A TECHNIQUE FOR RECORDING AND ANALYSIS OF POSTURAL CHANGES ASSOCIATEDWITH THERMAL COMFORT

The recording of posture has a long history in the study of ergonomics , but has generally been concerned with the assessment of mechanical s train on the human body, This paper extends the concern to the thermal implications of posture, A change in posture can change the effective body surface area available for heat exchange with the environment an d therefore the metabolic rate per unit body surface area, This effect is systematised into a method of postural coding which reflects the e xtent of changes in effective body surface area available for heat exc hange. The paper reports a brief assessment of the extent of the effec t of posture in normal office work and the extent to which posture is temperature-related. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.