As a factory manger you are responsible for the health and wellbeing of your employees while they are at work. One of the things you have been battling in recent years is problems related to heat stress. You have tried as much as possible to make sure that the factory floor is cool – you have installed coolers, you allow your employees breaks but still they continue to suffer from heat stress related conditions. What can you do? Heat stress is a real problem in many manufacturing plants and in many cases changing conditions within the factory itself may provide some relief but not. If you have complied with regulations as regards to heat stress and are still having problems it may be time for a different approach.
You should educate your employees about heat stress – no one is in a better position than they to monitor themselves so that they can take steps before problems set in. They should ensure that they wear proper clothing – they may be wearing properly work gear but if beneath that they wear clothing made of heavy fabric they will get overheated. You should discuss the kind of clothing that is best suited for the workplace. You should also talk about hydration – many problems associated with heat stress can be alleviated by drinking enough water. Provide water at the workplace and let employees know that they should drink during every break.
It may be worthwhile to have a health worker present at the factory floor at all times so that if someone comes down with symptoms they can get treated right away.
Lastly, make sure that you invest in core body temperature monitoring equipment. You will be able to see at a glance any employee who is in trouble and take measures immediately. Talk to Equivital – they have some of the best body temperature monitoring equipment. You can see some of it on http://www.equivital.com/.