Subjective analysis of cold thermal environments

•Food distribution industrial sector.•Subjective assessment based on 1575 valid questionnaires.•Extensive statistical analysis.•Detailed characterization of the working conditions.

The present work is dedicated to the study of cold thermal environments in food distribution industrial units through a subjective assessment based on an individual questionnaire which aims to describe the working conditions of employees often exposed to cold. The survey was carried out in Portugal and the sample consists of 1575 valid responses obtained in 61 industrial units. The results show that the food distribution activity sector is characterized by a female population (78.1%) and by a young work force (63.4% of the workers are less than 35 years old). Despite the availability of cold protective clothing (52.8% of the workers indicate one garment) its characteristics require improvements. In addition almost 1/3 of the respondents consider the thermal environment cold and 79.6% of the workers report that working in the cold is harder in wintertime. The results also highlight that 37.3% of the workers report having health problems.