The Physiology Of Work

The Physiology of Work The Physiology of Work Professor Kaare Rodahl former Director Institute of Work Physiology, Oslo Taylor & Francis London New York Philadelphia 1989 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” UK Taylor & Francis Ltd, 4 John St, London WC1N 2ET USA Taylor and Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007 Copyright © K.Rodahl 1989 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Rodahl, Kaare The physiology of work. 1. Man. Work. Physiological aspects I. Title 612′.042 ISBN 0-203-39264-7 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-39546-8 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-85066-478-0 (Print Edition) ISBN 0-85066-483-7 (Print Edition) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available Cover design by Barking Dog Art, East Grinstead, UK Contents Chapter 1 The biological basis for human 1 Chapter 2 Work physiology 5 Chapter 3 Problem areas in the field of work physiology 11 Service functions 11 Training and adaptation 12 Somatic factors 13 Psychic factors 18 Nature of work to be performed 21 Environment 33 Methods for the assessment of physical work capacity and physical work load 44 Introduction 44 Assessment of an individual’s maximal work capacity 45 Assessment of work load 55 Assessment of muscular work loads 69 Methods for the assessment of the working environment 72 Assessment of thermal stress 72 Assessment of lighting conditions 88 Assessment of noise levels 89 Assessment of local and whole-body vibration 90 Ambulatory assessment of blood pressure, muscle tension and heart rate 91 Assessment of air pollution 91 Mental and emotional stress 96 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 v Examples of the stress of getting to work on time Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 99 Examples of stress at the place of work 100 Examples of stress at home 105 The stress of management 111 Personal interviews 113 Heart rate and time-activity logging 115 Medical examination 116 Shift work, circadian rhythms and transmeridian dyschronism 118 Circadian rhythms 118 Shift work 120 Transmeridian dyschronism 128 The stress of air traffic controllers 130 Review of previous studies 130 Assessment of the work stress 135 Medical examination 137 Industrial heat stress 142 Field studies of industrial heat stress 142 Health hazards of industrial