CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT - The Hong Kong Polytechnic ...
CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT - The Hong Kong Polytechnic ...
CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT - The Hong Kong Polytechnic ...
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RISUD’s Construction Safety Research<br />
Group scores with OSHC<br />
<strong>The</strong> Construction Safety Research Group of the Research<br />
Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) has been<br />
awarded a contract by the Occupational Safety and Health<br />
Council (OSHC) to conduct a one-year study on the effectiveness<br />
of personal equipment for protecting workers from heat stroke<br />
while working in a hot environment. A multi-disciplinary team<br />
with expertise and experience in materials sciences, textiles<br />
sciences, biological and exercise sciences, occupational<br />
hygiene, occupational safety and health, and other relevant<br />
disciplines, will conduct the study and interpret the findings. <strong>The</strong><br />
physiological responses of workers in four target industries will<br />
be quantitatively assessed, while the comfort and usability of<br />
personal cooling equipment will be qualitatively assessed. <strong>The</strong><br />
Construction Safety Research Group is headed by Prof. Albert<br />
Chan, who is well known for his research on heat stress studies.<br />
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(RISUD) <br />
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Media briefed on findings of research<br />
study led by BRE academic<br />
On the afternoon of 31 May 2012, the local media was invited<br />
to a press briefing at PolyU, where they were presented with<br />
the findings of a joint study by academics from the <strong>Hong</strong> <strong>Kong</strong><br />
Institute of Education, the Technological and Higher Education<br />
Institute of <strong>Hong</strong> <strong>Kong</strong>, as well as the Department of Building<br />
and Real Estate of PolyU. Led by Prof. Albert Chan, Associate<br />
Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, the<br />
team of researchers revealed what could be done to prevent<br />
construction workers from getting heat strokes in hot weather.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y scientifically established what is known as the heat<br />
tolerance time, i.e. the duration that construction workers<br />
could continuously work without jeopardizing their health. It<br />
was subsequently determined that the length of a rest break<br />
is directly proportional to a worker's physiological recovery.<br />
However, how long and how frequent breaks should be are<br />
open for negotiation between the various stakeholders,<br />
including the government, developers, contractors, trade union<br />
representatives, as well as the workers themselves.<br />
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Funded by the Research Grants Council and supported by the<br />
<strong>Hong</strong> <strong>Kong</strong> Housing Authority, Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.,<br />
Yau Lee Construction Co. Ltd., and China State Construction<br />
Engineering (HK) Ltd., the joint study was widely reported by<br />
the local press as well as foreign online media. Kudos to Prof.<br />
Chan and his team for their noteworthy study, which has been<br />
published in Building and Environment, an international journal<br />
of building science and its applications.<br />
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