Ergonomics of the physical environment—Assessment of environments by means of an environmental survey （physical measurements of the environment and subjective responses of people）
GB/T 43517-2023 Ergonomics of the physical environment- Assessment of environments by means of an environmental survey (physical measurements of the environment and subjective responses of people)
1 Scope
This document provides an environmental survey method for the assessment of the comfort and well-being of occupants of indoor and outdoor environments. It is not restricted to any particular environment, but provides the general principles that allow assessment and evaluation.
It presents the principles for conducting an environmental survey to assess the comfort and well-being of people in environments. It gives guidance on the design of the survey, as well as on the environmental measurements used to quantify the environment and the subjective assessment methods used to quantify the occupants' responses to that environment. It does not provide guidance on the design of subjective scales.
It is applicable to built as well as other environments, including vehicle and outdoor environments, and to all the occupants of those environments who can be considered as providing valid responses to an environmental survey. There may be specific features of certain types of environment that have to be taken into account; however, the general principles it outlines will apply.
This document is not restricted to specific environmental components. It includes assessment of thermal environments, the acoustic environment, the visual and lit environment, air quality and other environmental factors that could be considered to influence the comfort and well-being of the occupants of an environment.
It is a basic ergonomics standard which can contribute to the development of standards concerned with specific environments such as those found in buildings. It is intended to be used by people involved in the general assessment and evaluation of physical environments, including general ergonomics practitioners as well as those who develop standards and guidelines for specific applications.
Note: The results of the environmental survey produced by the application of this document may identify specific problems that require expert advice.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 7726 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Instruments for measuring physical quantities
Note: GB/T 40233-2021 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Instruments for measuring physical quantities (ISO7726 : 1998, IDT)
ISO 7730 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort using calculation of the PMV and PPD indices and local thermal comfort criteria
Note: GB/T 18049-2017 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort using calculation of the PMV and PPD indices and local thermal comfort criteria (ISO 7730 : 2005, IDT)
ISO 8041-1 Human response to vibration – Measuring instrumentation - Part 1 : General purpose vibration meters
Note: GB/T 23716-2009 Human response to vibration - Measuring instrumentation (ISO 8041:2005, IDT)
ISO 8996 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Determination of metabolic rate
Note: GB/T 18048-2008 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Determination of metabolic rate (ISO 8996 : 2004, IDT)
ISO 9612 Acoustics - Determination of occupational noise exposure - Engineering method
Note: GB/T 21230-2014 Acoustics - Determination of occupational noise exposure - Engineering method (ISO 9612 : 2009, IDT)
ISO 9920 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Estimation of thermal insulation and water vapour resistance of a clothing ensemble
ISO 13731 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Vocabulary and symbols
Note: GB/T 40288-2021 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Vocabulary and symbols (ISO 13731 : 2001, IDT)
ISO 15265 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Risk assessment strategy for the prevention of stress or discomfort in thermal working conditions
IEC 61672-1 Electroacoustics - Sound level meters - Part 1 : Specifications
Note: GB/T 3785.1-2023 Electroacoustics - Sound level meters - Part 1:Specifications (IEC61672-1 : 2013, IDT)
CIE 69 Methods of characterizing lluminance meters and luminance meters: performance, characteristics and specifications
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 13731 and the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
adaptive opportunity
opportunity for a person to alter the environment to which he or she is exposed by behavioural (move away, adjust posture, adjust clothing, etc.) or other means (e.g. open window, close door, adjust environmental controls)
3.2
behavioural method
method that quantifies or represents human behaviour in response to an environment
3.3
objective method
method that quantifies the physical, physiological or psychological condition of a person by the use of instrumentation or measures of output such as performance measures
3.4
subjective method
method that quantifies the responses of people to an environment using subjective scales
4 Designing an environmental survey
4.1 Aim of survey
The design of any environmental survey will depend upon the specific aims of that survey. It is necessary, therefore, to be specific about the aims of the survey.
Two general principles are
- a typical environmental survey involves measuring the physical environmental conditions and also the subjective responses of people exposed to the environment, and
- an optimum survey will achieve its aim with efficient use of resources.
4.2 Measurement of the physical environment
Instruments shall be selected according to the appropriate specifications and standards as presented in the following subclauses under each environmental component. Particular considerations will include range, accuracy, sensitivity and physical robustness. Calibration procedures will be necessary to ensure that the instruments measure according to the specification. Depending on the instrument, it is recommended to calibrate both before and after an environmental survey to check for “drift”. Practical use of instruments is important and there are many pitfalls. It is important to remember that the objective of the measurement is to quantify the physical environment to which people are exposed. "Experimenter" interference by leaning over a light meter, talking when taking noise measurements, or an equipment case shading a globe thermometer, are all examples of practical errors that shall be avoided.
4.3 Measurement of subjective responses
The subjective scales presented are those typically used in the investigation of the environment under consideration. The scales used may differ depending upon context.
Subjective methods quantify the responses of people to an environment using subjective scales. Such scales are based upon psychological continua (or constructs) that are relevant to the psychological phenomenon of interest. It is important to know the properties of the scales in order to correctly interpret the results. Scales of sensation (e.g. hot or cold), preference, comfort, annoyance, smell and stickiness are often used in comfort assessment. Advantages of subjective methods are that they are simple to administer and are directly related to the psychological phenomenon. Disadvantages are that the subjective methods may interfere with what they are measuring, some groups may not be able to perform the subjective task (e.g. babies, children, people with disabilities) and there is no reason given as to why such a response is provided.
ISO 10551 provides guidance on the construction of subjective scales. Five types of scales are identified:
- perceptual (How do you feel now? e.g. hot);
- affective (How do you find it? e.g. comfortable);
- preference (How would you prefer to be? e.g. cooler);
- acceptance (acceptable/unacceptable);
- tolerance (Is the environment tolerable?).
From these basic subjective dimensions, questionnaires of subjective scales can be developed.
The responses of people that will be measured are to be selected according to the aims of the survey. Typically subjective responses are taken to quantify comfort. Objective measures are sometimes used, for example in the thermal environment, mean skin temperature (and sometimes sweat loss) to complement subjective measures. In a novel situation, subjective scales shall be established from “first principles” by establishing subjective continua using psychological techniques. Subjective scales for assessing environmental comfort have, however, become established. Examples are provided in Clauses 5, 6, 7 and 8. It is important to note that the way in which a scale is presented and administered can influence results. A single-sheet questionnaire, for example, maybe preferable to a number of pages. The exact question asked shall be established. The frequency of completion of the questionnaire should be balanced with the overall aim of design. Translation of scales (from English, for example) as well as cultural aspects of the subject sample will be issues. Providing knowledge to people of their previous ratings or of those from other subjects' responses shall be avoided. Subject training and instruction will be necessary to ensure that the subjects have a correct understanding of what is required. Some scales are used for ratings of overall "comfort" as well as for comfort ratings for specific areas of the body.
It is important to avoid leading questions when developing scales (e.g. 'You are uncomfortable aren't you?'). For newly-constructed scales, expert advice might be necessary. Pilot testing of newly-constructed surveys will be necessary
4.4 Where to measure?
Where to measure the environment will be determined by the aim of the survey; typically, the intention will be to quantify the environment to which people are exposed, and this will then be their physical location. If people are static then this is clear. For environments where people move around or for large groups of people, a representative sample of spaces will be required for measurement. This will depend upon how homogeneous the environment is and how homogeneously spaced people are. Where people are evenly spread about a room, a simple grid system can be identified. Of note is that where one component of an environment may be homogeneous (e.g. temperature) another may not (e.g. light level).
