ABSTRACT
Designers of workstations and employers alike have made considerable efforts to provide optimal work conditions suited to workers’ capabilities. Nevertheless, there are still environments that subject individuals to thermal loads of various types. A hot environment is particularly strenuous if heat sources are large and/or when a work activity requires a considerable expenditure of energy, that is, one that is performed mainly in protective clothing. A cold environment, on the other hand, is strenuous when work tasks are performed in the open air, usually in winter and in windy conditions. Such an environment can also be present when work activities are carried out indoors where the ambient temperature is below the values established for the ‘thermal comfort zone’, that is, 17°C-21°C (Gwóz´dz´ 2004).
