uniform

Properly selected fabrics and smartly designed uniform are essential to improve thermal and moisture performance of summer clothes. As compared to a commercial uniform (CON) that was commonly worn by construction workers, a newly designed work uniform (NEW) consists of a smartly designed short-sleeved shirt with superior air permeability and a pair of full-length pants with excellent overall moisture management capacity. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of NEW on combating body physiological and perceptual strain through conducting human wear trials in the laboratory experiment. Twelve participants took part in two trials (one with wearing NEW and another with wearing CON) on two experimental days. Each trial included a rest–intermittent running–recovery cycle inside a climatic chamber controlled at 34.5℃ and 75% relative humidity. The major findings manifested that the mean skin temperature ( T sk ¯ ) of participants with NEW was significantly lower than that with CON toward a high running speed (8.5u2009km/h, 4% slope). During passive recovery, thermo-physiological strain (intestinal temperature (Tin), T sk ¯ , and mean body temperature T b ¯ ) of participants with NEW was significantly lower than that with CON. The perceptual strain of participants with NEW was significantly alleviated during exercise and post-exercise recovery periods as the participants felt cooler, drier, and more comfortable than those with CON. It was concluded that the newly designed work uniform is effective in alleviating thermo-physiological and perceptual strain during intermittent exercise and post-exercise recovery in hot and humid environment.

Supporting and impeding factors for partnering in construction: a China study

Purpose – Partnering has drawn attention from both academics and practitioners in the construction industry in the context of construction and facilities management. The past decades have seen a number of articles reporting the application of partnering in construction. The Chinese construction industry is one of the largest industries in the world; however, to the authors best knowledge, no project in mainland China has adopted this procurement approach in a formal and systematic manner as yet. This paper presents a timely study that aims to investigate the feasibility of implementing the partnering concept into Chinese industry and to understand the current barriers to this concept in China.Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a qualitative approach to investigate the factors that support or impede the implementation of partnering in mainland China. The methodology encompassed a critical review of relevant laws, regulations, and policy documents; and semi‐structured interviews.Findings – Th...

Evaluating the Physiological and Perceptual Responses of Wearing a Newly Designed Cooling Vest for Construction Workers

Construction workers are subjected to heat stress because of the hot environment, physically demanding tasks, and/or personal protective equipment. A tailor-made cooling vest that protects construction workers from heat-related injuries was developed. The purpose of the study is to examine a newly designed cooling vests effectiveness in alleviating physiological and perceptual strain in a hot and humid environment. Twelve male participants performed two trials, i.e., cooling vest (VEST) and control (CON) in a climatic chamber controlled at 37°C temperature, 60% relative humidity, 0.3 m/s air velocity, and 450 W/m2 solar radiation to simulate the summer working environment of construction sites. Two bouts of treadmill exercise intermitted with 30-minute passive recovery were designed to simulate the practical work-rest schedule of the construction industry. The cooling vest was used during the passive recovery period in the VEST condition, and the results were compared with that of no cooling vest in the CON condition. The results revealed that the newly designed cooling vest can significantly alleviate heat strain and improve thermal comfort, based on the decrease in body temperature, heart rate, and subjective perceptions (including perceived exertion, thermal, wetness, and comfort sensation) of the participants. It can also prolong work duration in the subsequent exercise. The cooling countermeasures proposed in this study will be able to provide an effective solution in situations that involve repeated bouts of outdoor construction work.

Developing a hybrid cooling vest for combating heat stress in the construction industry

Many frontline workers in the Hong Kong construction industry have to perform physically demanding work under hot working conditions, which could reduce work efficiency and time and increase the occurrence of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. This study aimed to develop a hybrid, new cooling vest to combat heat stress in the construction industry. Following the functional clothing design process, a problem identification was conducted. Preliminary ideas were formed through the analysis of available types, research, a survey, literature review, and brainstorming. The design was refined through the use of desirable phase change material packs, fans with high wind velocity/long duration, and fabrics with thin, vapor-permeable, wind/water/abrasion-resistant properties, and UV protection, as well as clothing ergonomic design that considers fit, mobility, convenience, and safety. The desirable thermal functional performance in the new cooling vest was previewed through a computer-aided design platform S-smart system. The design criteria were established and a prototype was developed. The environmental chamber testing results showed that, in a hot environment, the mean skin temperature (35.8℃ vs. 36.59℃), heart rate (110 beats/min vs. 116 beats/min), and core temperature of the subjects with the new cooling vest were significantly lower than those with the control (without the new cooling vest ). A significantly longer exercise time was obtained with the new cooling vest compared with the control (22.08u2009min vs. 11.08u2009min). Significant improvements in levels of coolness, dryness, comfort, and physical recovery were observed with the new cooling vest. Results suggest that the new cooling vest can reduce the thermal stress of construction workers and improve their work performance and comfort.

Assessing the thermal-moisture functional performance of two sets of work uniform by S-smart simulation

Construction workers are susceptible to heat stress in summer of Hong Kong. Wearing work uniform with good thermal-moisture functional performance (TMFP) is considered as one of the effective measures to protect workers from heat stress. However, there is a lack of scientific research to design workers uniform based on heat-moisture engineering. This study aims to predict the TMFP of the selected fabrics by a S-smart system [1] under a stressful thermal environment.

Enhancing Project Performance through the Introduction of Safety Programs

The construction industry of Hong Kong bears a very poor site safety record. Although the overall accident rate has gone down a little, the fatalities have risen dramatically during the past few years. The annual accident rate per 1000 workers is twice of the United States, 25 times that of Japan and nearly 30 times that of Singapore. In the past, the Hong Kong government adopted a laissez-fair approach in managing constrcution safety, hoping that the market force would regulate the safety performance. However, the approach has proven to be ineffective. In combating the poor safety records, the Hong Kong government has lately introduced a series of safety programs, which consist of encouraged and mandatory schemes aiming at nourishing a better safety culture in the construction industry. This paper reports the findings of a research study, which was undertaken to examine the impact of safety programs on project performance. The effectiveness of the safety programs, clients satisfaction on cost, time, quality, functionality and overall satisfcation; as well as design team leaders and construction team leaders satisfaction of 110 recently completed projects were measured and analysed. Using factor and stepwise multiple regression analysis impact of safety programs on project performance was identified. It was shown that projects where effective safety programs were implemented could lead to better quality, higher designers overall satisfaction, higher clients satisfaction on cost, improved functionality, higher clients overall satisfaction and higher contractors overall satisfaction.