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| A Service Center Metals assistant press operator works with aluminum that is 988 degrees — about 10 times the temperature outside Tuesday (Times Dispatch). |
The weather outside our
plants may change with the seasons, but the temperatures in our plants remains
constant, hot. In some cases very hot. Our industry has been proactive in
preventing and identifying heat related stresses among our workers. The
Aluminium Plant Safety Blog found the following article on how one aluminium extruder
deals with preventing heat stress among their workers. Here's the story:
Jon Hackley is surrounded
by heat in an aluminum extrusion plant in Prince George County. He is stationed
in front of a furnace that heats aluminum logs up to 1,000 degrees, which then
go through a die press located to his right. To his left, the ovens “bake” the
dies to more than 750 degrees. Like Hackley, some workers in such places as
production plants, kitchens, bakeries and dry cleaners suffer from the heat
just like outdoor workers when the temperature reaches 100 degrees — as it did
on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. While it was hot inside
the extrusion plant, workers feel even hotter, plant manager Howard Somer said.
Service Center Metals “They
are doing a lot of hard physical work, on top of it being 100 to 125 degrees
(in the plant),” Somer said of the hottest days. The temperature approached 100
degrees in the plant Tuesday. But Hackley said it was worse a few years ago
when some of the window fans weren’t working. “It was almost unbearable in
here,” Hackley said. “I went through two to three shirts a day because they
were so soaked and wet.”
Hackley survives summers by
being surrounded by three fans for part of his shift. His 10-square-foot “cool”
zone is where he monitors the surrounding equipment on computer screens and has
lunch.
He said he drinks more than
eight bottles of water a day to stay hydrated. Hundreds of bottles of water and
Gatorade are piled up on the floor of the 156,000-square-foot plant
for employees.
Chip Dollins, the company’s
vice president of operations, said drinks and popsicles are offered free from
June to Labor Day. Besides providing drinks and having fans throughout the
plant, Service Center Metals trains workers in
April about symptoms of
heat exhaustion, preparing them for the summer. About 35 workers stay in the
plant per 12-hour shift, and their average age is below 30, Dollins said. “With
a young workforce who thinks they are invincible, you have to convince them
that ‘you are human, so hot weather can affect you,’ ” Dollins said.
Emergency Dr. Veronica
Sikka said when a person starts to behave confused, feel dizzy or have
headaches, muscle cramps or fast heart rate, he or she might have heat
exhaustion, which could lead to death. Virginia Commonwealth University Medical
Center
To prevent heat exhaustion,
Sikka recommends people drink water, wear light-colored clothing and be mindful
of the heat index, which shows how hot people feel, in addition to the absolute
temperature.
Service Center Metals also
has a safety observation system that allows every worker to broadcast via
emails about what their colleagues are doing. This could include a warning
about a bad habit or a shout-out to someone working to prevent heat exhaustion.
Somers said workers post
about 10 times a day. “The observation system — it’s about an ‘I’ve got your
back’ kind of attitude so people watch out for each other really closely,”
Somers said.
To avoid the hottest hours
of a day, some businesses try to get the “hot” work done early. For example,
Sally Bell’s Kitchen on West Grace Street starts baking at 2 a.m. But
sometimes, there is no easy way around it. Grant Kim, owner of on Jefferson
Davis Highway in Chesterfield County, said his shop begins to press clothes
with steam up to 180 degrees at 7:30 a.m. and usually finishes at 2 p.m.
Johnson Cleaners Some
people say they get used to the heat after years of working in a similar
environment — no matter if it’s a cleaner or an aluminum extrusion plant.
“You know how it feels
like, so it’s not a slap on the face,” Hackley said about getting used to the
heat. “You get adjusted to it.”
The Alumimium Plant Safety
Blog commends Service Center Metals for being proactive in addressing heat
related stress among its employees.
The APSB feels that the news
media coverage of the aluminium industry falls into two categories;
financial, and safety related incidents. The APSB firmly believes that has to
be changed because the positive stories are not being told. There are other
stories out in our industry which need to be retold. If you know of any
positive stories pertaining toward safety in the aluminium industry, please
alert the APSB.
The Occupational Safety &
Health Administration (OSHA) has some useful information regarding heated
related stress which can be found here.
EHS Today magazine is a great resource for
all safety related topics. Which has an article titled “Resources for Heat
Stress Solutions”. Which can be viewed here.
How does your plant deal with
preventing heat related stress among its workers?
Please comment.
P.S. Here is the link to the orignal
news article.
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