Workplace thermal comfort and environmental monitoring:
what your company needs to record.

Occupational standards govern the ergonomic conditions of work, including temperature and humidity. What is not always clear is what needs to be documented, and where continuous monitoring fits in.

What thermal-comfort standards govern

Occupational ergonomics frameworks set parameters for adapting working conditions to the characteristics of workers. These parameters include the environmental conditions: temperature, humidity, lighting and noise levels.

The international reference for workplace thermal comfort is ISO 7730 (the PMV/PPD model). For places where intellectual, attention-demanding activities are performed, such as offices, laboratories and control rooms, typical recommended conditions are:

• Air temperature between 18 °C and 25 °C (air-conditioned environments)
• Relative humidity not below 40%
• Air velocity not above 0.75 m/s

These values are usually framed as recommendations. For specific high-demand activities (such as banking operations and call centers), local occupational regulations may turn them into mandatory requirements. Always check the framework that applies in your jurisdiction.

The occupational health risk program obligation

Most occupational health and safety regimes require that every company maintain an occupational health risk program. The program must map all occupational risks: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and accident-related.

The risk inventory should include, among other elements, monitoring data on exposure to physical agents and the results of the ergonomic assessment. The history of this inventory is typically expected to be preserved for many years (in some jurisdictions, decades).

Without continuous, recorded measurements, there is no data to compose this inventory properly.

What monitoring provides

Continuous monitoring of temperature and humidity generates a history with a timestamp on each reading. This history lets you:

• Demonstrate that conditions were maintained over time
• Identify periods of deviation and the actions taken
• Feed the risk inventory with real data

Monitoring does not replace the risk program; it provides the evidence the program needs.

When heat-stress criteria are the right reference

Thermal-comfort standards deal with comfort and ergonomics. Environments with intense heat exposure, industrial operations, foundries, industrial kitchens, are governed by heat-stress criteria, which set tolerance limits for heat based on WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature). An occupational health and safety professional should assess which framework applies to each workstation.