This post is the final installment of our three part series on keeping your team healthier, happier, and safer this summer. Read part one and two, or continue below for the tips and strategies for avoiding heat-stress in the workplace.
Heat-stress. What is it and Why is it Dangerous?
Heat-stress or heat related illness occurs when the body is no longer able to maintain a healthy temperature after intense or prolonged exposure to heat. Manifesting with heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration and fainting, these illnesses get progressively worse until they are treated. Workers are at an increased risk of accidents when suffering from heat-stress.
Watch out for these signs of heat-stress:
- Sweating
- Lightheaded, dizziness, feeling faint
- Hallucinations and delirium
- Muscle Cramps
- Nausea
How to Reduce the Risk of Heat-Stress
Preventing heat stress can be managed by identifying potential hazards and assessing their risks. Supervisors and managers should check temperatures in the workplace and asses the danger of heat stress based on the work being carried out, its length and how physically strenuous it is.
Tips for Management and Supervisors
- If conditions such as heat and humidity are going to cause a risk of heat-stress, schedule work to cooler parts of the day, week, or year.
- Whenever possible, make sure workers aren’t left alone in the heat
- Implement equipment or automation to reduce physical labour
- Review breaks and rest schedules when conditions are hotter
- Adapt targets and work rates for the conditions
- Provide workers air-conditioned facilities for respite
- Provide workers with cool drinking water, and fridges or freezer to keep bottles and hydration packs
- Educate workers on heat stress, its symptoms and how to avoid them.
- Have staff trained in first aid readily available
Tips for Workers
- Speak with your supervisor and cease work if you believe heat-stress is an immediate or imminent risk
- Wear sun protection and cool breathable clothing
- Drink lots of fluids and frequently
- Consume electrolyte products if necessary
- Take frequent breaks outside of the sun and heat
- Learn the signs of heat illness and basic first aid skills
We hope these tips and strategies will help!
A Modified Container Solution
Our team builds modified containers fitted out with powerful air-conditioning, comfortable bench seating, and the best in industrial ice-machines, water dispensers and freezers.
We call them Respite & Rehydration Containers — dedicated, transportable spaces for protecting your team from heat stress, dehydration and fatigue on remote worksites.
Would this solution work for you?