Chan, A P C; Yang, Y; Wong, F K W; Chan, D W M and Lam, E W M (2015) Wearing comfort of two construction work uniforms. Construction Innovation, 15(4), pp. 473-492. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose - The aim of this study is to investigate wearing comfort of summer work uniforms judged by construction workers. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 189 male construction workers participated in a series of wear trials and questionnaire surveys in the summer of 2014. They were asked to randomly wear two types of work uniforms (i.e. uniforms A and B) in the two-day field survey and the subjective attributes of these uniforms were assessed. Three analytical techniques, namely, multiple regression, artificial neural network and fuzzy logic were used to predict wearing comfort affected by the six subjective sensations. Findings - The results revealed that fuzzy logic was a robust and practical tool for predicting wearing comfort in terms of better prediction performance and more interpretable results than the other models. Pressure attributes were further found to exert a greater effect than thermal-wet attributes on wearing comfort. Overall, the use of uniform B exhibited profound benefits on wearing comfort because it kept workers cooler, drier and more comfortable with less work performance interference than wearing uniform A. Originality/value - The findings provide a fresh insight into construction workers' needs for work clothes, which further facilitates the improvement in the clothing tailor-made design and the enhancement of the well-being of workers.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | artificial neural network,fuzzy logic,regression analysis,clothing comfort,construction workers |
| Index terms: | comfort, questionnaire, construction work, construction worker, regression analysis, fuzzy logic, artificial neural network, survey, work performance, summer, multiple-regression, clothing, sensation, methodology, well-being |
| Subjects: | operations management, research methods, human factors and perception, climate science, modelling and simulation, mental health and wellbeing, practitioner, statistical analysis, data science, data collection methods, occupational health and safety management |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Digital Applications, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Project Management, Health and Safety |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here