How to Keep Your Crew Safe from the Summer Heat

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.