SOME WORKPLACES COLD IN MORNINGS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29478, 3 April 1961, Page 13

SOME WORKPLACES COLD IN MORNINGS

Those in charge of factories and office buildings in Christchurch should make sure that heating is turned on early enough in the mornings to make workplaces comfortably warm before employees arrived for work, said the assistant superintendent of the Christchurch office of the Labour Department (Mr A. B. Tuck). He was commenting on a leading article on the heating of workplaces in the latest issue of the “Labour and Employment Gazette.” “It is particularly important to see that the heating arrangements are started early on Monday mornings, when the buildings have had the week-end to cool down,” Mr Tuck said. The "Gazette” article complained that “in many cases our workshops provide shelter plus austerity," and that “there are yet too- many New Zealand workplaces where either little has been attempted by way of heating, or what has been attempted misses the mark badly.” Mr Tuck said that in Christchurch the general standard

of heating seemed "reasonable,” but that improvements could be made in some cases. His department had not taken temperature measurements except where there had been complaints, but as complaints were few he took it that conditions were generally satisfactory. The most common source of trouble seemed to be the failure of some firms to start heating their premises early enough in the morning. A few employers had had to be asked to improve their heating arrangements in this respect. Mr Tuck commended as suitable for Christchurch conditions the optimum temperatures quoted in the 'Gazette” article. These were: Offices. 63 to 65deg. fin some cages up to 68 deg.); shops, 61 to 63deg.; sedentary work with little appreciable muscular effort, 59 to 68deg.; sedentary work with muscular effort, 56 to 64deg.: workshops (men), 57 to 67deg, depending on occupation. Some workplaces were difficult to maintain at a comfortable temperature because. from the nature oi the business, they had to contain large open areas and had to be open to the outside air, Mr Tuck said. Garages were a good example of this. Again, different people had different ideas of comfort. Some liked the windows shut; others liked them open. Some sweltered at temperatures where others were pleasantly warm, or froze when others were perfectly happy Dr. Jepson’s View

The Christchurch Medical Officer of Health (Dr. L. F. Jepson) commented that no-one could work well in cold conditions, especially when metals were being handled. He recommended a general minimum of 63deg„ "and even that is a bit low unless the workers are moving about a little," he said. Output tended to drop if temperatures were too low. because workers could not concentrate properly and because their fingers tended to get stiff, Dr. Jepson said. This stiffness could well also contribute to the number of industrial accidents. The incidence of chest illnesses could also be higher where workplaces were not properly heated.