How To Improve Ventilation In Manufacturing Units? Here Is What You Need To Know
Ventilation is the activity of introducing clean outdoor air into an indoor space. It is necessary for residential, commercial, and industrial areas – everywhere that humans stay for a more extended period. The air quality in a closed space deteriorates over time. If a room is occupied and approached slowly, the amount of oxygen needed for sustaining human life reduces. It becomes polluted with carbon dioxide and other airborne pollutants. By introducing fresh air, the indoor air quality is improved, and the area becomes clean. Fresh air also helps regulate humidity and temperature in an enclosed place.
In industrial units like manufacturing facilities, additional heat gets expended by machines. The heat and dust from these machines pollute the air and raise temperatures in the facility. Continued exposure to poor air quality could lead to health issues like dizziness, wheezing, respiratory problems, nausea, headache, or even ENT problems.
The plant head or maintenance manager needs to ensure the air quality in the unit. This can be done by engaging air quality services to maintain clean air on the premises. The management should also regularly use air quality services to check the indoor air quality in the manufacturing units.
How To Protect Against Heatstroke?
Heatstroke is a severe consequence for workers employed in manufacturing units, especially if the factory premises do not have proper ventilation. The risk is more in such factories that use massive machines in the production and processing lines. Not only does heatstroke cause a rapid rise in body temperature, nausea, confusion, irritability, and a rise in heart rates, but it may also lead to sudden death.
The management at these facilities must have a proactive plan to ensure the safety of their employees. The plan should include proper ventilation in the factory premises, providing employees with adequate breaks and hydration, cooling facilities to bring down the heat, and access to doctors on the factory premises.
How To Improve Ventilation In Manufacturing Facilities
Having a heat protection plan is not enough. In addition, facilities management needs to monitor the air quality in manufacturing facilities to ensure proper ventilation to bring in fresh air. Here are a few tips to improve ventilation in such facilities.
1. Turn off the Heat Source When Not Needed
Machines heat up when they are in use for a long time. Not only does this raise the temperature in the facility, but the inner coils of the machines also become hot. As a result, the devices need to be switched off to allow them time to cool off. Switching off also ensures that the heated air in the factory premises disperses and cooler temperatures prevail.
2. Eliminate Hot Air From the Facility
Keeping windows open during work hours is the easiest way to release warm air outside. Warm air generally rises to the top. Subsequently, factories can install windows or ventilation shafts near the top so that the warm air goes out and cooler air can replace it.
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Depending on the size of the factory and the kind of machines involved, air quality control can be maintained by using turbine fans or exhaust fans. The fans help to expel hot air outside the premises and let cool air inside. If your activities are hazardous and prone to fire, you can also use flameproof fans to ensure that smoke and heat are drawn out. Desert coolers can also be used to cool down the inner temperature in factories effectively. These coolers work best where humidity is low and the air is dry. Factories can also use chillers, air conditioners,
3. Insulate The Facility Against Excessive Heat
Excessive heat can prove detrimental to the health of workers who are employed in the manufacturing facility. It also reduces the durability of the machines and could make them obsolete. Usually, insulation is done to heat a place due to cold temperatures.
But in manufacturing facilities, it is necessary to insulate the premises and equipment against heat. This can be done by using insulation sprays. The sprays work to cool down the heated surface and prevent heated air from escaping into the factory. Additionally, use reflective glass on windows and other open spaces to prevent heat from coming into the facility.
4. Paint Roofs and Walls In Lighter Colors
If your manufacturing facility is located in areas where summers are sweltering, management needs to keep factory interiors cool and the workers healthy. Unlike darker colors like black, which absorb heat and light, lighter colors like white help to reflect the heat without penetrating the surface. Ensure the roof of the facility, as well as its outer walls, are painted white. This helps in reducing heat from outside from coming in and overheating the facility.
Conclusion
Indoor air quality?is one of the crucial aspects of safety that factory management needs to handle. Having proper ventilation is the best way that indoor air quality can be maintained. Not only does ventilation help safeguard workers’ health, but it also prevents machines from getting overheated and turning obsolete.
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