How construction firms can manage heat stress on site

By Lee Mills (pictured above), Service Director, Citation

With the UK having experienced one of the hottest summers on record, and temperatures rising year-on-year, it’s vital that construction firms build this into their long-term plans and proactively manage heat-related risks to protect their workforce. This isn’t just about wellbeing and productivity – employers have a legal duty to manage foreseeable risks to the health, safety and welfare of employees, including extreme heat.

Risk assessments are a crucial part of preventative health and safety measures, and as summers continue to get hotter, factoring in heat stress management is central to keeping construction workers safe.

What is heat stress?

Sunburn and dehydration are common symptoms of over exposure to heat, and probably something a lot of people are familiar with. However, more serious heat stress occurs when the body can no longer regulate its internal temperature – this can be caused by high air temperatures, humidity, physical exertion, or wearing restrictive PPE. The symptoms of heat stress are serious, and it’s important that those responsible for site safety know what to look out for:

• Loss of concentration
• Muscle cramps
• Heat rash
• Severe dehydration
• Heat exhaustion manifesting through headaches, nausea and fatigue
• Heat stroke, which can cause confusion and even seizures

If any workers start showing signs of any of these symptoms, it’s important to act quickly to avoid risk of serious injury.
 
Identifying and addressing risk factors

Putting in place robust risk assessments is essential to ensure the welfare of those on site and this should be established well ahead of any periods of warmer weather. Following these five stages will help you build an effective plan for the year ahead:

1. Spotting the risks

The first stage should be identifying the factors that may cause heat stress. Things like working outside for prolonged periods of time during a heatwave with limited access to shaded areas, or working inside with limited air flow, like in boiler rooms or compressed air tunnels. Labour-intensive activities are also important risk factors, so you could try and re-work schedules so that more strenuous tasks are done during cooler hours of the day.

Think about how clothing and equipment may impact workers – added weight and layers from necessary health and safety gear can compound the effects of hot working environments. To mitigate this, lighter layers that still protect workers without them overheating may be helpful, as well as encouraging workers to remove PPE during breaks to cool down (where it’s safe to do so).

2. Recognise who could be affected

Employees with pre-existing health issues, such as heart conditions or diabetes, are at higher risk of suffering severe effects from heat stress, so they need extra care. Excessive heat can add strain to vital organs and in extreme cases can cause heart attacks, strokes, or severe dehydration that requires medical attention. In these circumstances, be extra vigilant to monitor people’s conditions and ensure that they are provided with plenty of water and the option for additional breaks. Workers who aren’t yet acclimatised to hot environments are also at greater risk. For new workers, you should work into your plans and assessments that they’ll need gradual exposure to hot conditions to allow them to acclimatise slowly.

3. Building awareness through training

This may include implementing more regular breaks, providing water and sunscreen, as well as setting up tents or sunshades to ensure there are areas on site for workers to shelter from the sun.

The right training for workers and their supervisors is also crucial – they should deliver regular toolbox tools and pre-shift briefings to help teams recognise the symptoms of heat stress, understand best practice when working in heat, and look after one another and themselves. As a rule of thumb, heat stress is best managed as a team.

While encouraging workers to take sun-safety precautions, such as regularly applying sunscreen, may feel patronising, it’s vital to set a good example to encourage workers to stay safe – there’s no such thing as being too careful here. Framing these precautions as necessary health and safety measures may help alleviate any awkwardness workers may feel and encourage them to take it seriously.

4. Document any significant findings

The number one way to improve your heat stress management policy is to keep a record of what does and doesn’t work. Site conditions change daily, so heat stress management needs to be flexible – how you manage heat directly from the sun may be different to how you handle heat in humid environments, for example.

Keep track of practical measures, such as break timing, PPE adaptations, or hydration strategies. If buying a round of cold drinks boosts morale and productivity, make a note of it. If short breaks don’t seem long enough for workers to hydrate and cool-off, ensure a record is kept to justify trialing longer breaks. Adapting policies can be a learning curve and so it’s important to document key findings and use them as evidence to make improvement.

5. Keep evolving

One of the reasons why it’s crucial to document significant learnings is so that your heat stress management policy can be assessed and tweaked in future. Policies need to be flexible to suit the needs of employees, rather than the other way around, so revisiting health and safety documents like these is key to ensuring your firm runs as smoothly as possible.

This also includes sharing learnings and best practice across different projects, as well as embedding lessons learned on-site into future training and risk assessment processes. It helps turn best practice into business as usual and strengthen your long-term safety culture.

Why should firms care?

Businesses have a duty to protect their employees at work and ensure that they can complete their jobs safely. Proactively managing heat stress protects workers, improves morale, and supports productivity.

Firms that fail to take the necessary steps to protect their employees open themselves up to a range of risks, including higher fatigue and accident risk, but also increased sickness absence and project delays. In the worst-case scenario, they could be liable if an employee suffers preventable harm.

To protect your people and your firm’s reputation, a robust heat stress management policy is essential to demonstrate due diligence and safeguard both people and projects.

For more information and guidance on how to get started, visit: https://www.citation.co.uk/resources/health-and-safety/guide-heat-stress-work/