The Effects of a Helmet Cooling Fan on Productivity in Healthy Males During a Simulated Work Task in the Heat

Rising global temperatures and heatwaves are forcing labor workers to work in hot indoor and outdoor environments that can lead to life-threatening heat-related injuries. These injuries impair physical and cognitive performance, negatively affecting worker performance and efficiency. To help manage the adverse effects of heat stress on workers, cooling strategies have been implemented to prevent increase in body temperature and improve work performance. These strategies include heat acclimation, proper hydration, cooling garments, cooling helmets and more. However, research on helmet cooling fans on mannequins shows conflicting results regarding its effectiveness in improving work performance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the efficiency of a novel helmet with a built-in fan on the work performance of labor workers in simulated heated environments. A multi-week randomized controlled study was conducted on 12 male participants aged 25-55. Productivity was measured through a simulated work activity, where the time it took to finish five repetitions of the activity as fast as possible was measured. The results of the study found that the helmet cooling fan did not change the physical work capacity for the simulated work activity of the participants during the different trials. There were no statistically significant differences with the performance to five repetitions at the end of the trials. The results emphasize the need for enhanced safety regulations for labor workers in hot environments. Further research is needed to explore the helmet cooling fan’s effectiveness on increasing productivity in different environments and optimize the product design to improve function.