Dealing with Heat on Scaffolding this Summer

With so much extreme weather across the country this year, even spending time cooling off at the beach can have adverse health effects! Staying hydrated and out of the sun is a vital health measure for the young and old, but what about construction workers who have to spend 8 hours working in the heat every day? Some scaffolders spend most of their day carrying out tasks on unsheltered scaffolding equipment which gets extremely hot during the middle of the day. As you can imagine, implementing measures to deal with the heat is vital to worker safety, efficiency, and performance.

Education is arguably the most important factor for worker safety during the summer months and both management and workers have a duty to implement control measures to manage the heat. To give you an overview of what actions should be taken, today we’ll be exploring some of the approaches taken to minimise the risk of heat stress and manage hydration during the blistering summer heat.

Types of heat stress disorders

The following summarises the types of heat stress disorders which can be experienced by workers in hot environments.

·         Heat Stroke - Develops when body temperatures rises to crucial levels and the body can no longer cool itself. Signs and symptoms include irrational behaviour, confusion, loss of consciousness, convulsions, unusually high body temperatures, and lack of sweating.

·         Heat Exhaustion - When the body can't keep blood circulating to critical organs and relays blood to the skin to lower body temperature, workers experience heat exhaustion. Signs include headaches, breathlessness, weakness, vomiting, fainting, and nausea.

·         Heat Cramps - In harsh conditions where the body loses too much salt through significant sweating, workers may suffer from heat cramps. Signs include muscle spasms and uncomfortable lumps within muscles.

·         Heat Rash - Also called 'prickly heat', heat rash is the most frequent problem witnessed by workers in hot working environments. Signs include itchiness, red blotches, and a prickling sensation on the skin when sweating.

Educating workers

To avoid these heat stress disorders and maintain dehydration, it's vital that workers are educated in the signs and symptoms as well as the methods used to manage hydration. For instance, thirst is a late warning sign of dehydration where the body has already reached 2% dehydration and workers may suffer from a reduction in concentration, reaction times, and alertness as well as an increased heart rate.

Dehydration at 3% is equal to blowing 0.08 on a breathalyser and has an extensive influence on cognitive abilities. Dehydration at 4% stunts co-ordination and reaction times, whilst dehydration at 15% causes death.

Work procedures

To lower the risks of working in hot environments, management should incorporate the following control measures:

·         Supply an abundance of cool (not cold) drinking water

·         Workers are given periodic breaks in a cool environment (roughly 25⁰C)

·         If possible, schedule work to be performed in the cooler parts of the day

·         Enhance air movement by providing fans where suitable

·         Make special allowances for workers wearing PPE or equipment that constricts the evaporation of sweat

As well as this, workers have an obligation to take measures to decrease the risks of heat stress disorders and maintain hydration. These measures include:

·         Start work sufficiently hydrated

·         Drink small amounts of water (250ml) every half an hour - don't wait until you're thirsty

·         Wear light clothing that assists in the evaporation of sweat

·         Maintain energy and replace electrolytes with regular meal breaks

·         Carry a drink bottle

·         Recognise the effects of pre-existing medical conditions (overweight, excessive alcohol consumption) on the vulnerability of heat stress

·         Keep away from beer, coffee, and tea which dehydrates the body and makes you pass urine more frequently

·         Keep away from eating hot, heavy meals which raises your internal body temperature and draws blood flow away from the skin

Always bear in mind that fatigue expedites heat stress disorders so plenty of sleep and rest is vital to sustain energy levels. A simple misstep caused by dehydration on ground level is relatively harmless, but it would have dangerous results on a scaffolding platform.

If you require any more information on workers dealing with the heat this summer, speak with the experts at Uni-Span by phoning their staff on 1300 882 825.