How employers are taking steps to safeguard workers from extreme heat
McKINNEY, Texas — At the start of each workday, construction worker Charles Smith puts on the essentials: a hard hat. Safety glasses. A reflective vest. And a small, watch-like strap for his wrist.
But instead of keeping track of time, its purpose is to ensure he doesn’t overheat while working during sweltering Texas summer days. The wristband monitors his heart rate, body temperature, stress levels and more. If it detects signs of overheating, it alerts him and his safety manager, advising Smith to rest and hydrate. The device serves as an early warning system to help prevent heat-related injuries and illnesses.
The technology is one way workplaces are building worker protections as summers become hotter, longer and more extreme due to climate change. On Sunday, the Earth hit its hottest day on record, according to a European Climate Service Group. And in the absence of federal heat regulations for workers, which the The Biden administration recently proposedSome employers in states without regulations are taking it upon themselves to protect their workers from the dangers of extreme heat.
“We can catch it before it happens,” said Seth Campbell, safety manager for the construction firm Rogers-O’Brien, Smith’s employer, about monitoring for signs of heat-related illness. Their team began using the technology last summer.
UPS recently provided delivery workers with cooling caps and sleeves to provide relief from the heat — and gave workers more access to ice, cold water and electrolytes, according to its website. It also added more cooling equipment to its vehicles and facilities, Genny Bowman, vice president of global communications, said in an email. That includes installing exhaust heat shields to reduce vehicle floor temperatures, as well as fans in package trucks and more fans in its facilities.
Some greenhouse companies, including Eden Green and Cox farmshave said that they are adjusting their employees’ working hours to accommodate the extreme heat, such as starting earlier in the morning, stopping during the hottest period and returning in the evening when the temperature drops.
During the day Record-breaking heat wave in June In the Midwest and Northeast, an organization in Columbus, Ohio, provided frozen towels and cold water to help their employees stay cool and hydrated.
And in some California warehouses, where indoor temperatures can exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit, employers have provided cooling vests with ice packs and bandanas that can be cooling when wet, said Tim Shadix, legal director of the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that works to improve working conditions in the Southern California warehouse industry.
Such measures can help keep workers cool and comfortable, but Shadix said they’re not enough to protect them from rising heat hazards. “Standard workplace safety practices say these are last-resort responses,” he said, “but when you’re addressing any hazard, including heat, you usually try to start with what’s most effective,” which could include installing air conditioning, slowing down work schedules or providing more breaks.
Last summer, during a historic heat wave, Texas-based Rogers-O’Brien launched a pilot program that gives workers the ability to wear a thermal sensor that is linked to software called SafeGuard. If a worker’s heart rate or body temperature is too high, Campbell is one of the people who gets an alert to check on them. He then evaluates ways to cool them down, such as placing ice cubes under their armpits.
“Last year we had two reports and we were able to shade that employee, give him adequate electrolytes and we didn’t have to go to any clinics with someone wearing the technology,” he said.
On really hot days, combined with intense physical exertion, Smith’s wristband alerted him and the safety manager that his body temperature and heart rate were high. It served as a signal to take a shady break and drink water. And he did.
“The importance of it could be very far-reaching,” Smith said on a day with temperatures in the 100s. “Making sure that employees are at a level where they can actually go home every night and see their families, and making sure that employees can recover properly. I think it could be a huge benefit to the industry and to virtually every other industry.”
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Pineda reported from Los Angeles.
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