Employee Safety Tips

 

Be Sure Your Employees Working Outdoors Are Safe in the Hot Summer!

This summer has been a record-setter.  You have team members who are regularly exposed to the sun’s harsh rays and the oppressive heat.  It can present some unique health hazards, and if your people are not careful, they may hurt themselves—something you obviously don’t want to happen.

Here are some tips that you’re encouraged to pass along to your team for when they’re working in the oppressive heat:

Clothing & Sunscreen
Employees who are working outside in the heat should wear light, loose-fitting clothing. To avoid harmful UV rays, stick to long pants (no shorts) and long-sleeved shirts, and apply plenty of sunscreen.

Breaks for Water & Shade
Provide your people with large supplies of water, and give them breaks to drink it and cool down using their service vehicles’ air conditioning.  Drink small amounts frequently, rather than a lot of water at once. If your work is particularly strenuous and takes place in direct sunlight, you should also be given regular work breaks in a “shade tent” or other rest area.

Heat Stroke & Heat Exhaustion: What to Watch Out For
The combination of high temperature, high humidity, and physical exertion that comes with some outdoor jobs raises the risk that workers will suffer heat stroke or heat exhaustion. Some warning signs are headaches, light-headed, confusion, irrational behavior, loss of consciousness, abnormally high body temperature, and hot, dry skin.  Tell your team these symptoms, and if they feel them coming on, they should immediately find a cool, shaded area and radio into the office to notify you that they may be in trouble.

Lyme Disease, Poison Ivy, and West Nile Virus.
Working in the great outdoors—especially in the summer–can mean exposure to some of Mother Nature’s less-pleasurable offerings, including ticks that can carry Lyme Disease and other bacteria, mosquitoes that can transmit West Nile Virus, and poisonous plants that can cause skin problems.  If your employees are working outside the home in heavily wooded areas, consider providing them with bug repellent to keep them safe.