Summer Safety and Light Industrial Facilities
Summertime – that season of fun when words like baseball, hotdogs, and lemonade sprinkle our conversation. With the fun, comes the heat. Taking steps to keep your workers safe on the job is a business essential – especially in light industrial industries.
Tips for a safe and healthy summer in your workplace
Temperature Control: Keep those AC units in top form and set them at comfortable levels. That means not too hot and not too cold. Your employees will be more productive. Conducting regular maintenance checks can prevent a major breakdown. Boost the airflow with commercial-grade high volume, low-speed ceiling fans.
Let the Light In, but not the Sun: Planting trees in strategic locations, and installing outdoor awnings, or window film can provide shade from the heat w/o losing the advantage of natural light.
Educate your employees: From sharing tips like wearing lightweight cotton and linen, which help keep your body cool, to encouraging them to stay hydrated and wear sunscreen when outdoors, you can decrease the number of incidents. Train your employees on the signs of heat-related illness and remind employees to look-out for each other. Ensure they know how to respond should a coworker become overheated. Of course, using PPE when appropriate for the job or location should be a requirement.
Change Break Time: If your employees are working in the outdoors, or areas of a building where the temperature is warmer, they will wear down quicker. Taking shorter breaks more often can prevent overheating w/o losing time on the job.
Being proactive concerning a safe and comfortable work environment in the summer heat is vital. An active workplace safety program decreases incidences and keeps you legally compliant – a win/win for all. Furthermore, when employees know you have their back, their motivation and productivity increase.
Hiring temporary support staff can help prevent long-term employees from overdoing. Consider connecting with ERG Staffing. We offer temporary assignments, temp-to-perm, on-site services, payrolling employees, or direct hire. No matter what workforce challenge you meet, ERG Staffing provides a range of flexible staffing solutions to help your business remain productive, despite the heat. Contact us today.