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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.