New temperature website
July 10, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new temperature website area, containing information about how the temperature of the environment staff work in can affect them, and advice on how to manage related issues.
The HSE points out that the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 lay down particular requirements for most aspects of the working environment and that regulation 7 deals specifically with the temperature in indoor workplaces, requiring that during working hours, temperatures in workplaces inside buildings should be reasonable.
However, the website goes on to explain that the application of the regulation depends on the nature of the workplace, ie whether a bakery, a cold store, an office or a warehouse.
The associated Approved Code of Practice to the Regulations provides further details and notes that: “The temperature in workrooms should provide reasonable comfort without the need for special clothing. Where such a temperature is impractical because of hot or cold processes, all reasonable steps should be taken to achieve a temperature which is as close as possible to comfortable.”
The HSE previously defined thermal comfort in the workplace as follows, noting that: “An acceptable zone of thermal comfort for most people in the UK lies roughly between 13°C (56°F) and 30°C (86°F), with acceptable temperatures for more strenuous work activities concentrated towards the bottom end of the range, and more sedentary activities towards the higher end.”
The website, which offers a wide range of information, including a managers' guide, a workers' guide and advice on conducting risk assessments, can be accessed at www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/index.htm.
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