By Hans Stacey 05/05/2022
Under: Team WelfareKeeping Your Team Safe in the Sun
Relaxing on a sun drenched beach is the stuff of dreams but sweating it out on a construction site under a blazing sun can quickly become a health and safety nightmare.
Employers have a moral and legal duty to protect the health and safety of their workers, including when they are working at high temperatures. The 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act states that all employers have a duty to do whatever is 'reasonably practicable' to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of their employees. Also, in April 2022 the Personal Protection Equipment (Amendment) Regulations extended employers’ responsibilities and obligations to provide free PPE equipment beyond employees (Limb a workers) to include those with a more casual or contract employee relationship (Limb b workers).
Injuries to construction workers during the summer months can stem from impaired judgement due to feeling ‘hot and bothered’, dizziness, sweaty, slippery hands, sluggish response times; tiredness and muscle cramps. The incidence of heat related injuries is likely to increase with the growing impact of global warming and an aging construction workforce.
Create a Sun Protection Strategy
Creating a comprehensive sun protection strategy will help protect your team, and their productivity, during hot weather. When creating your strategy consider the following:
- Amend schedules to minimise work when the sun is at its strongest. In the UK, this is 11am-3pm from March to October.
- Ensure adequate break times in a shaded area where workers can cool down and hydrate.
- Provide shading over work areas wherever possible.
- Supply appropriate PPE including hats, UV blocking sunglasses and long-sleeved clothing.
- Ensure easy access to well stocked drinking water stations.
- Insect bites and stings are more common in summer so keep records of anyone who may need treatment with an epi-pen due to allergic reactions.
- Provide adequate, convenient toilet facilities so workers are not reluctant to drink to remain hydrated.
- Increase the size of the team to minimise heat exposure for each individual.
Your sun protection strategy will help minimise heat related health risks to your team. These risks include:
- Heat stroke –can be fatal or cause permanent disability. Indicators of heatstroke include high body temperature, hot, dry skin or excessive sweating, headache, confusion, poor coordination, seizures or coma. To assist call an ambulance, move the person to a shaded area and use cold water to cool them down quickly, focussing on the chest, underarms and groin areas.
- Heat exhaustion - is caused by extreme dehydration and loss of electrolytes and can quickly develop into heat stroke. Indicators include a racing heart, nausea, weakness, fatigue, vomiting, irritability, shallow breathing and raised body temperature. Move the worker to the shade, supply cold drinks and loosen clothing. If there is no improvement in their condition within 15 minutes call an ambulance.
- Heat cramps - muscle cramps, spasms or pain in the legs, arms or abdomen can occur in workers who sweat profusely. Cool them down by moving them out of the sun and encouraging them to drink clear juice, a sports drink or water with food. Seek medical attention if the worker has a history of heart problems, is on a low-sodium diet, or if the cramps persist for more than one hour.
- Melanoma - the fifth most common form of cancer in the UK, killing over 2,500 people each year, and rates continue to rise. The good news is that Cancer Research UK reports that 86% of cases are preventable. To help protect against skin cancer employers must not only provide protective clothing and sunscreen but ensure that their people are aware that sun cream should be applied 30 minutes before exposure and reapplied every two hours.