The performance of the employee

Contents
1. Introduction..........................................................................................1
1.1 Background........................................................................................1
1.2 Research question..............................................................................1
1.3 Aims and objectives...........................................................................2
2. Literature Review...................................................................................2
2.1 Background........................................................................................2
2.2 Respiratory constraints......................................................................4
2.3 Breathing resistance..........................................................................4
2.4 Heat retention....................................................................................4
2.5 Communication issues.....................................................................5
2.6 Affect vision.......................................................................................5
2.7 Discomfort..........................................................................................6
2.8 Personal use.......................................................................................6
2.9 Use of other material.........................................................................6
3. Methodology.........................................................................................6
3.1 Consideration.....................................................................................6
3.2 Participants........................................................................................7
3.3 workplace...........................................................................................7
3.4 Apparatus...........................................................................................8
3.5 Method...............................................................................................8
3.6 Data Collection..................................................................................9
3.7 Procedure.........................................................................................16
4. Ethical and risk consideration..............................................................16
4.1 Ethics and community.....................................................................16
4.2 Risk Assessment..............................................................................17

5. Results and analysis..............................................................................17
6. Discussion.............................................................................................26
7. Conclusion............................................................................................26
8. References............................................................................................26

Inhalation affecting welding fumes affecting occupational safety
and health of welders in the construction industry
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
A large amount of welding fume is emitted during the welding process
which has a greater impact on the health of the people (Ágoston 2019, p.
51). Today, respirators are used on a wider scale that can help to protect
the worker from hazardous fumes and prevent them from affecting his
health as well. Currently, most of the welding companies have been using
respirators as it is an economical option compared to super expensive
engineering controls. However, it is known that the disadvantage of
using respirators is that it leads to a psychological problem which not
only hampers the performance of the employee but also keeps them dull
(Mehrifar, Zamanian & Pirami 2019, p.40). Usually, the welding process
involves the emission of three different types of gases like gas, electric
arc and also thermit. All these welding forms are assumed to be higher
hazardous and contagious for health.
According to the reports released by OSHA, welding fumes when inhaled
by the worker can lead to serious health problems. Welding fumes can be
defined as a complicated mixture of silicates, fluorides, and metallic
oxide. An acute expose of the welding fumes can lead to eyes irritation,
nose swelling, dizziness and throat irritation (Singh, Chadha & Sharma
2019, pp.66) Additionally, it is recognized that prolong exposure to the
welding fumes can also increase the change of lung cancer and urinary
tract problems. All these consequences of welding fumes can hamper the
performance of the worker and prevent them from achieving
organizational goals. The main aim of the report is to read and analyze
the impact of the welding fumes on the welders in the construction
industry of Singapore.

1.2Research question
Facing problems due to welding fumes is quite common in both, small or
large enterprises. Additionally, using respirators for proper inhalation
have also resulted in low energy and dull feeling in the workers. Keeping
these in mind, here are the research questions of the report -
 What are the health effects of welding fumes on the welders in the
construction industry?
 What kind of hazard is caused to the welders on the account of
welding fumes?
 What measures should be adopted by the welders to avoid the
hazard of the metallic fumes?
 To what extent existing regulations and standards are effective in
mitigating the effects of the metallic fumes on welders?
1.3 Aims and objectives
Keeping the research question in mind, the study aims to find and
analyze the impact of welding fumes on the workers in the construction
industry of Singapore. Additionally, the objective of the report is to
identify the name of the hazards which is caused due to the welding
fumes in the construction industry. The report also tries to evaluate the
causes of the hazardous impact of the welding fumes in the construction
industry. It is anticipated that by understanding and evaluating the
factors responsible for destroying the health of the workers can help to
solve the issue and also provide better design and alternative idea to
work in the construction industry.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Background
The welding industry has been increasing by 40% and has been
anticipated to increase by 10 % to 12 %. However, typically in small and
medium-sized workshops in Singapore, workers are exposed to harmful

welding fumes which can lead to several problems. Welding fumes can be
described as a mixture of numerous harmful gas and fine particles. The
type of gas that is emitted during the welding process depends upon the
process involved. However, it is generally believed that some of the
harmful welding fumes emitted during the process include Ozone (O3),
Carbon Dioxide (co2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (NOx) and
shielding gas. Additionally, author Berlinger et.al (2019, p. 497) stated
that welding fumes also contain fine particles including copper, nickel,
manganese, lead, chromium, zinc, cobalt and others.
Figure 1 : Health impacts of hazardous welding fumes
According to the OSHA, it is said that several welding and construction
companies in Singapore should be following “OSHA’s Hierarchy of
Controls” which involves modifying the welding materials so that the
effect on the workers is extremely less. It involves ensuring the worker
from the welding fumes and also wearing the respiratory mask when the

level of the welding fumes has been increased. Additionally, few SMEs
have adopted the method of implementing Fabricators, which can
prevent direct exposure of the chemical gases to the worker. OSHA has
provided minimum safety measures that can help a worker to reduce the
exposure to the harmful welding fumes. It doesn’t specify the exact
methods of reducing the gases but it suggests the use of equipment
available which can help to keep the welding employees safe and healthy
during the work. On the other hand, other small scale enterprises fail to
adapt to these safety methods to protect their employees due to low
finance and small infrastructure. However, the OSHA guideline includes
that permissible exposure limit towards a worker working for 8 hours
should not be more than 5 mg/m3. The guideline has further said that 5
mg/m3 is equal to approx. 5 sugar cubes dissolved in 65.6 feet pool filled
with water. Threshold limit set by ACGIH (American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists) based upon 8 hour Time Weighted
Average as of 9/98. Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) for Manganese is
3 mg/m3 (for 15 minutes) and maximum exposure Concentration should
not exceed anytime.
Figure 2 : Welder working in the workshop
Krabbe et.al (2019, pp. 815) has said that anyone who is exposed to
more than the recommended limit is always at risk. Stebounova,

Gonzalez, Peters & Grassian (2018, pp. 696) has agreed with the
statement of Krabbe et.al (2019, pp. 815) and has further stated that the
sad reality of the welding industry in Singapore is that every employee is
exposed to this limit more than 500-1000 times in a day which is
extremely hazardous for health. However, it is suggested that workers
should put respirators into use to prevent themselves from being exposed
to such harmful gasses.
Some of the best welding respirators that can protect the employee
includes 3M 7502/37082 half facepiece reusable respirator, GVS spr457
p100 elipse half mask respirator, Miller electric half mask respirator, 3m
rugged half facepiece reusable respirator, Miller ml00895 lpr-100
respirator, Breath buddy respirator mask .
Figure 3 : Harmful effect of welding fumes
2.2 Respiratory constraints
As mentioned before, breathing through the respiratory tract is not easy
as breathing in the open air and hence respiratory constraints are many.
It was known the employee wearing a respiratory mask during the
welding work often suffers from discomfort, vision, communication
problem, breathing issues and thermal imbalance. However, with these

constraints affecting the employee, it can sometimes lead to lower
productivity and high anxiety level in an employee as compared to those
who don’t wear the mask.
2.3 Breathing resistance
Krabbe et.al (2019, pp. 815) has stated the worker exposed to hazardous
gases for a longer period of time may suffer from breathing resistance.
Welders may be exposed to chronic breathing problems which include
asthma, bronchitis, pneumoconiosis, dust-related problems, siderosis and
decreased lung capacity. However, through several analysis it was known
can using respirators during the welding work has helped the workers to
increase their breathing resistance. Conversely, Rana.et.al (2019, pp.
93) has specified that breathing through respirators is much difficult
than breathing in the normal air. Workers are advised to wear a
respiratory mask as it helps to filter the toxic welding fumes from the air
and increase the capacity of the welder to breathe, providing comfort and
safety. The test was done using Miller welding respirators, which is now
considered to be one among the respirators specially designed to fit for
the welding employees. However, in an investigated study, Yang (2017,
p. 41) found that increased use of the respirator can lead to decreased
performance of the employee.