Study of illumination condition of production spaces with reference to the ready made garments sector of Dhaka region

Abstract

The Ready-made garment (RMG) sectors of Bangladesh have been expanding rapidly since the late 1970s. It is fully supported by the workers who labour in the production spaces of garments factory buildings all day long. The economy of this sector also depends on the performance of the workers in proper working environment. Appropriate Illumination conditions of these production spaces, which indicate the quality as well as quantity of lighting suitable for the production processes, is a major requirement. As indoor environments of these spaces are becoming highly complex, working under poor lighting conditions are usually exposed to a variety of visual problems with operating machines, textile sewing activities, ironing and other issues. Visual comfort for various illumination levels has impact on total physical comfort condition and any physical discomfort influences the human behaviour and their works. Eventually, the visual comfort of these workers becomes a significant issue which is based upon determining the suitable range of illumination levels available on the work plane of the user. Local standards and guidelines for improving the illumination conditions in these production spaces should be established for incorporation in the sustainable design process. The objective of this research is to identify the illumination condition with its possible effect on the work efficiency in production spaces and to investigate standard illumination conditions for maximum work efficiency as well as visual comfort of the workers in production spaces of RMG sector of Dhaka region. Though the thermal and other security aspects of a space may also be affected, these factors are beyond the scope of this research.