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Assessment of work-related risk criteria onboard a ship as an aid to designing its onboard environment

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Abstract

The environment onboard a ship presents a typical example of a severe environment, displaying extreme conditions of temperature and relative humidity, especially in the engine room. Datasheets, the international labour organization, and standards do not provide clear information about the suitable ambience of the engine room, its design conditions, and the role of marine engineers in preventing work-related risk. In this study, air temperature and relative humidity were monitored at several locations onboard a merchant ship. These real monitored data were then compared with the ISO design indications to obtain an effective work risk analysis. From these indoor temperature and relative humidity data, the corresponding parameters of thermal comfort in the engine control room and the heat stress and sweating index of a worker in the engine room were determined. As a function of these indices, the maximum time that a worker can stay in the engine room and the time for which he must rest in the control room were also calculated in the present study. Some design corrections are also proposed herein to improve these environments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Energía y P. M, Universidade da Coruña, Escuela Técnica Superior de N. y M, Paseo de Ronda 51, 15011, A Coruña, Spain

    José A. Orosa

  2. New Energy Tec. Unit, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    Armando C. Oliveira

Authors
  1. José A. Orosa
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  2. Armando C. Oliveira
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Correspondence to José A. Orosa.

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Orosa, J.A., Oliveira, A.C. Assessment of work-related risk criteria onboard a ship as an aid to designing its onboard environment. J Mar Sci Technol 15, 16–22 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-009-0067-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-009-0067-0

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