Environmental quality index (EQI) for industrial ventilation and occupational safety and health evaluation in manufacturing plant

The purpose of this paper is to define an environmental quality index (EQI) for a clean manufacturing process. The categorized clean and sustainable manufacturing process in a small and medium enterprise, and the indoor air quality (IAQ) parameter and air pollution in manufacturing were monitored and evaluated using the EQI index.

Two main methods of measurements used are subjective measurements and physical measurements. Questionnaires were used to gauge subjects' level of understanding in issues related to IAQ and to determine types of activities, process and material involved in each working section. Physical measurements and testing methods employed were based on widely used and accepted scientific practice, as described in standards. The Malaysian code of practice on IAQ was also used as a reference.

The EQI in various workstations were calculated and ranged between four and 16 (i.e. four to 16, from good to unhealthy) depending on the nature of activities taking place in those work stations.

In this paper, the monitoring of pollutants used a scale of one to five to denote the level of pollution by individual pollutants and assumed those pollutants are additive in the mixture of the EQI. The working environment is important to productivity and has a direct impact on human health.

The paper shows how the EQI will have a significant impact on occupational safety and health in the workplace and how an uncondusive work environment will be a potential health hazard and result in less productivity.