THE EDUCATIONAL APPROACH TO INDUSTRIAL VENTILATIONBy Crescente E. Figueroa, Ph.D., CIH

University of North AlabamaPhone: 256-765-4236Cefigueroa@una.edu

INTRODUCTION

Industrial ventilation is regularly included in the health and safety curriculaVersatile option for controlling airborne hazardsExpected graduation outcome of many IH academic programsKnowledge of this topic rated as “essential” in employers’ surveys

DRAWBACKS

Limited exchange of information on the educational approachNeed for exchange more relevant todayDemanding curriculum, critical evaluation of:

Objectives Means and methodsBreadth and depth coverageFormat of the offeringsEmerging areas of interest

STUDY APPROACH

Survey studyHow do we teach industrial ventilation?Identify differences and similarities among courses of industrial ventilationShed light on

Novel pedagogical meansPerceived emerging areas of needUse of non-traditional methodsNew teaching resources

E-submission and gathering of data

DATA SOURCE

Academic programs in occupational health, safety, environmental, or industrial hygieneBachelors or graduate level programs Limited to U.S. academic institutionsContinuing education offerings excluded

IDENTIFICATION OF PARTICIPANTS

ABET accredited programs in safety and industrial hygieneNIOSH grant recipients (ERCs and TPGs)ASSE listingsInternet search

Focus on programs with courses of controls including engineering or environmental controls and industrial ventilation

SUBMISSION

55 academic were identified and invited to participateSurvey and research method approved by the Institutional Review BoardMethod of collection allowed forwarding survey and instructionsTwo mail-outs, the second as a reminder

SURVEY DESIGN

Electronic type with questions of a mix formatSix sections

Course structure: 9 questionsBreath and depth: 9 questionsLaboratory and experimental: 2 questionsTeaching methods: 3 questionsCourse evaluation: 2 questionsEmerging areas: 4 questions

RESPONSE

30 programs responded (56% cooperation rate)Only one responder explicitly refused to participateApparent interest in survey results

COURSE STRUCTURE: Ventilation Objective

Health protection (100%)Safety controls (48.3%)IAQ assurance (41.4%)Comfort (37.9%)Compliance with regulations and standards (34.5%)Other

Material recoveryEngineering principles

COURSE STRUCTURE: Subject Hierarchy, an Exclusive Topic?

Stand Alone CourseComponent of a More General Subject Other

60%

30%10%

COURSE STRUCTURE: Outcome Performance Expectations

General PrinciplesComprehensive, Excluding DesignComprehensive, Including DesignOther

10%

26.7%

53.3%

General PrinciplesOperationsPerformance EvaluationDesign

COURSE STRUCTURE: Textbook

Web-SitesASHRAE Fund.Other

13%ACGIH & Burgess

17%ACGIH & McDermott

Combination3%AIHA Whitebook10Own Materials

7%Burton’s Vent. Workbook

40%ACGIH Vent. Manual

Single Source

COURSE STRUCTURE: Additional

A required component of the curriculum (82.8%) Mainly offered at the graduate level (63.3%)Frequency of course offering

Once a year (62.1%)Once every other year (20.7%)

Enrollment sizeAverage enrollment of less than 10 students (62.0%)

BREADTH AND DEPTH: Important Coverage Percent of

Responders

93%Hood Design(9)86%Design of ducts and fittings

90%Flow Rate Exterior HoodsVentilation96%Flow Rate Enclosing HoodsExhaust

100%97%

Hood Loss & PressureControl and Capture Velocity

Local 87%Dilution for HealthVent. (5)

100%Dilution Ventilation PrinciplesGen.

66%Properties of Air Contaminants

(5)93%Airflow and Fluid-dynamicsPrinciples

100%Pressure & Pressure LossBasic

Note: Important = Sufficient to Extensive Coverage

BREADTH AND DEPTH: Important Coverage

90%Balancing Methods 83%Multi-Branched90%Single-Branched Design (4)

Percent of Responders

60%Separation Principles

87%Principles of Operation90%Fan Laws

94%SelectionAir MovingDevices (4)

48%Design Characteristics

70%Pressure LossAir CleaningDevices (4)

60%Components

80%PurposeMake-upAir (3)

Note: Important = Sufficient to Extensive Coverage

BREADTH AND DEPTH: Limited Coverage

Percent of Responders

67%Fan maintenance Air Moving

70%

70%

Rating Principles

Cost

Air Cleaning

56%Supply sizing and distribution

Make-up Air59%System componentsVentilation60%HVAC useGeneral

Limited = None to Minimum Coverage

COURSE STRUCTURE: Experimental Portion

Part of Lecture ComponentSeparate OfferingNot Included

72.4%

17.2%10.3%

EXPERIMENTAL: Practices

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Freq

uenc

y (%

)

Ductvelocity

Static andvelocity

pressure

Facevelocity

Flow rate Pressureloss infittings

LEVsystems

EXPERIMENTAL: Resources

0102030405060708090

100

Freq

uenc

y (%

)

Pitot tu

bes

Manometers, fl

uid

Manometers,

aneroid

Anemometer

s, therm

al

Anemomete

rs, van

e

LEV mode

ls

IAQ monito

rs

Balometers

TEACHING METHODS: Delivery Mode

The most frequent option is traditional lecture (75%) or a combination of classroom and on-line delivery (17.9%)On-line or distant learning as an exclusive option is not available among respondersOther options include:

Seminars and reading assignmentsBlack board holdingsField work

TEACHING METHODS: Software Resources

Internet resources (76.2%)Specialized software (19%)Computer models (23.8%)

SpreadsheetsPersonal programs

Software listedHeaVentFan SelectorIVE AutoCalc CAD Design System

EVALUATION: Course Outcomes

0102030405060708090

100

Freq

uenc

y (%

)

Student Eva

luations

Surveys

of Graduate

s

Surveys

of Employe

rsTests

Demonstr

ation

EMERGING AREAS

One-third of responders recognize a need for addressing new areasEmerging areas

Control of nano-particles and biohazards including infectious agentsIAQ beyond outdoor air exchange ratesComputer modelingEnergy efficiency, especially in GVSEngineering diversity for a comprehensive hazard control approach

DISCUSSION

Many offerings have been subjected to change, from minor to extensiveAmong these changes

Merging into a more general subjectDeleting the design componentIncreasing emphasis on measurements activitiesDecreasing emphasis on specific technologies and expanding on multifaceted solutions

CONCLUSIONS

Courses containing industrial ventilation present more similarities than differencesThere is an incipient tendency towards deleting the design aspects as content topicExperimental and field activities represent an important part of the educational processCourses make use of a variety or resources including hardware and software

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to:Jamie Turner-Schagene for her contribution to this studyUniversity of North Alabama for the support given to this research The participants who took the time to complete the survey