Decision Support for Subjects Exposed to Heat Stress

The physiological and activity strain index (PASI) has been developed to improve the online decision support for workers exposed to heat stress. Fire fighters (smoke divers) which are exposed to both heat-stress and high-risk situations have been used as test case. PASI combines a modified version of the relatively well-known physiological strain index (PSI) with activity data from accelerometers. The algorithm has been developed based on tests in a laboratory, and it has been verified in two field tests performed by smoke divers exposed to heat stress. The verification demonstrates that it is possible to distinguish between high- and low-risk situations when data from accelerometers are added to the situation analysis. This indicates that PASI can contribute to an improved risk assessment and online decision support for smoke divers compared to using PSI alone.