As we come up on the end of May and the release of students from various schools all over the U.S. and Canada, it usually means a couple of things:
First, the challenge of corraling monkeys and cats now falls on us parents instead of teachers; and
Second, it means it is getting darn hot out there. If not today, soon.
Summer is just around the corner as June begins, and with summer comes the heat. And while heat comes, many of us workers still go to work for most of the summer. And for those who are exposed to the heat outside or in a building with little or no cooling, the heat can be a risky variable in terms of worker safety.
[Image courtesy of Flickr user Bark via a Creative Commons license]As summer approaches, heat exposure becomes a new risk to worker safety and health, so it is important for safety officers to monitor workers who work outside in heat, and especially take steps to get workers properly acclimated before they work in high heat.
But First, A Word About the Body
The body is truly a miraculous machine. The human body has an innate ability to sense changes in temperature and adjust itself so it does not overheat or freeze too quickly. Granted, there are limits as far as how extreme the temperature range can be handled, but there are lots of stories of people who are able to work in very hot temperatures or in very cold water for a period of time without suffering life-threatening effects.
For example, the body has mechanisms by which to overcome a dramatic change in temperature. Whn it gets cold, the body shivers to generate more heat by moving muscles; when it is hot outside, the body sweats so the sweat evaporates and cools the body. There is also a change in how blood flows – in cold temperatures, the body directs blood away from the skin to maintain warmth in the body’s core; in heat, the body directs more blood to the skin to push out heat away from the body into the surrounding air. Pretty cool, huh?
You’ll Get Used to It
Yes, we all hear that when we come inside after a few minutes in extreme cold or hot, whining about how cold or hot it is.
“Ah, quit your whining,” we’d be told. “You’ll get used to it.”
Turns out, as much as we hate to admit it, it’s very true. But the body’s process of acclimation is a little slower than we might like, so it is something to keep in mind with your workers as temperatures climb into the almost-unbearable range. The idea about getting your workers acclimated to heat is taking things slowly.
It is best practice to give your workers about a week toseven business days get acclimated to heat; some will take longer, especially those who are in less-than-perfect health or are taking certain prescription medications and the like. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however; everyone is different, so you need to monitor your workers as they work in the heat. But most importantly, do not force them outside all day the first time. If they are supposed to be outside for an extended time, take it slow with them – if they are supposed to be out for four or five hours in a full shift, start them out with 90 minutes to 2 hours the first day out, with plenty of hydration, and then build up in 30-minute increments each day, as an example. But once they show signs of problems with the heat, back them off and wait another day before increasing the exposure. Also, if the following day is expected to be hotter than the day before, take that into consideration and do not increase exposure that day.
Now that we are covering for the exterior heat, the next post on Tuesday will address workers who “feel” hot, and how they could get those feelings besides just the temperature outside. And along with that, knowing the factors that go into how a worker “feels” can help you provide the tools you need to make sure your workers stay safe during this hottest time of the year.