Our post in this blog, dated Friday, June 18, 2010, titled "PPE FOR PROTECTION FROM HEAT AND HAZARDS OF WORKING OUTDOORS" details the hazards of sun and heat and how to protect from them. Please take a few minutes to review that information. But in this post, we will address the issue of worker comfort while working outdoors in high heat. The subject of "Quality of Work Life" has been mentioned in several prior posts and is a growing concern as safety officials and others realize its impact on all areas of a company.
In high heat environments, trying to keep cool is the primary comfort goal but there are other things resulting from the elevated temperatures that, when addressed, can contribute. A simple, but often overlooked thing is color. White reflects heat, other colors absorb it. Using white head protection and white protective clothing will be more comfortable than using darker colors. And the difference can be substantial.
Many employers, especially in construction, like to use hard hats in their company colors and some still use the OSHA trade colors to identify workers on the job. But if those colors are dark, they will add to the discomfort of their workers who have to work in high heat. Today most quality head protection manufacturers can imprint company logo's on hard hats for corporate identity and can add colored or reflective tape to a cap for trade identification or high visibility. Decorating a white cap with an imprint and/or tape is a better way to go in high heat.
In addition to deflecting heat, a full brim protective hat, instead of a peak style cap, can provide cooling shade when there is none. Additional shade for the head, face and neck can be added with a brim extender like the SUNBRERO from Fibre-Metal by Honeywell shown below.
Deflecting heat and providing shade are important, but nothing makes a worker in a high heat environment more comfortable than something that provides cooling relief from the oppressive heat. Often over looked but an important part of the cooling process in head protection is the sweatband. Next is the design of the hard hat. Most economy grade head protection has narrow, thin, non-absorbent sweatbands in small, tight fitting shells. The small shells trap the heat and do not allow air to circulate within them. So little or no cooling can take place.
But top quality head protection, like the Fibre-Metal by Honeywell SUPEREIGHT protective hats, are full sized and ergonomically designed for maximum airflow within the shell. That allows air to circulate over their wider, thicker more absorbent sweatbands to provide a cooling effect much like how an air conditioner works. The Fibre-Metal brand provides the industries only full, 360 degree sweatband so cooling takes place all around the wearers head. Actual tests have shown that the temperature within the Fibre-Metal brand protective hats is at least 15 degrees cooler than the ambient air in the workplace.
The Fibre-Metal brand head protection comes with the 360 degree sweatband, a ratchet headband, and a unique combination full sweatband/ratchet headband combination (pictured above). Most outdoors jobs are high activity jobs that need a ratchet headband to keep a hard hat securely in place. All ratchet headbands only have partial sweatbands. But by combining a ratchet headband with a full sweatband, the wearer can also enjoy the maximum cooling effect along with a ratchet headband.
Make sure any head protection you use or issue has a removable sweatband that can be laundered or replaced. Safety officials should make fresh sweatbands readily available. Nothing kills morale faster or says the company doesn't care more than having to come to work and put on PPE with a dirty, smelly, wet sweatband. In addition to the adverse affect on quality of work life, a dirty, wet sweatband can cause contact dermatitis which is an inflammation of the skin caused by direct contact with an irritating substance. Dermatitis is an OSHA recordable illness.
If cooling is needed beyond the capability of quality head protection, special cooling PPE devices can be added to the mix. Again, the Fibre-Metal by Honeywell SUPERCOOL products provide a technically advanced, highly efficient way to provide personal cooling.
There are a lot of supposed "cooling" wear on the market. All of it, except SUPERCOOL, uses gels, beads or crystals, are slow working, and becomes very bulky and heavy when hydrated. SUPERCOOL products from Fibre-Metal are produced from a unique, patented composite material designed to absorb and trap water and use advanced evaporative cooling technology to provide hours of cooling comfort. They hydrate in just 3 to 5 minutes and lay smooth and flat when fully hydrated. Products can be easily rehydrated in just a few minutes as often as desired.
The unique SUPERCOOL headband pprovides relief from the heat at three levels. Use as a regular sweatband to absorb perspiration, soak in water for a few minutes for a cooling headband, or add water and refrigerate for extra cooling. The adjustable neckwrap wraps around the neck to provide cooling at the pulse points. A lot of high heat jobs, especially outdoor construction sites, fill an Igloo cooler or two with ice and water and use them to hydrate and rehydrate the cooling products so they are always fresh and readily available. SUPERCOOL products can be washed and reused.
Finally, to add to the comfort level in a high heat environment, keep PPE clean and dry. Use cleansing, sanitizing wipes or towelettes to clean, deodorize, and disinfect your equipment everyday. If possible, store it so it can air out and dry out overnight.
The health hazards of high heat and extended exposure to the sun are well documented and protection from them should be taken seriously. But comfort and quality of work life in a high heat environment should not be ignored either. A comfortable, well protected worker will stay on the job longer and produce more with fewer injuries. Isn't that what it is all about?
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