Donald Meeker
If you’ve ever spent your time toiling outside on a blistering hot day, you know how much high heat can take a toll on the body. Not only can it slow you down and cause discomfort and fatigue, but it can also lead to potentially devastating conditions such as heat stroke. Luckily, there are a few smart ways to cool down at work and reduce the risk of serious heat-related incidents.
What Is Heat Stress?
When exposed to extreme heat, workers are at risk of developing heat stress. This broad term relates to a wide range of illnesses and injuries, including potentially life-threatening conditions like heat stroke and heat exhaustion. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines heatstroke as a medical emergency that could result in death. Heatstroke can cause confusion, irrational behavior, loss of consciousness, and other concerning side effects.
Heat exhaustion is another serious heat-related illness that frequently occurs among outdoor workers. It can cause nausea, headache, thirst, and vertigo. Less critical side effects of over-exposure to heat on the job include heat cramps, heat rashes, and heat fatigue. While not usually life-threatening, these conditions can lead to discomfort and a loss of focus on the job site, which could result in serious injuries.
How to Manage Heat Stress at Work
Regardless of whether you’re working outside in the summertime or indoors in a hot kitchen, you need to pay close attention to your body temperature throughout the day. Managing and preventing heat stress can help ensure that you do your best throughout your entire shift and don’t wind up in a potentially grave situation. Here are a few of our most essential tips for managing heat stress at work.
- Wear Cooling Clothing–Cooling apparel has come quite a long way in the past few years and can do wonders for cooling you down while you’re working. For example, you can wear a cooling vest equipped with evaporative fabrics that help absorb and release water to keep you cool throughout the day. Many workers also drape cooling towels around their necks to add an extra layer of chill to any workwear. Cooling towels and wraps use the same evaporative technology to provide a cool feeling for several hours at a time. They’re easy to activate and keep cool with water.
- Take It Slow –OSHA reports that between 50 and 70 percent of all outdoor fatalities happen within the first few days of working outdoors in the heat. This is because the body needs to acclimate to high heat. Too much exposure too fast can kick the body into shock. Acclimatization should occur over a period of 14 days or longer, and work time should increase incrementally each day. Do not rush into a full schedule in the early days of the hot summer and be sure to take extra precaution those first few weeks.
- Drink Lots of Water–We know that on busy summer days, the last thing you’re thinking about is how to stay hydrated. And it seems nearly impossible to stay as hydrated as we should when we all have a lengthy list of tasks to complete. But hydration is non-negotiable when working in hot environments, and it is crucial to stave off heat stress.
- Drink water often throughout the day, even before you feel thirsty.
- Bring a reusable water bottle. Some plastic water bottles can leach chemicals when exposed to high heat, so be sure to pack your H2O in a non-leaching glass or stainless steel water bottle.
- Drink water at least every 15 minutes or more.
- Drink water before, during, and after your shift.
- Don’t consume any dehydrating substances, including alcohol or caffeine, during or before your shift.
- Take Rests in the Shade–Taking routine breaks is crucial to helping your body regulate a healthy, stable temperature. When you’re working out in the hot sun or heat throughout the day, the body temperature can slowly rise and lead to serious complications like heat stroke or exhaustion. However, frequent rests indoors or in a shady area like a shade shelter canbring your body temperature down to help keep you in a safe state.
- Know the Signs of Heat Exhaustion –One beneficial thing you can do for yourself and your fellow team members is to learn the signs of heat exhaustion. Pay attention to the way you feel throughout the day. If you notice your conditions worsening, call 911 immediately. Some key signs and symptoms to know include nausea, headache, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, confusion, muscle cramps, headache, and strange behavior.
- Use Water and Ice to Cool Down –Water can be a literal lifesaver when the temps are through the roof, so don’t be afraid to keep a water bottle around just for dousing over the head! Gentle spritzes or placing ice on the neck and head can help rapidly decrease your body temp to stave off heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Just be sure you don’t create a slippery environment or get so damp your safety gear doesn’t work as intended.
- Pay Attention to the Heat Index if Working Outside –Often, the temperature alone isn’t enough to indicate how dangerous work conditions are outside. The heat index is a single value that considers both temperature and humidity, giving a more accurate representation of how hot it actually feels outside. If the heat index is over 103 degrees Fahrenheit, OSHA classifies it as high risk. Special precautions must be taken to keep workers protected when these numbers are high. A 100+ heat index can occur even when the normal temperature is in the low 80s.
Heat Stress Is No Joke
The most important thing you should do as a worker in high-heat environments is to take heat stress seriously. An average of over 600 people die as a result of heat-related conditions each year, and countless more are plagued with serious illnesses from the heat. Pay close attention to the weather and your physical health, and take preventative measures to create the safest possible workplace.
Donald Meeker serves as the President for Summit Safety. In 2008, Donald launched the HiVis Supply website to fill a need in the industrial safety market. Before joining Summit Safety, Donald began his career in the industrial safety channel working for a PPE manufacturer; as well as, expanded his experience while with a safety distribution-focused marketing agency. He can be reached via https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-meeker-0331a215.