the kid Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I have just read this in the telegraph. I know it is aimed at teachers, but the line "staff should refuse to work if temperatures top 26C (79F)." could be passed on to any industry, I'm mainly ours (the theatre/entertainment). Even being 19 I have worked on several shows where its just FAR too hot, and with global warming summers are set to get warmer and warmer. Is it not long until we see a MAX working temperature ? Is it going to effect us ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 The old 'offices, shops and railway premises act' is still used by many people as the core for legislation on temperature control. Frankly if schools get too hot, and they are a modern build, it's simply the architects and local authoriy bean counters getting excited about open spaces, atriums (is that atria?) and forgetting that they have designed a huge greenhouse, and the only ventilation is the odd window. You never get the old victorian buildings too hot in the summer - lovely cool places - well, until you turn lights on! Why does everything have to be so controlled nowadays. Schools can't keep decent teachers, so if working conditions are poor, they leave and go somewhere else anyway - maybe to a place with aircon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimWebber Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 ...Is it not long until we see a MAX working temperature ? Is it going to effect us ?I doubt it very much to be honest, all the while we have forgeries, foundries and steelworks and the like... Having said that, I'll probably get proved spectacularly wrong in the not too distant future... Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_m Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 goign back to the schools thing, one of our newer blocks was designed very very badly, and was absolutely roasting at about 11:30 (the time I had history). Still, it's got aircon now, but it still gets a bit warm up there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 and the old legislation - the one paul mentions - specified minimum temperatures but not upper limits. However, the "WORKPLACE (HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE) REGULATIONS 1992" now simply states: During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable. the guidance notes go on to to define reasonable in a fairly wooly way. (pun!) In areas where people are expected to work for extended perionds (>2 hours) then the minimum temp is set at 16C, or 13C if physical work is being carried out. But no fixed upper limits are defined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 I doubt it very much to be honest, all the while we have forgeries, foundries and steelworks and the like... With regards to situations, a theatre is hot/will get hot, but there is no NEED for it to be that hot, foundries etc there is a need, to melt metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 But is there a NEED for theatres to be cool? Cutting huge holes in listed buildings to install air conditioning when lots of venues are already under financial risk is a lot to ask for a bit more comfort. Designing a silent HVAC system that can keep every area of a theatre at a comfortable temperature from the stalls to the grid, doesn't instantly destroy any atmospherics you've created and doesn't cost the earth in terms of money, installation time, space or aesthetics is not an easy task. ...and thats before I even get onto reduced ice cream sales. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikienorth Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 In a Bectu or TUC Health and safety pack (for the use of H&S reps in union theatres etc) a maximum limit in the high twenties is suggested. Memory states it is in the regions of 26C, but I await correction. Guidance for a maximum comfortable working temperature is out there. Our spot box was one summer approaching double the suggested temperature, so equipment was rented, and extra fans were purchased.Sadly I have moved on since, and so cannot lay my hands on the exact guidance information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Our spot box was one summer approaching double the suggested temperature, so equipment was rented, and extra fans were purchased. If I were to be pedantic, I could point out that to say “double the suggested temperature” you would have to be measuring on the absolute scale. This is the Kelvin scale and is simply degrees C + 273.15. So your 26 degrees C is 299.15 K. Double that is 598.3K or 325.15 degrees C. You must have meant double that figure. :P Wikipedia - Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikienorth Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 OK, so the temperature was heading into the 50C's Will that do? Working in 50C is very hard, we did it in the Balearics, but it is possible, and everything becomes relative, with 20C being very, very cold.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ojc123 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Here's what the NASUWT has to say about working temperatures in schools. I'm our NASUWT H&S rep and I'm pleased to say that the school I work at has taken these guidelines on board. They are doing everything they can to make the conditions acceptable. It is difficult when there are 30 computers in a room pumping out heat and the sun is belting in through the windows which are secured to stop the computers getting pinched. However, they are working on it and it'll be cooler this year than ever before. Humidity is an issue. 24 degrees C is ok if the humidity is low but is very unpleasant if the humidity is high. Apparently, that's why it's difficult to agree a maximum temperature. If it's too hot we have let the students out for a bit to cool down but most of them sat in the sun rather than in the shade so that worked then. :P I can't imagine teachers sending students home because it's too hot. It's not that easy. Someone has to look after the little darlings and parents can't always come and pick them up at the drop of a hat. Some of the parents may have a get in to do for example. Can you imagine the hassle we'd get if you had to leave rigging Glastonbury because it was a bit warm in School and we weren't prepared to work in those conditions? So, we might take them to a cooler area or work outside in a shady area but we won't be sending them home willy nilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tompw Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 With regard to the computer issue: it doesn't help when computers in computer rooms get left on overnight, even though no-one uses them. At my university, the computer room in the main library was closed 6pm-8am weekdays, but all 200+ computers were left on. We studenst also got regular emails warning us not to waste electricty.... Going back to the heat issue: just be grateful electric lighting go invented. In the days of gas lighting, the upper galleries at theatres would regularly top 100F (~40C). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 I can't imagine teachers sending students home because it's too hot. It's not that easy. Someone has to look after the little darlings and parents can't always come and pick them up at the drop of a hat. Yet Schools have no problem whatsoever in closing when there's 5mm of snow on the ground. Some of the parents may have a get in to do for example Well I see your point, but maybe less than 0.0001% of the population would be affected by this. More to the point is the shift workers who may already be at work when the school decides to close, with no easy means of getting in contact, and certainly no means of being able to arrange childminding. Also, how do hospitals cope? I think in this situation, the question arises - should schools actually be allowed to close, due to temperature, or should facilities be put in place, so that it never happens. Many countries have much greater temperature swings than we have in the UK, they SEEM to cope ok, but somehow we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 In the days of gas lighting, the upper galleries at theatres would regularly top 100F (~40C).All true. I was skimming through "Theatre lighting in the age of gas" (Terence Rees) recently, and the other problem was because they used these terrible gas lamps they needed to get rid of noxiousness they emitted, which they did by having a big gas lamp in the centre of the auditorium, which sucked up air out of the theatre through a chimney. That air had to come from somewhere, so they left the doors open, and a blast of air from the street came in at ground level. On a cold night that would be chilly air. Going to the theatre was an excellent way to get pneumonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 13, 2007 Share Posted April 13, 2007 Many schools and colleges leave the computers on simply because they are more reliable run like that - if they were not, you can bet your life they'd be turned off each night because of power savings - so if they're left on, it will be by design not laziness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.