Abstract
In this paper, experiments to develop working clothes and evaluated, including the current and material-improved working clothes in relation to physiological functionality measurement. Experiments were conducted on subjects after wearing working clothes in an climate chamber, and the thermo-physiological response, such as human body temperature, micro-climate within the clothes, blood pressure, heart rate were measured. In this manner, the physiological functionality of improved working clothes was compared with that of current working clothes and evaluated. The summary of obtained results is as follows: For physiological functionality evaluation through material-improved working clothes, P working clothes showed significantly lower rectal temperature than C working clothes. For mean skin temperature, P's skin temperature was significantly higher than C's in the second half of the experiment. P working clothes's temperature around the thighs in Micro climate was significantly lower than that of the C working clothes. Also, humidity within the clothes showed similar trends. During the exercise period, C working clothes showed higher blood pressure than P, but P showed higher heart rates than C. Also, the oxygen uptake amount was higher in C than P during the exercise period, it explains that the energy consumption amount of P working clothes was smaller than that of C working clothes. Of the subjective evaluation, for temperature sensation, workers wearing P working clothes felt cooler. For humidity, C working clothes showed more humidity. For comfort, P working clothes were better, and for sense of fatigue, workers felt less tired wearing P working clothes. From results above, we can see that physiological functionality improved in the material-improved working clothes in the working clothes for construction site workers. The improvement of working clothes through functionality improvements not only will provide personal pleasantness to constriction site workers, but will also generate efficiency and productivity improvements at construction sites. All in all, the continuous study of functionality improvements in working clothes taking into consideration the human body's physiological responses is required.
