Field Survey on the Thermal Environments and Worker Satisfaction of South Korean Commercial Kitchens

Abstract

A commercial kitchen is a space where workers spend most of the time of their daily work. Management of the thermal environments is required for food hygiene management as well as the health of workers. The heat emitted and humidity in commercial kitchens differ greatly depending on the types of business, the forms of the kitchens, and the kinds of food being cooked. Some countries present guidelines and implement regulations on the thermal environments of commercial kitchens. However, in the case of South Korea, there is no separate regulation on kitchen environments despite that the summer climates are hot and humid. In this study, the thermal environments of South Korean commercial kitchens were actually measured, questionnaire surveys were conducted with workers, and the results were analyzed. First, the room temperatures, humidity, radiation temperatures, and airflows during working hours were measured in 10 kitchens in five industries representing South Korean commercial kitchens. A thermal sensation vote and a comfort sensation vote were conducted with 46 workers in the kitchens being measured. The results of analysis indicated that South Korean commercial kitchens were quite poor in humidity control and that working environment should be considered as the probability of workers' discomfort was shown to be 58.8% on average.