Get Ready for the Heat with Cooling Technology — Occupational Health & Safety

Get Ready for the Heat with Cooling Technology

Protective apparel that keeps workers cool should be a safety priority.

• By M.B. Sutherland
• Mar 01, 2021

Human beings have been working in the heat since the beginning of time, but even in our modern age, physical exertion in hot temperatures too often leads to serious heat illness. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that 11 workers are seriously injured or die from heat stress every day in the United States.

This statistic would be bad enough for any type of accident, but heat illness is 100 percent preventable. Whether it’s due to lack of information, complacent attitudes, limited cooling solutions or some combination of the three, this problem remains at the top of safety managers’ concerns.

The good news is that manufacturers have been hard at work inventing new solutions to keep workers cooler and safer in surprisingly convenient ways.

Tried and True Heat Stress Busters

Before you begin exploring the latest and greatest in body cooling solutions, make sure you have the basics in place. The first, and possibly most important way to start, is with training. Team leaders who understand and share the basics of heat stress avoidance are leaders who will have fewer employees in distress. But many employees, and sometimes even managers, don’t fully understand how the body responds to overheating, and often think they can simply wing it with a little water and a wide brimmed hat.

Training that emphasizes hydration the night before, on the job and after the job, as well as factors like medication and alcohol that can change the way the body responds to the heat is crucial. Educate your whole team about the dangers of microclimates—areas of the job that are hotter than others due to hot machinery, lack of shade or other factors. Keep cold water and electrolyte-replacing beverages on hand. At the same time, emphasize that in hot working conditions, hydration alone will not prevent heat illness without additional body cooling measures. Change any hot day’s schedule to include more rest breaks, and above all, make sure everyone from the job foreman to the newest worker knows the signs of heat stress and how to respond to the four levels of heat illness, up to and including deadly heat stroke.

This article originally appeared in the March 2021 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.

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