Comparison of heat stress measuring techniques in a steel mill

Three heat stress measurement devices, currently used to assess heat exposure in the workplace, were compared in indoor and outdoor environments at a steel mill in Orem, Utah, during the month of July, 1982. Sixty sets of environmental data from a total of fourteen different test locations were collected and analyzed. Significance tests, linear regression equations and correlation coefficients were calculated to determine comparability and relationships between standard WBGT Index and Botsball (WGT) and also between standard WBGT Index and an electronic WBGT Index Meter. The results of the significance testing between the standard WBGT, Botsball, and electronically generated WBGT showed that the electronically generated WBGT means were statistically much closer to the standard WBGT values than were the Botsball (WGT) results. The statistical analysis performed shows that a high correlation of variation exists between the standard WBGT and both the Botsball and the electronically generated WBGT.