Figure 1: Typical Aircraft Hangar
#1. Green Hangar
by Universiti Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian Institute
of Aviation Technology
Over the past year, indoor air quality has received
growing attention among researchers. A lot of
studies were conducted to identify how human
performance is affected through the working
environment such as room temperature in a
confined space, air quality, noise, humidity and
other factors. Many complaints with respect to
indoor air quality have arisen and the causes of
these complaints are often not identified, despite
thorough measurements of indoor air quality. To
some extent, these complaints have been blamed
on energy-efficiency measures. In a workshop on
Indoor Air Quality Management organised by the
European Commission, it was identified that the
attainment of health and comfort in the indoor
environment, combined with energy efficiency,
requires both minimisation of human exposure
to indoor air pollution, such as source control,
well-functioning and energy-efficient heating,
and a ventilating or air conditioning system. The
outcome of this workshop led to the establishment
of the “European Audit Project to Optimise Indoor
Air Quality and Energy Consumption in Office
Buildings”.
Aviation maintenance has many common
features with other industries. The physical facilities
in which aviation technicians work, however, are
unique. No other industry uses aircraft hangars
as its primary worksite. The primary reason for
using hangars is obvious. Aviation maintenance
technicians work on airplanes, and hangars are
needed to shelter aircraft and workers from the
elements. Aircraft hangars present a range of
human-related issues. They are generally quite
large and are built so that most of the floor area
is unobstructed by structural support members.
This design allows a large aircraft to be moved and
parked in the building. Their vast areas and high
ceilings make hangars difficult to be installed with
proper lighting. Their large, unobstructed volume
makes public address systems difficult to hear.
Large, open doors make controlling temperature
and humidity problematic. The use of elevated
work platforms and scaffolding is common, due
to the height of today’s large jet aircraft. Individual
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