TWIC cards are inexpensive, lightweight and easy to produce at scale. They are also cost-effective tools for employee safety, especially when combined with liquid crystal thermometer (LCT) technology. LCTs turn TWIC cards into a convenient, accurate thermometer that will help your workers remain aware of the heat on the jobsite.

Here’s how these specialized TWIC cards can add value where employee safety is concerned:

• Giving workers the information they need to make smart heat safety decisions
• Alerting personnel when additional safety measures need to be taken
• Providing a lightweight, compact solution that can go wherever your employees go
• Providing additional heat safety information that may be critical during an emergency

Thousands of employees are affected by heat illnesses every year – and many are either permanently or fatally injured. Prevention is key with heat hazards, and that starts with better heat safety tools like TWIC cards.

Four Ways TWIC Cards Add Value in Employee Safety 

There are four value-adding benefits of TWIC cards designed with LCTs. They include:

1. Ensuring workers have access to up-to-the-moment temperature information – LCT thermometers provide the perfect mix of accuracy and speed, as they provide a reading within a couple minutes and within a degree or two. For employees in the field, it’s hard to find a better way to track temperature, without sacrificing weight or cost. TWIC cards with LCT thermometers are an ideal first layer of defense for workers, always providing essential temperature information.
2. Establishing a threshold for when additional heat safety measures must be implemented – When heat danger is elevated, it’s your employees who will notice first. Because they are on the front lines, they need to be one of the first to sound the alarm when it’s time to implement essential safety measures. This could be increasing the number of water and rest breaks, switching to lighter work rotations or just increasing vigilance among your safety personnel. Regardless of your company’s exact safety procedures, your employees can use their TWIC cards and LCTs to determine the right time for these measures. This will ensure your employees are aware and responsible for their safety.
3. Providing a light, easy-to-carry heat safety solution that can go anywhere – TWIC cards are extremely light and inexpensive to produce. In fact, they’re typically made at scale to bring the per-unit cost down further – a smart option for companies that want to improve their safety and branding at the same time. The cards can be attached to lanyards hanging around the neck, put in a pocket, or inside a toolbox that is regularly accessed. No matter how your employees choose to carry them, they can go anywhere and be used to monitor temperatures both indoors and outside.
4. Providing additional heat safety information that may be necessary during an emergency – TWIC cards can be developed with additional safety information that can be customized to your organization and its procedures. If your company implements various heat safety measures at certain temperature levels, your TWIC cards can serve as a convenient reference for workers. TWIC cards can also provide important safety reminders, like listing the signs of heat illness or an inventory of onsite heat resources.

TWIC Cards Are Effective Heat Safety Tools for Workers in Any Industry

Heat hazards are typically associated with outdoor labor and industries like construction, maintenance and agriculture, but they are present in many indoor settings as well. Whether inside or out, heat safety TWIC cards can help the following workers stay protected from hazardous heat:

• Construction and maintenance workers
• Farming and agricultural workers
• Industrial and manufacturing workers
• Automotive and aerospace manufacturing workers
• Commercial kitchen workers
• Foundry workers

In short, if your employees work around sources of heat, they should be equipped with heat safety resources to prevent heat-related illness or injury.

TWIC Cards Can Add Immeasurable Value to Your Heat Safety Plan

It is standard practice for employers to organize and publish an emergency action plan (EAP) for known hazards at the worksite. Increasingly, employers are choosing to create heat-specific EAPs, especially if their worksite harbors heat traps or is exposed to outdoor temperatures during the summer.

A heat-specific EAP includes several components that provide employees with the information, training, procedures and resources needed to identify and treat heat illnesses once they emerge. Responding immediately at the first sign of heat illness is not just important – it can literally be a matter of life and death. Delaying heat stroke treatment by just 30 minutes is often enough to result in serious, potentially permanent complications.

A proven way to reduce heat risks is to provide workers with the right safety resources. This includes cool packs, electrolyte tablets and access to fresh, cool water. Another important safety tool is TWIC cards embedded with liquid crystal thermometers. Information is power, and for employees working in areas where heat hazards are present, that means temperature information. Invest in TWIC cards with LCTs to keep your workers safe and heat aware.

When summer heat strikes, it can pose a serious health risk to any workers who are exposed to it for long. Employers have a responsibility in keeping their crew safe on the jobsite, and here are some ways to ensure their safety when temperatures rise:

• Prioritize heat safety during training and operations
• Leverage safety signage to point out heat hazards
• Ensure health and safety personnel are onsite and monitoring workers
• Provide adequate rest and water breaks
• Consider lighter work cycles or rescheduling labor-intensive work
• Have an emergency action plan (EAP) in place

There are more steps that employers can take to protect their workers, but if you implement the above safety checks into your processes, it will go a long way to mitigating the dangers of summer heat.

Six Ways to Keep Your Crew Safe from the Summer Heat

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dozens of workers die every year due to heat illness (heat exhaustion or stroke), but this number likely undercounts the true number. For one, not all heat illnesses are reported to medical agencies, and two, complications due to heat illness may be long-lasting and difficult to track – resulting in enduring medical issues.

Further, the BLS reports thousands of non-fatal heat illnesses every year, and even though these are less impactful than fatal incidents, they can still lead to prolonged work absences, loss of productivity and additional costs due to liability. Therefore, the goal for employers is to avoid heat injuries outright. And that means implementing the following six heat safety measures:

1. Prioritize heat safety during training and operations – Heat safety starts at the top with proper training materials and top leadership buying in. Your worksite may include many hazards, and heat may not be the most threatening, but it should be included in your overall training approach. This includes drilling heat safety awareness and training workers on any heat safety resources on site.Company leadership should also reinforce heat safety by ensuring all of the below processes are in place. Material steps in heat safety will demonstrate the kind of commitment that you’ll want to see in your employees.
2. Leverage safety signage to identify heat hazards – Occupational safety signage is a proven and cost-effective mechanism toward better heat safety. Safety signage can be installed close to heat hazards to serve as a constant reminder. Place these warning and danger signs anywhere heat sources are present (commercial ovens, furnaces, etc.) and your employees are more likely to be on alert for signs of heat illness.
3. Ensure health and safety personnel are monitoring onsite workers – If your workers are constantly exposed to heat, ongoing health monitoring is a good idea. This is especially true if you have workers with known health risks, such as an existing heart condition.During periods of dangerous heat, your medical personnel can occasionally take worker vitals to ensure they aren’t heat stressed. And if workers show signs of heat illness (confusion, agitation, loss of balance, slurred speech, etc.), your safety personnel should recognize and respond to those signs immediately.
4. Provide sufficient rest and water breaks to workers – Rest and hydration are the two most important defenses against heat illness. They should therefore be priorities on your worksite. During stretches of elevated heat, enforce more frequent water breaks and ensure there is an adequate supply of cool water and shade for workers.
5. Assign lighter duty work or reschedule work schedules – If your employees work outside, the number one heat threat is the sun itself. During periods where heat danger is elevated during the day, consider transitioning to lighter work, if possible. If that’s not possible, consider rotating teams in and out of lighter workstations to keep them fresh.Ideally, some of the heavier labor should be reserved for evening or night-time hours. Of course, this is only possible if your worksite isn’t restricted due to noise levels.
6. Create and implement an emergency action plan (EAP) – An EAP details the immediate procedures that workers should take if an emergency occurs. If heat hazards are a concern, then consider creating a heat-specific EAP that addresses what to do if an employee experiences heat illness. EAPs typically include an inventory of safety resources, immediate treatment methods and contact information for a nearby medical facility.With a heat-specific EAP in place, your workers will be prepared when the worst occurs.

Give Your Workers the Information, Resources and Support They Need to Stay Safe in the Summer Heat

Excessive heat is always a hazard, but during the summer, the threat level can be severe. After all, heat is invisible, odorless and insidious – so it can strike without warning. And when it does, there’s a brief window to respond appropriately.

With the above safety initiatives in place at your worksites, your employees will be ready and aware, and that can make the difference between preventing heat illness and potentially fatal outcomes.