Hot Weather Safety Procedures

At The Conco Companies, we take the responsibility of ensuring our employees, customers, and the general public’s safety very seriously, and as such, employ a team of safety and risk management professionals.  Their job is to work with company managers as well as our entire workforce, to eliminate and mitigate risks with a focus on employee safety, claims management and regulatory compliance.

An example of where we really utilize the expertise of our risk managers is on projects such as the East County Detention Center (ECDC) in Indio, California.  Our scope of work for the 516,000 sq. ft. replacement and expansion of the existing Indio Jail Facility includes performing 55,000 cubic yards of concrete services. 

For Conco and our other trade partners, one of the challenging aspects of the ECDC project is to safely deal with desert temperatures.  Indio has an average temperature of 89°F, and in the summer, highs can reach 120°F.  This means we must take extra steps to protect the safety of our crews working in that kind of heat, which is why we have a full-time safety manager onsite. Furthermore, all employees are adhering to OSHA’s hot weather guidelines.

An article by Jim Rogers, director of the Western OSHA Education Center at the Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University, in Concrete Construction writes how safety precautions must be followed in hot and humid weather.  He warns that heat stroke is the most serious heat-related condition and may result in death if not treated quickly enough.   

As the article advises, Conco crews are provided with plenty of water, rest and shade.  In addition each worker is educated to understand and recognize the signs of heat-related illnesses in themselves or in a co-worker as one of the signs of heat stroke is confusion.  While heat exhaustion is a less serious condition than heat stroke, a person still needs water, rest and relief from the heat.  Symptoms can range anywhere from a headache to nausea, dizziness, weakness, thirst, and heavy sweating.     

The Conco Companies are one of the leading concrete contractors in the Western U.S. and offer a wide range of quality services and products.  We have built a reputation on superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.   We serve California, Washington State, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada.

Source:concreteconstruction.net/safety/managing-heat-related-illness-in-onstruction_o.aspx?dfpzone=general