INDOOR AIR QUALITY AUDIT OF AN ENGINEERING WORKSHOP

Abstract

Singapore’s precision engineering industry is the primary pillar of the manufacturing sector. Currently, there are approximately 2,700 precision engineering firms in Singapore, of which more than 90% are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Lacking strong financial capability, SMEs are often trapped in a vicious cycle of low work output to maintain sufficient earnings. The lack of economic means has also resulted in companies compromising the condition of their work environment to reduce operating costs. However, poor working environment can jeopardize the performance of the employees, further lowering the work output. As an individual typically spent more than 90% of his time indoor for work or leisure purposes, the conditions of the work environment is of paramount importance. Poor indoor air quality which can lead to decrement in productivity have a significant impact on the profitability of the firms. This is especially important for SMEs as they constantly seek productivity improvements to increase their work output and poor indoor air quality can render their productivity efforts futile. In this dissertation, the workshop of a small-sized precision engineering company was selected to have its indoor air quality assessed. As the workshop typically houses several huge machineries that operate 24 hours daily to perform highly precise cutting and shaping of metal and plastic components, indoor air quality could be a problem as substantial amount of heat, toxic chemicals and particulate matters could be emitted during the process. Furthermore, the lack of adequate ventilation could aggravate the situation. Hence, the indoor air quality audit was conducted to determine if the ventilation system employed was sufficient in managing the indoor air quality of the workshop. Essentially, the audit comprises of two components – objective measurement and subjective assessment. Based on the results of the field measurements, it was found that the thermal comfort parameters did not meet the requirements stated in SS 554:2009. High concentrations of particulate matters and biological pollutants were also observed within the workshop. Similarly, the surveys conducted also reflected that more than 80% of the employees were dissatisfied with the poor indoor air quality. Hence, it is indicative from the results that the ventilation system set in the workshop is ineffective in safeguarding a healthy and conducive work environment. As such, two improvement plans were proposed to improve the indoor air quality of the workshop. The Budget Plan priorities the cost-effectiveness of improving IAQ while the Total Revamp Plan serves to redesign the ventilation system to achieve maximum improvement to the indoor air quality. The introduction of two improvement plans aims to cater to the varying financial capabilities of the small and medium-sized precision engineering companies.