As we head into the hottest months of the year, it is more important than ever to ensure you have a heat acclimatization program in place to protect new hires.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), nearly three out of four fatalities from heat illness happen during the first week of work. This is why it is critical to build your new team members’ tolerance to heat by increasing intensity by 20% each day. Acclimatization may take up to 14 days or longer.
Heat acclimatization is also important for any workers when they are exposed to heat wave conditions or are returning from any kind of extended leave.
By slowly introducing employees to working in hot temperatures, their bodies can adjust so that they can work safely. Acclimatized workers’ bodies produce more sweat, allowing them to dissipate heat through evaporative cooling. Their sweat also contains less salt, making them less prone to electrolyte imbalances and heat cramps.
Unacclimatized workers’ bodies’ heart rates and temperatures increase more quickly when working and their blood flow is not optimized for heat dissipation.
Address Expectations and Pressures
Many times, new employees feel psychological and behavioral pressure to push themselves hard to demonstrate they can do the work and impress their supervisor. It is also easier for new hires to struggle with performing physical tasks efficiently and conserving energy.
They may ignore early symptoms of heat-related illness and continue working. Take the time to educate crew members who believe they need to prove themselves on the first day that this can be dangerous and may result in overexertion and overheating.
Never assume new workers know how to work safely in warm or hot conditions. Even young workers who appear healthy can be susceptible to heat stress if they do not take the proper breaks or stay hydrated.
Modify Work Schedules
A new worker should only work 20 percent of the normal duration of their first day. Separate this time with frequent breaks. For instance, if your work day is typically eight hours, a new employee should spend no more than an hour and 40 minutes on their first day in the heat. They should also have at least one break while working outside. New employees can spend the rest of the work day training or doing other tasks not in the heat.
Make sure the work they are given on their first day is similar intensity to their expected workload. Doing lighter work during the first week will not acclimate them to the full demands of their job. Focus on limiting the duration of the work, but not the intensity.
Their work duration can be increased by 20 percent each subsequent day until they’re working a normal schedule. This will result in new workers working a full schedule by the end of the first week.
Individuals’ ability to adjust to the heat will vary, so when in doubt, provide new hires more time to acclimatize.
Encourage Rest, Shade and Hydration
Educate new employees on the importance of resting, seeking shade and staying hydrated.
Breaks should be long enough to allow crew members to recover from the heat based on the temperature, humidity, and activity level. Provide portable tents or shelters when natural shade is unavailable on a job site.
Employees should drink water, even when they aren’t thirsty. Workers should drink one cup of cool water every 20 minutes, but they should not drink more than 1 ½ quarts of water per hour. Drinking too much water can make the concentration of salt in the blood too low.
Team members should understand the importance of hydrating before work, during work and after work. Arriving hydrated in the morning makes it easier for employees to stay hydrated throughout the day, and hydrating after work reduces the strain on their bodies from dehydration. Chronic dehydration increases the risk of medical conditions like kidney stones.
Monitor for Heat Illness Symptoms
Heat illness can cause headaches, nausea, weakness or dizziness, heavy sweating or hot, dry skin, increased body temperature, thirst and/or decreased urine output.
Train new hires to recognize the signs of various heat-related illnesses and understand how to respond. Make sure they know who to notify if they experience any of these symptoms.
Use a buddy system to monitor newer employees and never let them work alone. If a new hire mentions or shows signs of a heat-related illness, allow them to stop working and initiate first aid.
Provide water for them to drink, move the affected employee to a cooler area and cool them with water, ice or a fan. Stay with the worker and call 911 or seek medical care if their condition does not improve.
