A measurement procedure to assess indoor environment quality for hypermarket workers

The paper discusses the suitability of an on-site measurement procedure to assess indoor environment quality for hypermarket workers. The method is based on the collection of both objective measurements of environmental parameters and subjective perceptions of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) as well as thermal, acoustic, and visual comfort. Given the particular (and variable) indoor conditions observed in hypermarkets, a preliminary field study was carried out to verify the understanding of the questions and their effectiveness in describing subjects’ perceptions and the suitably of the survey method to assess indoor environmental quality and comfort. A hypermarket located in Southern Italy was selected as a pilot study during which the exposure data and subjective responses of employees were acquired simultaneously through physical measurements and questionnaires. A major aspect that required to be verified was the use of fixed positions to avoid, as far as possible, any interference with workers’ activities. In fact, workers were asked to move to the measuring point and fill in a questionnaire to rate their subjective perceptions. Measuring points were chosen to represent the typical conditions inside the hypermarket. However, in a few cases more extreme conditions (less representative of the average conditions) were selected in order to widen the range of the measured parameters and subjective reactions. Data collected at fixed point locations showed only minor (and predictable) biases due to expectation and to transition through different thermal environments, confirming that the proposed method is effective in this kind of environment and minimizes interference with working activities.