The best ways to prevent heat illness in the workplace is to stay cool and hydrated.
Summer prevents all kinds of additional issues. Both outdoor and indoor heat exposure can be dangerous, so preventing heat illness at work and ensuring everyone feels healthy and safe in the workplace is critical. When summer hits, workers need time to acclimate to the hot weather and become comfortable at work again. There are plenty of measures one can take as well. Let’s take a look at some common ways you can prevent heat illness among your employees.
Create a Heat Illness Prevention Program
While we have plenty of tips for preventing heat illness, it’s also important that you have some sort of organization around this issue. Safe workplace practices and yes, emergency procedures in case something happens, go a long way in tackling this issue. Define what a safe environment is
Offer Education and Training
Make sure that your employees know what heat illness is and what the symptoms may be. This way they can look out for themselves and each other. Educating your employees can help keep everyone on the same page, which in turn makes sure that everyone stays healthy and safe.
Let Workers Acclimate
Immediate increased exposure to heat can be difficult for the human body. As we mentioned early, you may want to ease employees into working in hot environments. Tailor an employee’s workload around what conditions they’re in as well as additional factors like how many breaks they’re able to get, what their shift may look like, or what the weather conditions are.
Reduce Exposure to Heat
While the work can’t simply stop during hot days, you can work your schedule around it. Take a look at the weather for the day and prioritize. If the most difficult tasks can be taken care of when it’s colder during the day, that may be ideal. Save the light lifting for when it’s really hot out.
Up Your Air Circulation
Take advantage of air conditioning, fans, and proper ventilation to help circulate air and keep temperatures manageable. You can also implement structures that can reduce exposure to heat or even offer shade to employees and keep them from getting overheated.
Stop Dehydration
Employees should be provided with cool water. It’s important that you take it a step further and actively encourage employees to stay hydrated, as it’s easy to forget when you’re hard at work. Avoiding caffeine and alcohol can help as well when applicable in your workplace.
Offer Rest Breaks
Regular work breaks in a shaded area or an air-conditioned building can do wonders. Create a policy around breaks that’s flexible depending on the weather. Hotter days call for more regular breaks.
Keep an Eye On Health
Talk to your workers, make them feel heard, and respond accordingly. You want them to be healthy, so always keep your ears open if you hear someone commenting on the conditions they are working in.
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