Heat-related illnesses

How to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers Using Heavy PPE or Masks

Bryan Slaven , ,

Heat illness is a threat to any worker laboring in elevated temperatures, but it tends to be more intense with a faster onset in workers using heavy personal protective equipment (PPE) or masks. This has been confirmed by OSHA and CDC, which points out that personal protective equipment increases heat illness risks because:

  • PPE traps environmental and exertion-related heat close to the body
  • PPE often interferes with the body’s ability to remove heat by sweating
  • PPE is heavier and therefore requires more exertion to move (which produces heat)

Any piece of PPE can increase heat illness risks, including certain aprons, gowns and caps, face shields, masks, respirators, gloves and boots. If your workers need this equipment to perform their jobs safely, it’s important to prioritize heat safety.

Heat Risks When Workers are Wearing Heavy PPE or Masks

Heavy PPE and masks elevate heat illness risks on their own, but there are additional environmental and work factors that can exacerbate these risks. They include:

  • Isolated heat sources like commercial ovens and furnaces
  • Trapped interior heat, which can emerge from many sources, including windows
  • High-effort work and exertion
  • Poor access to water and shade

For employers, the mission is to control these risk factors and provide workers with safer conditions.

Five Ways to Prevent Heat Illness in Workers Using Heavy PPE or Masks

Heat illness is a potential killer if it isn’t accounted for and if preventative measures aren’t put in place. Those preventative measures may include the following:

  • Provide personnel with the right monitoring tools – Heat risks climb with the temperature, so it’s important for onsite personnel to track it. When certain temperature thresholds are reached, protective measures may be implemented to protect workers.
    A popular option is to equip workers with TWIC cards that are fitted with liquid crystal thermometer (LCT) technology. LCTs provide an accurate temperature reading quickly, and they weigh next to nothing, so they can be worn or carried with ease. TWIC cards with LCTs can also be branded with company marks or printed with important reminders (like emergency procedures).
  • Increase monitoring when workers are wearing PPE – If workers must wear PPE, safety personnel should increase their vigilance and be ready to check worker vitals more often. And workers must be encouraged to watch each other when the heat is on. Workers wearing PPE should never be on their own.
    Part of this vigilance involves training workers to notice the signs of heat illness. Those signs include weakness, loss of coordination, confusion, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, elevated body temperature, and in severe cases, loss of consciousness. If any of these signs are present in a heat-stressed worker, your personnel should notice it immediately and be ready to implement emergency procedures.
  • Implement additional work and water breaks – When workers are wearing PPE, they’ll sweat more, and they won’t cool off as easily when they do sweat. To counter this additional heat stress, your safety personnel should require additional water breaks. Adequate hydration is the surest protective measure against heat illness, but workers often neglect to drink enough water unless it’s prioritized. Reinforce this with your supervisors so it becomes part of the expected safety routine.
  • Establish a cool area that’s always ready for workers – Heat illness is 100 percent preventable and easy to avoid if you prepare for it. Part of that preparation is setting up a cooling station in a shaded (preferably interior) setting. This spot should be cool and have access to cool running water, along with your other heat safety resources.
    If a worker develops heat illness, this is where they should be moved to and treated until the acute heat risks have passed.
  • Have an heat safety emergency action plan in place for heat-related emergencies – It’s too late to plan for an emergency once the emergency occurs. Instead, your organization should have an emergency action plan (EAP) ready to go if a worker does experience heat illness.
    An EAP should include a list of all onsite heat safety resources (cold wraps, electrolyte tablets, etc.) and a list of emergency steps that personnel should take. This includes where to take the afflicted person for treatment and what medical facility to contact for further treatment. Heat illness will progress rapidly if treatment is not administered right away, so workers should know exactly what to do, and when.

Heavy PPE is a Heat Risk That Can Be Mitigated with the Right Safety Measures

Heat illness can leave workers with permanent, potentially fatal complications, and the risk of experiencing heat illness climbs with PPE use. However, there are safety processes that employers can implement to protect those vulnerable workers. They include equipping workers with heat tracking tools (like LCT-modified TWIC cards), ramping up monitoring efforts, implementing additional water breaks and developing a heat-specific emergency action plan. By taking these critical steps, you can minimize worksite heat hazards and shield your employees from dangerous heat illness.

Recognizing Heat Stress on the Jobsite

Bryan Slaven , ,

Heat stress is a constant threat on many worksites, including interior jobsites where the sun may not be a concern. Commercial ovens, furnaces, industrial machinery, and even large windows are thermal energy sources which can expose workers to elevated heat stress.

If your worksite contains heat hazards like these, your safety personnel and your employees should be able to recognize heat stress while on the job. Heat illness can be successfully treated if it’s identified early, and that means understanding what heat stress looks like and how it affects workers.

What are the Signs of Heat Stress?

Hundreds of thousands of workers experience some form of heat illness every year. This includes milder issues like heat cramps or heat rash, and serious, potentially life-threatening heat illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke. It’s especially important for workers and safety personnel to respond quickly if someone onsite develops heat exhaustion, which presents with the following symptoms:

  • Skin that’s cool and clammy – goosebumps are common even in the sun
  • Fatigue
  • Faintness and dizziness
  • Nausea or feeling sick
  • Muscle cramps
  • Headache
  • Blood pressure dysregulation

These symptoms may develop quickly, or they may emerge slowly. In either case, if the above symptoms of heat illness are present, the affected worker must be removed from any thermal stresses and treated – potentially at a medical facility.

If heat exhaustion isn’t addressed promptly, it may progress to heat stroke, which presents with many of the same symptoms as heat stress, like headache, cramps and nausea. However, since heat stroke is a late-stage version of heat illness, its symptoms are more severe and may include:

  • Altered mental state, such as confusion, irritability or delirium
  • Loss of consciousness or loss of muscle control
  • Rapid, shallow breathing
  • Rapid, weak pulse
  • Extremely high body temperature (in excess of 104 degrees Fahrenheit)

Heat stroke is a medical emergency that can quickly progress to permanent or fatal complications if not addressed. Specifically, medical experts urge treatment within 30 minutes of developing heat stroke, as this will greatly reduce the risk of developing permanent disabilities.

How to Respond to Heat Stress on the Jobsite

The first step in protecting workers is ensuring everyone knows what heat stress looks like, including safety personnel, supervisors and workers. The second step is having an emergency action plan (EAP) in place to mitigate heat illness when it does appear. Every EAP should be tailored to the jobsite to ensure maximum effectiveness and typically includes the following:

  • A review of all identified hazards on the worksite – Every EAP includes a list or diagram of all potential hazards on the jobsite. Some EAPs specify every hazard, such as falls or vehicle traffic, while others are hazard specific. Some employers develop a heat-specific EAP if there are several heat sources or heat traps present. This can improve awareness of those heat hazards and facilitate preventative measures.
  • An inventory of all onsite heat safety resources – To treat or prevent heat illness, safety personnel should have some basic resources on hand, like cool wraps or cooling gaiters, electrolyte tablets and access to cool, clean water. Your EAP should detail what resources are available onsite and where those resources are located for rapid response purposes.
  • A list of heat safety procedures to mitigate potential heat hazards – Employers mitigate the risk of heat stress by implementing different work rotations, increasing the number or frequency of breaks or through other dynamic safety measures. These should be detailed in the EAP and integrated into your training approach.
  • A list of emergency medical procedures to enact in response to heat illness – If a heat-related emergency does occur, your EAP should clearly lay out the appropriate response. This includes emergency treatment protocols such as where to take the affected worker, who to contact, what to do to reduce the worker’s body temperature, and so on. Your supervisors will reference the EAP in an emergency scenario, so be as detailed here as possible.
  • Contact information for all relevant parties – In the event of an emergency, there are several parties to contact for treatment and reporting purposes. This includes a nearby medical facility where the affected worker will be taken to for treatment. It also includes contact information for any supervisors or safety personnel responsible for enforcing heat safety measures.

Three Steps Employers Can Take to Reduce Heat Stress on the Jobsite

In addition to developing an EAP, employers can take a few basic steps to ensure their worksite is guarded against heat stress, including:

  • Equipping workers with heat monitoring tools – Field workers are typically at the highest risk of heat stress, so many employers focus on them first. And a basic, inexpensive way to do so is by equipping onsite personnel with temperature-taking tools. A popular option is to hand out TWIC cards with a liquid crystal thermometer (LCT) integrated into the card itself.LCT-modified TWIC cards serve dual purposes for employers. For one, it can include the company’s branding or heat safety measures for easy reference. And two, these cards can be used to take a quick and accurate temperature reading – so workers know exactly when it’s time to elevate heat safety protocols.
  • Ensuring access to cool water and cooling stations – Regular, adequate hydration is key to staving off heat stress and should be the number one priority for your safety managers. No matter the conditions on the ground, workers need access to cool, potable water. They are also entitled to regular breaks to ensure they have time to hydrate and acclimate to stressful conditions.
  • Modifying work patterns when thermal stresses are elevated – There are days where little can be done to blunt the effects of extreme heat. If heat stresses will be elevated throughout the workday, consider modifying work rotations to either prioritize less strenuous, less hazardous work – or rotate workers quickly through stations to ensure no one person is exposed to excessive heat stress. In extreme circumstances, it may be necessary to schedule work at night and prevent thermal stresses due to sun exposure.

In short, supervisors and safety personnel must be adaptable when dealing with heat hazards. Heat is invisible, odorless and seemingly harmless, right up to the point where worker health is potentially affected. It’s important to be proactive when heat is a threat and ensure there are procedures in place when workers are stressed from the heat.

Give Your Workers a Chance Against Heat Stress with the Right Training and Tools

Heat stress is one of the most common hazards for workers on the jobsite. It’s also easy to forget about, as heat is a silent, invisible threat. However, there are proven measures that every employer can take to ensure their worksite is protected from heat stress. This includes equipping your workers and safety personnel with the right tools and resources and ensuring there’s an EAP in place that your employees are trained on. This will maximize emergency preparedness for everyone onsite – which can literally be the difference between life and death.

Heat Related Illness Prevention: Eight Essential Tips to Staying Safe in the Heat

Bryan Slaven , ,

When the weather warms up, the chances of heat related illness go up, and prevention becomes key for employers. Here are 8 essential tips to keep your workers safe in the heat:

  1. Train workers to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat illness
  2. Provide workers with specialized tools, like liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs)
  3. Post safety reminders (like occupational signage) to improve heat safety compliance
  4. Provide easy access to hydration stations and cold water
  5. Know who is at elevated risk of heat related illness
  6. Consider lighter work rotations when temperatures rise
  7. Have an emergency action in place for when heat illness does emerge
  8. Keep an inventory of emergency supplies for heat emergencies

Heat is a constant threat to workers exposed to outdoor summer conditions – or workers exposed to heat sources inside. In both cases, the above tips will protect people from serious, potentially fatal injury.

Training Workers to Recognize the Signs and Symptoms of Heat Illness

The first step to preventing heat illness is knowing what it looks like. And in the majority of cases, this means heat exhaustion or its more dangerous cousin – heat stroke.

Both generally present the same way, except heat stroke is a true medical emergency. Relevant signs and symptoms include:

  • Excessive sweating, or a complete lack of it
  • Confusion and slurred speech
  • Loss of balance
  • Irritability
  • Fatigue
  • A rapid or weak pulse
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Loss of consciousness

If any of the above signs are present with any of your workers, coworkers and safety personnel should be ready to respond appropriately.

Providing Workers with the Right Tools, Like Liquid Crystal Thermometers (LCTs)

Ideally, your workers will know exactly when they are dealing with risky conditions – and to do that, they need to have the right tools on hand. And in the case of thermal risks, this means temperature-taking tools like liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs).

LCTs are compact and lightweight – to the point where they can be integrated into TWIC employee cards. They provide an accurate reading within seconds and are extremely cost effective – especially when manufactured en masse. Pass out the heat aware cards to your workers so they can keep a close eye on potentially hazardous conditions.

Posting Safety Reminders Like Occupational Signage to Improve Safety Compliance

Heat safety is workplace safety, and workplace safety must be constantly reinforced to ensure everyone is ready. A simple, proven way to do this is to install safety signage in areas where hazards are present. For heat hazards, this means installing safety signage close to any heat sources (like ovens or furnaces).

When heat is ubiquitous and impossible to contain, occupational signage can be used to remind workers to hydrate, point out essential safety resources (including safety wear) and other essential worksite safety procedures. This can keep your employees in an essential state of readiness.

Providing Easy Access to Hydration Stations and Cold Water

Frequent hydration is essential to preventing heat related illness, and that’s the employer’s responsibility to provide. Hydration stations should include cold, clean water that’s refilled as needed. And to improve cooling further, it’s a good idea to locate hydration stations in shaded areas with circulating air.

Make sure workers are given frequent breaks to rehydrate and increase this frequency further when temperatures rise to threatening levels.

Identifying Workers Who are at an Elevated Risk of Heat Related Illness

Some employees are at a greater risk of heat illness than others. This includes older workers, workers who haven’t acclimated to the heat, workers in poor overall health, and workers with certain chronic conditions. It’s important for the company’s safety personnel to identify who is at an elevated risk of heat related illness and monitor them closely when heat risks are elevated. For example, onsite medical personnel can take regular vital readings to identify the early signs of emerging heat illness. These readings can be taken more often for high-risk personnel.

Switching to Lighter Work Rotations When the Higher Temperatures Arrive

Work rotations can be changed up when heat risks are elevated, allowing for production to continue without putting any one employee at additional risk. Lighter work rotations, or work rotations away from sun or heat exposure can help workers cool down faster while remaining busy. Adjusting work rotations is also a good idea when high risk personnel are on site and need to be shielded from extreme heat.

Having an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for When Heat Illness Does Strike

An emergency action plan (EAP) is a formal response plan that companies put together for certain emergency situations. Some organizations use this approach to develop a heat-specific EAP that’s intended for heat related illnesses only. If your worksite has to contend with heat hazards, then a heat-specific EAP makes sense.

Heat-specific EAPs should include an inventory of all heat emergency supplies and their location. It should also include the company’s emergency response procedures, as well as the contact information for a nearby medical facility, and who to contact in the event of an emergency.

Once the organization creates an EAP, the next step is to train personnel on its details to ensure emergency preparedness.

Keeping an Inventory of Emergency Supplies on Hand for Severe Heat Illness

The goal with heat illness is prevention, as heat illnesses are 100 percent preventable. However, it’s essential for employers to keep potentially life-saving emergency supplies on hand should heat illness emerge. This includes cool packs, electrolyte replacement tabs and other rapid rehydration and cooling supplies. Your organization’s EAP should make a note of these supplies and their location, and your workers should be trained on their use.

These Heat Related Illness Prevention Tips Can Make the Difference for Your Employees

Heat exhaustion, heat stroke and other heat related illnesses can leave workers with permanent complications, and even fatal injury. Since heat is everywhere and invisible, it tends to sneak up on vulnerable people, like those laboring outdoors or in heavy duty industries.

Heat is insidious and dangerous, but the above prevention tips will ensure your worksites have it under control and are prepared if heat does cause a medical emergency.

Why Heat Related Workplace Injuries Need to be a Top Priority to Occupational Health and Safety Managers

Heat Aware , ,

Heat related workplace injuries are a threat to employees in a number of heavy-duty industries, including:

  • Construction
  • Manufacturing
  • Oil and gas
  • Transportation
  • Warehousing
  • Food processing
  • Mining
  • Agriculture
  • Firefighting

Workers in these industries are at elevated risk of developing heat illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, elevating the need for safety measures being implemented for workplace injury protection. Occupational health and safety managers are responsible for implementing this heat-related protection, and there are proven methods for doing so. Here, we’ve included four ways occupational safety managers can make heat injury prevention a priority for their workplaces.

Heat Hazards in the Workplace: By the Numbers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is responsible for tracking workplace injuries, including heat related injuries. According to its 2011-2020 data, there were 33,890 heat injuries severe enough to result in missed work time. That’s an average of just under 3,400 heat-related illnesses in the workplace annually. The BLS’s fatal occupational injury census also estimates that between 1992 and 2021, 999 workers died due to environmental heat exposure. That’s an average of 33 fatalities every year.

However, the BLS data is believed to vastly underestimate the real problem due to the following factors:

  • Limitations in employee and employer reported data
  • Different interpretations of what constitutes a heat injury by medical personnel
  • Unreported health conditions that may have been exacerbated by heat exposure
  • Latent, late-onset symptoms caused by the heat illness
  • A large variance in heat illness symptoms and their influence on decision making

Together, these factors make it impossible to accurately gauge heat risks, and it’s likely that the number of heat injuries and illnesses is higher than reported.

Four Things Occupational Safety Managers Can Do to Make Heat Illnesses a Priority

Thousands of workers are injured every year by excessive heat exposure and dozens are killed. For businesses operating in high-risk industries, heat safety can be a matter of life and death. Here’s what employers can do to protect their workers from heat-related illness:

1) Establish a heat-specific safety plan

Employers are not required to author a safety plan, but they do help with regulatory compliance and are therefore highly recommended. A heat-specific safety plan goes a step further and prioritizes heat injury prevention.

Your heat safety plan should include the following:

  • Documentation that identifies the location and nature of all heat hazards. This could be a list, a diagram, a floor plan, or other supporting documentation
  • An inventory of all heat related medical supplies and their location
  • A list of emergency procedures should a worker develop heat illness
  • Contact information for a nearby medical facility
  • The names and contact information for everyone responsible for enforcing the safety plan

Your company’s heat safety plan is a primary safety training resource. As such, it should be used by managers to enforce heat illness prevention efforts and ensure all workers abide by them.

2) Make heat safety a priority with your safety signage

Heat safety is a matter of vigilance. It’s important for workers to always be prepared when environmental heat has reached unsafe levels or when exertion may cause unsafe conditions. To ensure your employees are always ready, consider investing in additional safety signage. Employers are required to point out potential workplace hazards, and safety signage is a proven way to do this.

Occupational safety signage can be customized for heat hazards and used to point out where workers are at a high risk of heat exposure. For example, such signage would be a good fit near:

  • Ovens
  • Furnaces
  • Foundries
  • Boiler rooms
  • Interior areas where sunlight is present
  • Areas where high exertion work is present

By placing heat safety signage near these areas, occupational health and safety managers can ensure their employees are on alert around high-risk areas.

3) Equip your workers with heat safety resources

Employees should have easy access to cooling stations that supply water, shade, air conditioning and rest. If a worker is affected by heat stress, moving them to one of these cooling stations is recommended for a rapid first line of treatment. Workers should also be given regular breaks where they can recover at a cooling station.

In addition to well-stocked cooling stations, occupational safety managers can protect their workers by providing them with valuable information. As the temperature and workplace conditions change, it’s important for workers to identify these changes as soon as they occur. One way to do this is to supply employees with temperature-taking tools like liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs). LCTs are light, easy to use and provide an accurate temperature reading within seconds. LCTs can also be integrated into employee TWIC cards, so workers can put them in an open toolbox, wear then on lanyards, or carry them in a pocket. In seconds, workers can get an accurate reading of current workplace conditions and adjust accordingly.

4) Train employees to recognize and respond to the signs of heat illness

No matter what heat safety measures your company has in place, your workers must be ready to respond to heat illness when it emerges. That means knowing the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Those symptoms include:

  • Excessive sweating or complete lack of it
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Confusion
  • Loss of coordination
  • Slurred speech
  • Elevated body temperature

If any signs of heat illness are present, your workers should have an emergency action plan (EAP) that kicks in immediately. Your EAP should specify any emergency response measures, point out the location of any emergency medical supplies, dictate where workers are to receive medical attention and who should be notified in the event of a heat related emergency.

Before beginning work in any hazardous environment, employees should be trained on the company’s EAP and on the nature of heat illness. New workers should also have time to acclimate to workplace heat sources and the company’s heat safety processes.

Make Heat Related Workplace Injuries a Priority With Improved Safety Standards

Heat hazards are a threat to workers, and the consequences of excessive heat exposure can be fatal. Occupational health and safety managers are the most important line of defense against deadly heat hazards, but safety managers have measures they can take to protect employees. Developing a heat safety plan, installing safety signage, investing in heat safety resources and focused safety training can make the difference in shielding workers from deadly heat exposure on the job.

Why Heat Awareness Still Matters in Winter

Heat Aware , ,

Why Heat Awareness Still Matters in the Winter

Many workers are still exposed to heat risks during the winter, even when temperatures are plummeting outside. That’s because indoor workers may labor in high-heat environments fraught with potential hazards, which is why heat awareness still matters in winter.

Employers are responsible for identifying risks on the job and protecting employees from them. This includes putting together a heat safety plan, adequately training workers on that plan, and providing workers with the resources they need to protect themselves, regardless of the season.

Which Workers are at Risk of Heat Illness During the Winter?

Some indoor work environments put workers at a high risk of heat illness year-round. Some of those industries include:

  • Bakeries and commercial kitchens
  • Manufacturing centers with intense heat sources, such as concrete plants
  • Iron and steel foundries
  • Facilities with boiler rooms – such as electrical utility stations
  • Commercial laundries
  • Warehouses

Workers in these environments require additional protections from heat hazards, even during the winter. Consider this – the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that, from 2011 to 2018, of the 20 workers who died of heat exposure, eight of them were indoor workers. Winter weather or not, indoor heat risks persist through the season.

Common Causes of Indoor Heat Exposure

Many employers make the mistake of assuming that because their workers are inside, they are shielded from extreme temperatures. But this isn’t always the case. Indoor workers may still be affected by excessive heat due to the following:

  • Intense local heat sources – Furnaces and ovens can output intense blasts of heat and create pockets of dangerous thermal activity. Bakeries, food processing centers and foundries are examples. In these settings, focusing temperature sensors and safety efforts near high-thermal zones makes sense.
  • Heavy exertion – Extended heavy exertion can raise a worker’s body temperature to dangerous levels, even during the winter. Employers cannot assume that low ambient air temperatures are enough to protect workers engaged in heavy duty work. This is especially true for new workers who haven’t had time to adjust.
  • Protective wear and equipment – Protective clothing and equipment (PPE) reduces air flow to the worker’s skin. As such, people wearing PPE are at risk of heat illness when exerting themselves. External heat sources may worsen the effects of PPE.
  • Insufficient or inefficient cooling technology – Poor air circulation and insufficient cooling are common causes of indoor overheating. It’s important to verify that your facility’s HVAC technology can handle the heating load that your workers and equipment generate. Regular maintenance is also essential and is considered part of an employer’s general duty to their employees.

When indoor workers experience heat illness – heat exhaustion and heat stroke, for example – the above factors are typically present.

Federal and State Safety Standards for Occupational Heat Hazards

Federal and state agencies recognize the potential for heat illness during the winter. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) general duty clause requires employers to provide a work environment that is free of hazards that could cause serious or fatal injury. This extends to hazards that could cause heat illness.

Some states have implemented additional heat hazard provisions to protect workers. Those states include:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Minnesota (with specific provisions for indoor heat safety)
  • Oregon
  • Washington

This demonstrates that heat awareness still matters in the winter for employers.

How to Protect Workers from Heat Illnesses During the Winter

Heat is an invisible killer, but there are clear steps that employers can take to prevent heat from threatening employees. Those steps include:

  • Developing a heat-specific safety plan – OSHA does not require employers to have a detailed safety plan in writing, but it does require all employers and managers to be aware of potential workplace hazards. So even though it isn’t required, developing a heat safety plan can help organize your company’s safety efforts and protect your crew. If heat exposure is a risk to your indoor workers, a heat-specific safety plan will ensure no heat hazard is left unchecked. Your plan should identify all potential heat hazards in the work environment and specify measures to protect people from them. Further, your plan should name who is accountable for enforcing those measures.This plan will serve as the foundation for your heat safety processes. It will also be used to train workers.
  • Training employees on heat safety protocols – Once your company has established a heat safety plan, you will need to communicate the plan to workers. Set aside time to train workers on heat risks as this will encourage employees to take ownership of their own safety and the safety of others.
  • Acclimating new employees – Workers who haven’t had time to adjust are more likely to experience heat illness. Most occupational heat-related deaths involve people who have only been on the job for a short time. As such, it is extremely important for employers to give new workers a chance to acclimate to elevated temperatures. This includes gradually scaling up the length of work shifts, providing additional breaks and closely monitoring new workers for any signs of heat illness. Free access to water and cooling stations are also critical.
  • Recognizing the signs and symptoms of heat illness – Although heat illness can emerge suddenly, there is usually a short window during which it can be treated before it becomes an emergency. However, your workers and managers must be familiar with the signs and symptoms of heat illness to act. Heat exhaustion is characterized by excessive sweating, cold or clammy skin, weakness, fatigue, confusion, nausea, vomiting, a weak pulse, headaches and dizziness. Heat stroke presents with red and dry skin, body temperature in excess of 103 degrees, a strong pulse, profound confusion and dizziness, slurred speech and loss of consciousness. The goal for managers and coworkers is to notice when a worker may be affected by minor heat injuries. When detected, removing workers for prompt treatment is critical. Vigilance saves lives.
  • Monitoring indoor temperatures and work conditions – Being proactive is important if heat is a threat. Work conditions can change rapidly and become hazardous before anyone realizes it, especially if there aren’t heat monitoring resources in place. Temperature-tracking tools can alert safety personnel to potentially dangerous conditions indoors. Temperature sensors should be placed near known heat sources and used to determine when heat levels are unsafe. For optimal safety, empower workers to track temperatures on their own. A simple and cost-effective way to do this is with TWIC cards embedded with liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs). LCTs provide a quick, accurate temperature reading. TWIC cards are inexpensive, lightweight, and can give workers advance notice of elevated temperatures before safety personnel need to intervene. This can give your workers the advantage in identifying dangerous conditions before they cause heat illness.

The above measures will improve your team’s ability to respond to heat-related emergencies before they cause serious or fatal injury. Or, even better, prevent those emergencies from happening in the first place.

Heat Awareness Still Matters in Winter, So Keep Your Crews Prepared

Excessive heat can cause serious injury or death, even during the winter. As such, employers are required – as per OSHA’s general duty clause – to put heat safety measures in place. Fortunately, these measures are simple and inexpensive to implement. They include devising a heat-specific safety plan, raising heat awareness among workers, and investing in safety resources like LCTs and other temperature monitoring tools.

Heat Awareness in Manufacturing Facilities

Heat Awareness in Manufacturing Facilities

Heat Aware , ,

The Importance of Heat Awareness in Manufacturing Facilities

Heat illnesses and injuries are on the rise in the U.S., and this trend is also true of indoor workers. Shielded from outdoor heat exposure, it’s common for employers to overlook the importance of heat awareness in manufacturing facilities.

Given the severe, potentially fatal nature of heat illness, employers are required to take measures in preventing and responding to heat illnesses experienced by their employees.

Regulators are Emphasizing Improved Heat Awareness and Safety in Manufacturing Facilities

According to the EPA, the number of heat waves (defined by a four-day stretch of high temperatures above the 10-year average) has tripled since 1990. Unsurprisingly, heat injuries and illnesses have climbed alongside this trend, leading OSHA to begin discussions about national heat safety standards.

There are early signs that OSHA is getting tougher in this regard. In October 2021, the administration published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) – the first public step that OSHA takes before implementing new safety standards. The October 2021 ANPRM was specific to outdoor and indoor heat hazards, so it’s clearly an OSHA priority.

In April 2022, OSHA enacted a National Emphasis Program (NEP) that included three participating states – California, Minnesota, and Washington. The NEP is a three-year program that gives OSHA authority to perform on-the-spot workplace inspections for heat hazards. OSHA has inspected more than 1,500 businesses already in this fashion, and the resulting information will be used to further develop heat safety standards.

In the most recent update in November 2023, OSHA surveyed small businesses and interfaced with small business advocacy groups to gain further insight into heat safety implementation.

While it’s true that government maneuvers can take a long time to realize, there are clear signs that OSHA will launch new heat safety standards in the near future.

Common Heat Hazards in Manufacturing Facilities

OSHA’s interest in heat safety extends indoors as there are several hazards specific to manufacturing facilities and industrial centers. Heat-related risks may be elevated among employees working indoors, especially if the following factors are present:

  • Heat generating equipment and machinery – Milling machines, turning machines, presses and grinders all output significant amounts of heat that spills into the environment and puts workers at risk of heat illness. If the equipment is poorly insulated, it can cause an immediate heat hazard around the machinery’s operating area.
  • Other radiant heat sources – Other sources of radiant heat in manufacturing facilities include ovens, furnaces, and kilns. Each can output intense levels of thermal energy, requiring workers to don protective gear that increases heat risks.
  • Lack of air movement – Air circulation is essential for venting heat out of the facility and preserving safe working environments. In manufacturing centers, strategic fan and HVAC vent placement will help circulate cooler air through the facility. In warehouses, hangars, and other large industrial centers, opening up a large bay door can promote better air circulation.
  • Constant physical labor – Modern manufacturing facilities rely on automation to an extent, but there is still plenty of manual labor happening. With workers in constant motion, exertion-related heat must be factored in. If your employees do a lot of lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying, your facilities will need measures in place to offset that additional thermal output.
  • Heavy protective clothing – Personal protective equipment (PPE) may include heavy clothing that traps heat, causing the worker’s body temperature to rise, even if they’re standing in one spot. If there are other hazards at your facilities that demand safety wear, consider the additional thermal burden on employees.
  • Exposure to sunlight – Sunlight means heat, so if it’s cascading in through windows or open doors, your facilities will have additional thermal energy to contend with. It’s easy to dismiss a patch of sunlight here or there in a manufacturing facility, but it can be a threat if additional heat risks are present, like poor air circulation or heavy protective wear.

These hazards are in addition to extreme outdoor temperatures, which can also influence the relative heat levels inside buildings. Clearly, there are several heat-related risk factors to account for, but there are steps employers can take to lower the risk of heat illness affecting their employees.

How to Improve Heat Awareness in Manufacturing Facilities

The key to preventing heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and other heat illnesses is awareness. If workers are aware of heat stress symptoms and dangers, they can take the appropriate action before a situation becomes critical. Here is what employers can do to improve heat awareness in manufacturing facilities:

  • Developing a heat illness prevention plan – Every workplace must have a safety plan in place per OSHA regulations. With the level of heat danger and heat fatalities on the rise, employers are also encouraged to develop a heat-specific safety plan that tackles heat illnesses specifically.

This plan should include everything else on this list, as well as the plan’s training and implementation procedures.

  • Training each worker on the plan’s details – Every employee should undergo heat safety training, using the procedures and practices derived from your heat safety plan. Training typically includes pointing out heat hazards, noticing the symptoms of heat illness, the location and use of all heat safety resources (such as water or cooling stations), and emergency procedures should severe heat illness occur.
  • Identifying where heat hazards are likely to emerge – All heat safety plans should point out the location and nature of any heat hazards present at the facility. Consider including maps and floor plans to assist with this communication to facility staff and visitors.
  • Keeping an eye on environmental conditions – Working conditions can change quickly, so it’s important for your staff to monitor temperatures in real time. As environmental conditions change, your heat safety plan may call for additional measures, such as implementing work rotations or mandatory cooling breaks.
  • Investing in heat safety resources – An inexpensive and effective way to track temperature is to provide employees with liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs). LCTs are accurate within a degree or two and can provide a reading within seconds. The thermometers are practically weightless and can be scaled down to fit into a TWIC card or something similar. With LCT-integrated TWIC cards, your workers can wear their temperature-tracking tool on a lanyard or place it in a pocket.

Additional heat safety resources include heat safety signage, which is used to point out high-risk areas, first aid stations, showers, and other points of interest when a heat emergency develops. OSHA considers safety signage to be an irreplaceable aspect of worker safety, so investing in it now will keep your facilities compliant for longer.

  • Develop heat emergency protocols – Even with robust prevention methods in place, heat illness remains a threat to industrial workers. A heat safety plan should formalize any emergency response to optimize response time and effectiveness.

Emergency measures typically include moving the worker to a cool area, applying cool water or towels to the skin of the affected employee, administering fluids if possible, and contacting emergency medical personnel right away. It’s standard practice for a heat safety plan to include contact information for a nearby hospital or medical facility.

Heat Awareness in Manufacturing Facilities Can Save Lives

Heat illnesses and fatalities are becoming more common for workers across many industries and in many work settings. This includes indoor work settings like manufacturing facilities.

It’s a common but potentially costly mistake for facility operators to discount the severity of potential heat hazards, but there can be fatal consequences.

A proven approach to undercutting those hazards is preparation. Specifically, preparing workers with heat-specific training and resources. LCTs and safety signage are two examples of budget-friendly items that can boost heat awareness and safety in manufacturing facilities. Speak with your heat-aware specialist to see how you can protect your employees.

The Benefits of a Heat Management System

The Benefits of a Heat Management System

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Advantages of Implementing a Heat Management System

Thermal threats are mounting at worksites around the country. Heat waves are increasing in intensity and duration, according to the World Health Organization, and this trend will likely continue, making a heat management system a must for worker safety.

Work crews are bearing the brunt of this extreme heat, leaving them exposed to potential heat illnesses that can cause permanent, even fatal injury.

A heat management system, when properly implemented, is designed to push back against this risk. There are numerous elements that may be included in a thermal management system, but the bottom line is that they provide workers with resources, processes and information that can prevent heat illness.

Here, we’ll address what an ideal heat management system typically includes and how it can support worker safety.

Why Heat Management Matters

Thermal stresses are largely dictated by ambient weather conditions. Temperature, relative humidity, sun exposure and wind speed are all important considerations. Weather, though, is only one factor. Thermal risks are also exacerbated by activity levels, the worker’s age and health, clothing or protective equipment, the presence of major heat sources (furnaces, for example), and other considerations.

With the above factors in play, there may be an elevated risk of heat illness even when ambient conditions aren’t a factor.

Regardless of where excess heat is coming from, if thermal dangers are present on your worksite, it’s time to develop a heat management system.

Heat illnesses range in severity – from minor heat rash, to heat syncope (brief loss of consciousness), and even life-threatening conditions like heat stroke. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, dozens of workers are killed by heat illness every year and hundreds of thousands are injured. Given the nature of heat injury reporting and its nonspecific symptoms, it’s highly possible that these numbers are lower than reality.

Major and fatal injuries are typically the result of heat stroke. As the end stage form of heat illness, heat stroke can develop rapidly – seemingly out of nowhere in some cases – but it’s common for it to emerge and intensify over a short period of time. That means deadly heat illnesses can be prevented with the right precautions and treated with the right procedures. Determining what those precautions and procedures should look like – that’s the core of a heat management system.

What Should be Included in a Heat Management System?

Heat management systems are meant to be a comprehensive defense against thermal stresses. Here’s what that defense system should include:

  • A heat specific safety plan – Employers are required to have safety plans in place to maintain OSHA compliance. These plans typically address all the worksite’s hazards in a general way, but on sites where heat hazards are commonplace, it’s worth developing a heat-specific safety plan.

    A heat-specific plan points out the number, location and nature of heat hazards on the project site. This could be the location of heat sources or areas where poor air circulation or increased sun exposure may trigger heat illnesses.

    A heat-specific safety plan will also designate who is responsible for enforcing heat safety protocols (and their contact information), as well as an inventory and location of all medical resources dedicated to treating heat illness. Contact information for a nearby medical facility should also be included in such a plan.

  • Medical monitoring – Medical monitoring includes health screening prior to starting work on a project, and periodic checks thereafter. The goal of medical monitoring is to identify workers who may be at an elevated risk of heat illness. Safety countermeasures can be taken in response to this information.

    On worksites where heat risks are elevated, continuous medical monitoring (watching worker vitals) may be necessary.

  • An emergency action plan (EAP) – An EAP is required by OSHA on hazardous worksites and details what to do in the event of an emergency. EAPs are used to detail all potential hazards on a worksite, including heat emergencies. In this context, an EAP will dictate how to immediately respond to severe heat illness, what resources to use, and how to treat the condition until medical assistance can be secured – as well as how to seek medical assistance from a nearby medical facility.
  • Information resources – Information resources include occupational safety signage and heat monitoring tools. Safety signage and decals are excellent, ever-present reminders to take note of heat hazards and to take proper measures (like drinking enough fluids) to avoid heat illness.

    Monitoring heat levels is also critical, as ambient conditions can cross into dangerous territory gradually, often leaving workers caught unaware.

    One way to prevent this from happening is to equip workers with temperature monitoring tools they can easily and reliably use. A popular option is to provide field workers with liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs), as these can be embedded in a TWIC-style card. LCTs are accurate within a couple of degrees and can provide a reading within seconds. As TWIC cards are practically weightless and are easy to carry (using a lanyard or just placed in a toolbox), they are an ideal choice for busy workers who cannot leave their station.

  • Engineering controls – Engineering controls are used to mitigate the intensity of heat hazards or to help workers manage their effects. For example, providing cool, potable water at cooling stations, setting up fans or air conditioning, providing shade and reducing worker exertion by providing powered equipment (a forklift, for example) are all ways to reduce heat’s impact.

Employee Education and Acclimatization are also Important Factors of Heat Safety

The majority of severe heat illnesses occur in new workers. There may be several reasons for this, but it’s common for new workers to push themselves harder at first because they aren’t aware of heat dangers – or want to demonstrate their value to the team.

Given this fact, more employers are prioritizing acclimatization and safety education when bringing on new workers. Here’s what each includes:

  • Safety education – When a heat safety plan is modified or when new workers are brought on, it’s time to educate. Specifically, education on what the company’s heat safety policies are, what heat illness symptoms to look for, what to do in the event of a heat emergency, what safety resources are available, and how to use those resources. The goal is preparedness, so workers are ready if a heat emergency does occur.
  • Acclimatization – During the acclimatization process, new workers are required to slowly ramp up their activity over several days. A standard approach is to shorten work shifts for the first couple weeks of the project and to give new workers additional breaks to recover from heat exposure.

    During this time, the worker should be closely monitored for any signs of vulnerability to heat illness, and to ensure they follow proper heat safety protocols.

If Properly Designed and Implemented, a Heat Management System Can Save Lives

Heat is one of the most difficult hazards to avoid. During some parts of the year, heat is literally everywhere and often intense enough to cause serious illness if not accounted for.

Employers can protect their workers by investing in a thermal heat management system. By ensuring the right planning, equipment, and resources are in place, your work crews will always be aware and ready for extreme heat.

A Guide to Protecting Work Crews from the Summer Heat

A Guide to Protecting Work Crews from the Summer Heat

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As numerous heat records were shattered across the U.S. in the summer of 2023, it meant that people working outside were at major risk of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat illness is an invisible, but quite capable killer that’s caused dozens of fatalities and thousands of injuries over the past several years. And it is believed that those numbers are vastly underreported, as many heat-related illnesses and deaths fall outside the purview of government regulators.

Employers are responsible for protecting their crews from heat hazards, and these protective measures must be reinforced at every level of the organization. In this guide, we’ll address what steps contractors can take to safeguard the health of their crews.

Judging Heat Conditions on Site: Don’t Focus Only on the Temperature

Elevated temperatures are an obvious heat-related danger, and as such, it’s important for supervisors to keep an eye on the thermometer. But there’s more to heat risk than temperature alone, as humidity, solar exposure, and wind speed all play a role as well.

For example, heat index values factor humidity into the equation and is therefore a useful alternative to temperature alone along the Gulf Coast, where high levels of summer humidity are expected.

Some contractors now use the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) – a metric utilized by the U.S. military for decades – that also factors in solar exposure and wind speed. In other words, WBGT is most relevant for people working in direct sunlight.

As actual, on-the-ground heat dangers vary with humidity, sun exposure and other factors, it’s recommended that contractors use heat index values to assess field conditions.

What Does OSHA Have to Say About Heat Safety?

OSHA doesn’t have heat-specific safety regulations on the books, but employers are still held to the General Duty Clause, which requires companies to identify and protect workers from any onsite hazards.

Employers can’t use “but there’s no OSHA heat safety standard” as an excuse, in other words.

The agency does have plenty of heat safety resources to draw from, though, including informational literature and tips for employers. This includes guidance on every part of the safety planning process, which can be extremely helpful for new contractors that don’t have an emergency action plan (EAP) in place.

Here are some practical tips for mitigating dangerous summer temperatures for every phase of the project.

Before the job begins: Create a Heat Safety Plan and Raise Awareness of Heat Hazards

Before mobilization, contractors should have a firm idea of the jobsite’s layout and where heat hazards are likely to emerge. For instance, if there’s a part of the site that’s exposed to dawn-to-dusk sunlight, it may be a good idea to avoid setting up any workstations in that area.

This is the kind of thinking that should be included in the project’s Emergency Action Plan (EAP). In fact, some contractors go a step further and draft a heat-specific safety plan. Given the extreme temperatures affecting some parts of the country (the south and southeast, most notably), heat-specific plans make a lot of sense. Each EAP should include the following:

  • The location and nature of any heat hazards on the jobsite. While trapped heat is usually a problem for interior work areas only, they can emerge on construction sites and other exterior work environments as well.
  • The location of any cooling stations or any air-conditioned areas. If heat illness does occur, moving the affected worker to a cool spot with shade is critical.
  • An inventory and location of all heat injury resources, such as cold packs, towels, and fluids.
  • A set of processes that specify what to do and who to contact should someone come down with heat illness.
  • The contact information for any nearby emergency medical institutions.

Once this plan is established, it must be communicated to all levels of leadership and to the workers themselves. Ideally, leadership and the crew would be involved in helping put together a heat safety plan. This will ensure that everyone on the team has a clear understanding of the company’s heat safety policies. Regular training, toolbox talks, and unscheduled drills are all worthy investments to ensure maximum heat safety awareness.

This training should also address what signs and symptoms of heat illness to look for, as other workers are likely to spot them first in their coworkers. They include:

  • Dizziness
  • Confusion
  • Slurred speech
  • Headache and muscle pain
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Loss of consciousness

Invest in Tools That Monitor Heat Levels

If your workers can keep an eye on the temperature, they’ll be more aware of the heat and more likely to observe heat safety protocols.

The right tools are essential for jobsite safety, and when it comes to heat-related dangers, one such tool is a liquid crystal thermometer, as LCTs are compact, lightweight, and offer instant information about the temperature. LCTs can be encapsulated and scaled down to fit inside TWIC cards, which can be worn on a lanyard, kept in a pocket, or tossed in the toolbox. LCTs are accurate and can also include the company’s branding or additional heat safety information.

In this way, LCTs offer double advantages in safety and cost effectiveness, as they’re inexpensive to procure at volume and give workers a highly usable tool for remaining aware of the heat.

Get Workers Acclimated to the Heat and Set Up a Cooling Station

According to OSHA, about 75 percent of all heat-related deaths occur in the first week of the job. It takes time for the body to adjust to extreme heat stress, especially for people who aren’t accustomed to the climate or strenuous activity. To avoid overloading the team early on, OSHA recommends the 20 percent rule. The idea behind this is to slowly work up to full capacity in the sun over several days.

Assuming an 8-hour workday, using the 20 percent rule, workers should only spend one hour and 40 minutes (20 percent) in the sun during their first day on the project. They can spend the rest of the day working without heat stress. Every subsequent day, add another 20 percent in the sun until they’re up to full capacity. Some workers may need a bit longer to adjust, and it’s better to be safe than sorry, so allow for that time for adequate acclimation.

At the project’s outset, this is also the time to establish a cooling station. It should remain in the shade throughout the day and always have water available. Some contractors set up tents with circulating fans for additional heat relief, and if there’s an air-conditioned room they can access while cooling, even better.

Keep Safety Personnel on High Alert, Encourage Regular Breaks and Reduce Work Intensity in High Heat

During the peak of summer, there may be no relief from dangerously hot days. Where possible, shifting work to the evening or night hours is recommended, but noise ordinances may prevent this.

When work must be done during the day, being proactive is the rule. That means doing the following:

  • Enforcing regular water breaks. During high activity periods, giving workers a break every 15 minutes to drink fluids is recommended. Stick to water rather than caffeinated beverages.
  • Cycling work teams out of the sun regularly. If possible, cycling workers between sun-exposed and shaded workstations can reduce heat stress.
  • Occasionally taking worker vitals to spot early signs of heat stress. This should only be done by trained medical personnel.
  • Keeping the contact information for any medical authorities in an easily accessible place, so it can be instantly referenced in an emergency.

In general, the point is to remain on high alert while heat indexes are at their most punishing. The faster everyone responds to severe heat illness, the better the affected worker’s chances of fully recovering.

Summer Heat Can Be Fatal, but Employers Can Keep Their Team Safe with the Right Protective Measures

While summers have always been hot, recent summers have produced deadly levels of heat. For work crews, heat illnesses can emerge suddenly and may be severe, if not deadly. But with effective planning, emergency resources, cooling equipment, and a commitment to heat awareness, employers can keep their project sites and workers safe and heat injury free.

Practical Tips for Avoiding Heat Illness on the Job

Practical Tips for Avoiding Heat Illness on the Job

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The U.S. Department of Labor states that occupational heat illnesses are widely under-reported. And yet, dozens of workers die every year from heat stroke and thousands more are seriously injured. What’s worse is that almost every single one of those heat injuries would’ve been preventable with effective safety measures in place.

Those measures aren’t difficult to establish, however, and there are low-cost, high impact resources that can help support a safe workplace.

Here are five examples of practical tips for avoiding heat illness on the job:

1) Know the Signs and Symptoms of Heat Illnesses

Before heat illnesses progress to potentially fatal emergencies, there are usually noticeable signs of distress that others can respond to. Heat exhaustion, for example, typically presents prior to heat stroke, but it may progress to heat stroke within minutes. It’s therefore critical that safety personnel and workers know what signs to respond to.

The symptoms of heat illness are:

  • Heavy sweating or complete lack of it
  • Elevated body temperature
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Confusion
  • Headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Weak, racing pulse
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Agitation
  • In severe instances, loss of consciousness may also be present

Sometimes, the above symptoms may come on quickly, but in many cases, the affected worker will demonstrate tell-tale signs in time to administer treatment. If provided promptly, treatment can stop minor heat illnesses from developing into something more serious.

That’s why everyone shares responsibility for detecting heat illness on the worksite. That includes the workers themselves, as they know their coworkers best and are usually right there when heat dangers are at their most intense.

2) Develop and Implement a Heat-Specific Safety Plan

According to OSHA regulations, every worksite is expected to have an emergency action plan (EAP) in place. At a minimum, the EAP must include:

  • The location of emergency exits and exit routes. These should be mapped onto a floorplan of the worksite.
  • What medical or fire authorities to contact in the event of an emergency.
  • How to alert employees when an emergency is in progress and how to contact family or next of kin, as well.

From OSHA’s perspective, that’s sufficient for an EAP, but employers overseeing hazardous worksites are expected to go a bit further with their safety planning. And on sites where dangerous levels of heat are expected, it makes sense for employers to develop a heat-specific safety plan. Such a plan should include the following:

  • The location and nature of any heat-related hazards on the job site. In areas like cement plants, mills, foundries, fabrication plants and other industrial centers, heat may concentrate in spots to the point where it results in hazardous conditions.
  • A series of procedures to be deployed should a heat-related emergency occur.
  • What processes are in place to monitor and mitigate any heat hazards.
  • An inventory of all heat-related medical resources and their locations on the worksite.
  • Contact information for a nearby emergency medical facility. Time is critical when treating heat illness, as it may only take minutes for symptoms to progress to something life-threatening. If heat stroke does occur, contacting the medical facility on file should be one of the first measures taken.

3) Ensure Onsite Safety Personnel are Prioritizing Heat Hazards

A heat safety plan is only effective if it’s implemented and practice drills are performed periodically. That’s where the company’s leadership must take charge. This starts with top-level management, but every link in the leadership chain, down to onsite safety and medical personnel should be on the same page regarding how to manage heat risks.

For example, when elevated temperatures are present, onsite medical personnel should regularly check worker vitals, including body temperature and pulse, to detect the early signs of heat illness. Safety personnel should also consider altering work practices when the heat and humidity is higher, such as rotating crews in and out of shade, enforcing water breaks and switching to light duty.

Maintaining safe conditions means being proactive, and this responsibility falls to the company’s management, and who it empowers to ensure safety.

4) Give Crews the Tools Needed to Monitor Temperatures

Safety planning and training are critical for reducing the risk of heat illness. Another important piece of the heat safety puzzle – investing in heat monitoring tools that workers can use in the field. After all, your field workers deal with the worst effects of heat exposure, so empowering them with better information can save lives. Even better, many of these resources are simple to use and inexpensive to invest in.

For example, many contractors provide their workers with TWIC cards that house liquid crystal thermometers that use thermochromic liquid crystals (TLCs) to measure heat levels. When exposed to heat, TLCs alter their orientation and physical structure – which also changes their optical qualities. In other words, TLCs change color with changing temperatures, and TWIC cards can be designed with microencapsulated pockets of these TLCs, so workers have a reliable, simple-to-use thermometer always on hand.

TWIC cards are inexpensive per unit and are extremely cost effective when purchased in volume. Contractors can therefore outfit their entire crew with temperature-taking equipment and safeguard them, without stressing the project’s budget.

5) Give Crews the Resources They Need to Treat Heat Illness

With heat illness, the best defense is preparation. That means preparing work crews for what to do if a heat-related emergency does occur. That includes the following:

  • Setting up a “cooldown area” that has shade and fluids for workers to drink. If a worker starts showing signs of heat exhaustion, they can stay out of the sun and rest here. Consider adding fans to circulate air through the area.
  • Identifying all sources of running water at the job site and ensuring this water can be accessed if a worker does experience heat illness.
  • Keeping a modest store of emergency heat illness supplies on hand, including towels, electrolyte tablets and ice packs.
  • Drilling workers on what to do if someone gives in to heat stress. This includes applying cold packs or water to the affected worker, contacting emergency personnel right away, and moving the person to a cooler environment.

By preparing for the worst-case scenario, workers can respond appropriately when heat illness occurs and potentially avoid a fatal outcome.

Heat Illnesses Can Cause Serious, Even Fatal Injury, So Provide the Tools Necessary to Keep Your Crews Safe

Heat can be a killer, and at some projects sites it’s also impossible to avoid. However, there are plenty of ways that contractors and work teams can mitigate the risk of heat illness.

Much of this boils down to preparedness, as heat illnesses can be treated and reversed with prompt action. As such, it’s important for contractors to have safety measures in place to respond when heat exhaustion or stroke does occur. And it’s also important for workers to have the temperature-taking tools they need to keep a close eye on heat levels. In this way, everyone from top leadership to field workers can remain safe and aware of the heat.

A Heat Safety Plan Should Be Part of Every Cement Company’s Operations

A Heat Safety Plan Should Be Part of Every Cement Company’s Operations

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Cement manufacturing plants are high-risk work zones. Chemical burns, excess noise, mechanical hazards, falling objects and airborne dust are some of the most common, but there’s another risk for cement companies to account for – heat.

In areas where heat is excessive, it can quickly lead to severe injuries if safety precautions aren’t taken. These precautions are generally simple, but they rely on strong planning and information to work – information like to-the-minute temperature data.

Heat is Always Present in Cement Plants, Making Heat Injuries a Significant Risk

Cement manufacturing plants generate intense heat, some of which escapes into the work environment. If poorly managed, the resulting rise in temperatures may put workers at risk. Further, workers are required to don protective wear that, while safeguarding the lungs, can trap thermal energy and put workers at increased risk of heat-related injury. This risk is higher still in hotter climates, like those along the Gulf Coast.

If a heat injury or illness does occur, it may take one of several forms, but heat exhaustion and heat stroke require the most attention. Here is how each one presents:

  • Heat exhaustion – Heat exhaustion is less serious than heat stroke, but it can quickly develop into a medical emergency. Signs of heat exhaustion include an elevated body temperature, weakness, dizziness, headaches or cramps, changes in mood and reduced urination. Workers experiencing heat exhaustion should receive prompt medical treatment, including transport to a medical facility in serious cases.
  • Heat stroke – Heat stroke is a medical emergency and may result in permanent or fatal injury if not immediately treated. When the body loses its ability to regulate its temperature, heat stroke is the result. As such, heat stroke can cause body temperature to spike in excess of 106 degrees Fahrenheit within minutes. It may also cause profound confusion, an altered mental state, seizures, or loss of consciousness.

Heat is a silent killer, resulting in hundreds of deaths every year. With some basic precautions, though, many of those deaths can be prevented.

A Heat Safety Plan is Recommended for Cement Plants

The upside is that cement companies can plan around heat hazards and minimize their impact on worker safety. OSHA does not require organizations to have a heat safety plan in place, but they can make a big difference. Such a plan should include:

  • The personnel responsible for communicating and enforcing heat safety processes.
  • The location and nature of any heat hazards.
  • What medical facility to contact (and how to contact them) should a heat injury occur.
  • What onsite resources are available should a heat injury occur – and where to locate them.
  • What onsite resources are available to prevent heat injuries, such as cooling and water stations.
  • What measures and resources are in place to monitor temperature data.

A plan like this can be developed and communicated quickly to workers. It’s critical, though, that these procedures are enforced and backed up at the worker level. When a worker suffers a heat injury, the first people to notice are the people he’s working with. With safety plan training, those workers will be better equipped to notice heat injuries and properly respond to them.

An Effective Tool Against Heat Injuries: Easy-to-Carry Thermometers

As an invisible hazard, heat has a tendency to sneak up on workers and safety personnel. It can creep into dangerous territory without anyone noticing, at least not until a medical emergency occurs.

Constant temperature monitoring is the only way to keep an eye on heat hazards, but that can be prohibitively difficult in cement manufacturing facilities. Heat hazards may be present throughout the facility and may develop as work conditions change. The sheer scale of a cement facility adds to this difficulty.

One solution is to empower workers to track temperature data where they’re working. There’s no better way to get location-specific data, and it can be done quickly and inexpensively with the use of liquid crystal thermometers (LCTs).

The crystals inside LCTs respond to changes in temperature, specifically by rearranging themselves and contorting into different shapes. This changes their optical qualities – which we receive as a change in color. LCTs are inexpensive, accurate and can be incorporated into compact, lightweight items.

For example, LCTs can be embedded in TWIC sized heat cards that provide clear data about ambient temperature. Each card can feature additional information about heat injury symptoms or prevention methods. They can also feature the organization’s branding. They can be kept on a lanyard, in a toolbox, or even in the worker’s back pocket.

In this way, workers maintain constant heat awareness and can remove themselves from hazardous conditions as soon as they arise.

Give Cement Plant Workers the Tools to Protect Themselves from Heat-Related Injury

Cement plant workers rely on their company and their safety personnel to maintain a safe workplace. And from a safety standpoint, there’s a lot to consider at cement manufacturing facilities. Don’t forget to account for heat, though, as it’s certainly capable of fatal injury. That means developing a detailed heat safety plan and providing the resources your teams need to protect themselves.