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An Empirical Study to Improve Faculty Workplace Ergonomics for Minimizing the Risk of Transmission of Airborne Diseases

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Design in the Era of Industry 4.0, Volume 1 (ICORD 2023)

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 343))

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Abstract

Improving the workspaces for “environmental ergonomics” is essential for better occupational health and safety, especially in populated and developing countries like India. Moreover, controlling airborne diseases in indoor environments has become one of the significant concerns during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Enhancing indoor ventilation is one of the most effective ways to mitigate the airborne transmission risk. In this study, experiments were planned and carried out in smaller volume rooms inside a university building, such as faculty cabins, using CO2 sensor monitoring. CO2 measurements are taken in 16 different ventilation instances including doors, windows, and exhaust fans. Using the ASTM tracer gas equation, these CO2 values are used to determine the ventilation rates in each circumstance. The Wells-Riley probability model is used to determine the probability of infection, and the findings for all the 16 instances are provided. When all the doors and windows are closed, the exhaust is switched off, and the mask is not worn; the mean CO2 concentration is the highest, thereby increasing the risk of airborne transmission. This study finally exhibits and proposes a design paradigm that specifies which method to use under certain scenarios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

    Bankapalli Vamsi, Pullela Kali Raj Sunad & Jay Dhariwal

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  1. Bankapalli Vamsi
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  2. Pullela Kali Raj Sunad
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  3. Jay Dhariwal
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Correspondence to Bankapalli Vamsi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Amaresh Chakrabarti

  2. Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

    Vishal Singh

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Vamsi, B., Sunad, P.K.R., Dhariwal, J. (2023). An Empirical Study to Improve Faculty Workplace Ergonomics for Minimizing the Risk of Transmission of Airborne Diseases. In: Chakrabarti, A., Singh, V. (eds) Design in the Era of Industry 4.0, Volume 1. ICORD 2023. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 343. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0293-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0293-4_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-0292-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-0293-4

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