Safety Products to Prevent Injuries from Icy Conditions or Dangerous Workplace Heat

Summer Is Here. Which Means Winter Is Coming. Is Your Facility Ready?

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:41:55 GMT

Summer is the best time to prepare your facility for winter ice hazards. Learn the 5 steps EHS and facilities managers should take before the season starts.

It's easy to forget about ice when the sun is out and temperatures are climbing. But for facilities managers and EHS professionals, summer isn't a break from winter safety planning. It's the best time to do it.

By the time October arrives, your budget is locked, your vendors are chosen, and your maintenance team is already stretched thin. The facilities that handle winter best aren't the ones scrambling in November. They're the ones who spent twenty minutes in July making sure everything was in place.

So while the weather is on your side, here's what to think through now.

1. Walk Your Property Like It's January

This sounds simple, but most facilities teams never do it. On a clear summer day, walk every entrance, exit, stairwell, loading dock, parking area, and outdoor walkway on your property and ask yourself: what happens here when it's 28 degrees and there's been overnight freezing?

Look for north-facing surfaces that stay shaded and freeze first, metal grate stairs or bridges that ice faster than surrounding areas, low-lying areas where water pools and refreezes, and high-traffic exterior exits where employees move quickly and aren't thinking about ice.

Document what you find. Take photos. Mark it on a site map. This becomes your winter hazard inventory, and it's the foundation of any serious slip and fall prevention program.

2. Audit Your Warning System Honestly

Most facilities rely on one of two approaches for ice warnings: posted static signs, or nothing at all.

Static signs have a fundamental problem. They warn about ice whether it's freezing or not. When employees see the same "Caution: Icy Conditions" sign every day regardless of temperature, they stop reading it. It becomes wallpaper. And on the one morning it actually matters, when overnight temperatures dipped to 29°F and the parking lot entrance is a sheet of black ice, nobody notices.

A warning that's always on is effectively no warning at all.

The most effective ice warning systems respond to actual conditions. Temperature-sensitive indicators like IceAlert® change color automatically when temperatures approach freezing, giving employees a real, visible signal only when conditions are genuinely dangerous. No power, no batteries, no maintenance. Just an honest, automatic alert exactly when it's needed.

Summer is the right time to evaluate what you currently have, identify the gaps, and install anything new before the season starts. Installation takes minutes. Waiting until November means rushing, or missing it entirely.

3. Review Last Winter's Incidents

Pull your incident reports, near-miss logs, and workers' compensation claims from last winter. Look specifically for any slip, trip, or fall involving ice or cold surfaces, near-misses that were reported but didn't result in injury, and locations where multiple incidents clustered.

The locations that show up repeatedly are your highest-priority areas for intervention. A single unaddressed ice hazard that causes one workers' comp claim costs an average of $64,000 in direct and indirect costs according to OSHA. Fixing it proactively costs a fraction of that.

If you had a clean winter, that's great. But don't assume it was your systems working. Ask whether it was luck, mild weather, or genuine preparation. The answer matters for what you do next.

4. Confirm Your Maintenance and Response Protocols

A great warning system only works if your team knows what to do when the warning activates. Summer is the time to confirm who is responsible for monitoring conditions and deploying salt or sand, what the response protocol is when freezing is forecast overnight, whether your maintenance staff are trained on the highest-risk areas identified in your walkthrough, and whether you have adequate supply of ice melt, sand, and traction aids on hand before the season starts.

Vendors run low on ice melt products in January. Ordering in September means you're covered regardless of how severe the winter turns out to be.

5. Lock In Your Budget Now

Winter safety improvements are almost always easier to fund in the summer budget cycle than mid-season. If you need to add temperature warning indicators, update your ice melt supply contract, or invest in better lighting at exterior exits, the time to make that case to leadership is now. Not in October when the first frost hits and everyone is suddenly paying attention.

Build a simple one-page winter safety audit summarizing your hazard inventory, last year's incident history, and your recommended interventions. Attach a cost estimate. Present it in your next budget meeting. This is exactly the kind of proactive safety management that distinguishes high-performing EHS programs from reactive ones.

The Bottom Line

Winter slip and fall accidents are among the most preventable workplace injuries and among the most expensive when they happen. The facilities that consistently avoid them aren't doing anything complicated. They're simply preparing in the off-season, when there's time to think clearly and act deliberately.

Take an hour this month to walk your property, review last winter's data, and make sure your warning systems are honest, visible, and automatic. Your employees and your insurance carrier will thank you.

IceAlert® temperature-sensitive indicators have been protecting employees and visitors at facilities across North America since 1998. Trusted by Amazon, Ford, 3M, Intel, and hundreds of safety-focused organizations, IceAlert turns blue automatically as temperatures approach freezing. No power, no batteries, no maintenance required. Learn more or request a free site assessment at icealert.com.

How to Introduce IceAlert® to Your Employees (Free Downloads)

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:49:45 GMT

Implementing a new safety system is one thing. Making sure employees understand it is another.

The good news is that introducing IceAlert® to your team does not require formal training sessions or complicated rollout plans. Because IceAlert is a simple, visual indicator of freezing conditions, the introduction process can be clear, fast, and consistent across locations.

Here’s how to do it effectively.

Step 1: Send a Clear, Consistent Introduction

Before winter conditions arrive, employees should understand three basic points:

IceAlert changes color when freezing conditions are present.
When IceAlert indicates freezing risk, cold-weather safety procedures should begin.
IceAlert is a trigger for action, not a replacement for existing protocols.

To make this easy, IceAlert provides a pre-written employee email that safety managers can send internally. The message explains what IceAlert is, how it works, and what employees should do when conditions change. This ensures consistent communication across departments and shifts.

Step 2: Reinforce Awareness in Breakrooms and Bulletin Boards

Employees retain information better when they see it more than once.

Posting the IceAlert employee poster in breakrooms or on safety bulletin boards reinforces:

What the color change means
Why freeze–thaw conditions can create unexpected hazards
The importance of staying aware during winter months

Because breakrooms and bulletin boards are common gathering areas, this placement helps keep IceAlert top-of-mind throughout the season without interrupting operations.

Step 3: Provide a Simple Reference Guide

For organizations with multiple shifts or locations, having a short written reference is helpful.

IceAlert provides a downloadable “What You Need to Know” PDF that safety managers can:

Attach to the introductory email
Post on internal safety portals
Include in seasonal safety refresh materials

This one-page guide summarizes how IceAlert works and how it fits into your winter safety signage and cold-weather response procedures.

Step 4: Align With Your Winter Safety Procedures

The final step is ensuring IceAlert is clearly referenced in your cold-weather safety plan.

When employees understand that:

IceAlert signals freezing risk
IceAlert triggers predefined response actions
IceAlert supports your existing winter safety signage

It becomes part of the routine rather than an extra task. Consistency across locations reduces confusion and strengthens liability protection if an incident occurs.

Make Implementation Simple

Introducing IceAlert does not need to be complicated.

Downloads below:

A pre-written employee email
A breakroom or bulletin board poster
A short “What You Need to Know” PDF

Safety managers can introduce IceAlert quickly and confidently across their organization.

Clear communication at the start of the season ensures that when freezing conditions appear, employees already know what to look for — and what to do.

Why Late Winter Is When Ice Risk Gets Missed and Liability Increases

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:38:26 GMT

As winter approaches its end, attention shifts. Snow events slow down, crews begin transitioning to spring operations, and freezing conditions feel less urgent.

But late winter is often when ice-related injuries and slip-and-fall claims increase , not because conditions are worse, but because awareness drops while freeze–thaw cycles accelerate .

For organizations responsible for outdoor walkways, parking lots, and pedestrian areas, late-season ice presents a unique safety and liability challenge.

Late-Season Ice Creates Hidden Hazards

Unlike peak winter, late-season conditions are inconsistent and harder to predict:

Daytime temperatures rise above freezing
Overnight temperatures drop just enough to refreeze moisture
Meltwater accumulates near entrances, curbs, and low points
Snow removal and de-icing efforts are reduced as winter winds down

The result is thin, transparent ice that’s difficult to detect and easy to underestimate. This is when winter safety signage and visual warnings become especially important.

Why Winter Safety Programs Break Down Late in the Season

Many winter safety programs rely on seasonal cues rather than real-time conditions:

Weather forecasts
Calendar-based response plans
Staff judgment and visual inspections

Late winter undermines all three.

Forecasts may not trigger urgency. Calendars suggest risk is declining. Ice may not be visible until someone slips. From a liability standpoint, this creates gaps in documentation and consistency, two things that matter greatly when incidents occur.

The Role of Winter Safety Signage in Liability Protection

Clear winter safety signage does more than warn pedestrians. It helps demonstrate:

Ongoing hazard awareness
Consistent monitoring of conditions
Proactive risk communication
Reasonable steps taken to prevent injury

In late winter, signage that responds to actual conditions is more effective than static warnings that fade into the background.

Visibility at the point of risk matters, especially when conditions change quietly.

Freeze–Thaw Cycles and Slip-and-Fall Liability

Slip-and-fall incidents during freeze–thaw conditions raise common questions:

Were changing conditions being monitored?
Was there a clear trigger for response?
Were warnings visible to employees and visitors?
Was action taken consistently across sites?

Late-season incidents are often harder to defend because ice forms during periods that don’t feel like “winter weather,” making proactive signaling even more important.

Why Late Winter Is the Right Time to Reevaluate Signage

Late winter isn’t the end of ice risk, it’s the phase where risk is easiest to overlook .

Organizations that maintain visible winter safety indicators through the end of the season tend to:

Reduce surprise slip-and-fall incidents
Maintain consistency as staffing and focus shift
Strengthen liability defensibility
Avoid relying solely on forecasts or seasonal assumptions

Cold-weather safety doesn’t end when snowstorms do.

Final Thought

The most dangerous ice is often the ice no one expects.

As winter winds down, now is the right time to evaluate whether your winter safety signage clearly communicates freezing risk when it matters most. Because when incidents happen late in the season, the question isn’t whether winter was over. It’s whether the risk was visible.

Safer Business Parks Start with IceAlert®

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:45:32 GMT

When winter hits, business parks face a unique challenge: keeping employees, tenants, and visitors safe on icy sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots. A single slip-and-fall accident can lead to costly claims, downtime, and damaged reputations. That’s why proactive safety measures are essential—and why more property managers are turning to IceAlert® .

Instant Awareness, Zero Maintenance

IceAlert® signs provide a simple visual warning the moment temperatures near freezing. When conditions turn icy, the indicator changes color to bright blue, instantly alerting people to proceed with caution.
There are no wires, batteries, or electronics—just reliable, automatic operation. Mount them once and they work season after season without maintenance.

Reduce Liability and Insurance Risk

Property managers know the cost of an injury can far exceed prevention. By installing IceAlert® throughout your business park, you create visible proof of your commitment to safety. That not only helps prevent accidents but also demonstrates due diligence to insurers and compliance officers.

Protect Tenants, Employees, and Visitors

From delivery drivers and maintenance crews to office staff and clients, everyone benefits from early visual warnings. Common installation points include:

Building entrances and exits
Sidewalks, ramps, and stairways
Parking lots and loading zones
Walkways connecting multiple buildings

Simple, Smart Safety for Modern Facilities

Business parks are designed for productivity, not constant upkeep. IceAlert® aligns with that mindset—no ongoing service, no complicated technology. Just reliable, weather-responsive signage that works when you need it most.

Prepare Before the Next Freeze

Don’t wait for the first slip to happen. Installing IceAlert® is a small step that makes a big impact in protecting people and property.

�� Learn more about IceAlert® systems and how they can protect your business park this winter: Explore Extreme Weather Safety Products

Free Winter Workplace Safety Checklist Download (2025)

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 18:15:25 GMT

Winter weather brings more than cold temperatures—it creates real safety risks that can impact your employees, visitors, and bottom line. Slips, trips, and falls are among the most common workplace accidents, and icy conditions only increase the likelihood of injuries. That’s why having a proactive plan is essential.

To help businesses prepare, IceAlert® has created a Free Winter Workplace Safety Checklist you can download today. This practical resource is designed for safety coordinators, facility managers, and business owners who want to stay ahead of hazards this season.

What’s Inside the Checklist?

Our free download covers the essentials:

High-Risk Areas: Identify parking lots, walkways, and entryways most prone to ice.
Proactive Measures: Tips for snow removal, de-icing, and floor safety indoors.
Visual Warnings: How IceAlert® signs provide clear, instant alerts as temperatures drop.
Employee Training: Key reminders for footwear, reporting hazards, and winter protocols.
Routine Inspections: A simple schedule to keep safety consistent all season long.

Why It Matters

One slip-and-fall accident can cost over $60,000 in direct and indirect expenses (OSHA). By preparing now, you can reduce liability, avoid costly downtime, and most importantly—keep your people safe.

Get Your Free Download

Don’t wait until the first storm. Equip your team with the tools they need to stay safe this winter. Download your free checklist and take the first step toward a safer, more prepared workplace.

�� Download the Free Winter Workplace Safety Checklist

How to Implement IceAlert® for Maximum Safety

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 17:45:00 GMT

Knowing that icy conditions are dangerous is only half the battle—implementing the right tools in the right places ensures you get the most out of your safety program. IceAlert® systems are designed to work seamlessly with existing winter procedures, providing reliable alerts where you need them most.

Step 1: Identify High-Risk Areas

Walk your property and note locations prone to ice buildup:

Building entrances and exits
Outdoor stairways, ramps, and pathways
Parking lot walkways and pedestrian crossings
Loading docks and delivery zones
Common areas that are shaded most of the day

Step 2: Install IceAlert® Signs Strategically

Mount signs at eye level where they’re easy to spot. Because they require no electricity or batteries, IceAlert® devices can be placed almost anywhere with minimal effort.

Step 3: Pair with Preventive Measures

Use IceAlert® alongside standard winter practices:

Apply ice melt or sand promptly when signs turn blue
Increase inspections of high-traffic areas
Train employees to report hazards as soon as they see them

Step 4: Monitor and Maintain

Regularly check that signs remain visible and free of obstructions like snowbanks or debris. With durable construction and low maintenance needs, IceAlert® devices are a long-term solution you can count on season after season.

Industries from healthcare and education to retail and municipal facilities rely on IceAlert® to protect employees, customers, and visitors. By combining visual alerts with proactive safety measures, you create a safer environment and reduce the risk of costly accidents.

Don’t wait for the first storm— Request a Quote and prepare your facility with IceAlert® today.

Why Visual Alerts Matter for Winter Safety

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:45:12 GMT

Every winter, slips, trips, and falls cost businesses time, money, and employee well-being. Icy sidewalks, parking lots, and entryways are among the most common hazards, yet many incidents happen simply because people don’t realize the danger until it’s too late.

That’s where visual alerts make a difference. IceAlert® signs change color automatically as temperatures approach freezing, shifting from white to bright blue. This immediate, highly visible signal helps employees, visitors, and customers recognize when conditions are dangerous—before an accident occurs.

Visual warnings improve awareness across all environments:

Parking lots and sidewalks: Visitors know to walk carefully or take alternate routes.

Stairways and ramps: Employees are reminded to use extra caution.
Loading docks and warehouses: Safety teams can act quickly to apply ice melt or sand.

Beyond reducing accidents, IceAlert® supports OSHA’s emphasis on effective hazard communication. Clear signage ensures compliance while showing employees that safety is a top priority. By adding this simple layer of protection, organizations reduce liability and create safer spaces for everyone.

Ready to add IceAlert® to your winter safety plan?

Winter 2025 Workplace Safety Checklist: Prevent Slips, Trips, and Falls

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:03:01 GMT

Winter 2025 Safety Checklist | IceAlert®

Winter weather creates unique safety challenges for businesses, employees, and customers alike. Snow, ice, freezing rain, and reduced daylight increase the risk of slips, trips, and falls — one of the leading causes of workplace injuries during cold weather months. With a proactive safety plan, you can minimize hazards and keep your team safe this season.

Here’s a workplace safety checklist to help you prepare for winter 2025:

1. Identify High-Risk Areas

Start by walking your property to note areas most affected by winter conditions:

Parking lots and loading docks
Walkways, sidewalks, and building entrances
Outdoor stairways and ramps
Warehouse and facility entry and exit points where snow and ice are directly outside

Mark these areas for increased monitoring throughout the season.

2. Install IceAlert® Safety and Explanatory Signs

Visual communication is critical in preventing slip and fall accidents. IceAlert® signs change color as temperatures drop near freezing, alerting employees and visitors to potential ice hazards. Place them:

At parking lot entrances
Near sidewalks and outdoor stairways
Around loading dock areas
Along pathways with heavy foot traffic

This proactive warning system helps reduce liability and improves employee awareness.

3. Implement a Snow and Ice Removal Plan

Assign responsibility for snow and ice management before storms arrive. Your plan should include:

Pre-treating surfaces before freezing rain or snow
Regular snow shoveling and plowing
Applying ice melt or sand on high-traffic areas
Monitoring conditions during shifts

Consistency is key: a clear plan ensures hazards are managed quickly and effectively.

4. Provide Employee Training

Ensure employees know how to:

Recognize winter hazards
Wear appropriate footwear with good traction
Walk safely on icy or wet surfaces (short steps, slower pace)
Report unsafe areas immediately

A quick seasonal refresher meeting can go a long way in preventing incidents.

5. Improve Indoor Safety

Winter hazards don’t stop at the door. Melting snow and ice tracked indoors create slippery surfaces. Address this by:

Installing floor mats at all entrances
Using wet floor signage during high traffic times
Increasing janitorial checks to mop up water quickly

6. Conduct Routine Inspections

Make safety inspections part of your routine:

Check that IceAlert® signs are visible and functional
Confirm that ice melt supplies are stocked
Walk high-traffic areas daily to monitor for new hazards

Documentation of these inspections also supports compliance and liability protection.

Preparing Now for a Safer Winter

Slips, trips, and falls can cost businesses time, money, and employee well-being. By planning ahead, installing safety signage, and reinforcing safe practices, you can keep your workplace safer this winter.

Explore IceAlert® products today to help protect your team and customers this season.

Shop IceAlert® Signs

March Still Poses a Slip and Fall Threat

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 18:45:24 GMT

Because we’re halfway through the month of March you might be thinking that we’re out of the woods in regard to slip and fall accidents, but the reality is, this is a very dangerous time of year.

People let their guard down and miss the subtle cues that icy conditions may still be present. There are still huge segments of the country that have nightly freeze warnings and some places are still getting massive snow.

The snow is a huge problem if it accumulates to many feet, and overwhelms the crews charged with clearing the roads, but the bigger threat for safety managers and business owners is the thin invisible coating of ice that may make stairwells, walkways and parking lots slippery.

The average slip and fall injury costs over $40,000 and it may result in the loss of a valuable employee or a permanent injury to a customer. If you are the safety manager or business owner, be sure your IceAlert® displays are easy to see and up to date. If they are over 5 years old they should be replaced to make sure they are recording and displaying accurate weather information.

Weather Hazards Mount Across US and Canada

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 18:20:12 GMT

You’ve Probably Seen Some of These Headlines

Six feet of snow in Buffalo, and still snowing
11 feet of Snow in the Sierras, Cascades, and Rockies
Another atmospheric river is headed for California
150 car pile-up on icy road with multiple fatalities
Freak ice storm across upper Texas and Midwest
Storms hit the Mississippi Delta
Freezing Rain around the Western Great Lakes

Hidden Dangers

Every day seems to bring new weather threats and challenges. But as difficult as some of these weather events may be, the biggest hazards are the dangerous conditions you can’t see. If a road is flooded, you know enough to avoid driving through high water and if there’s packed snow on the stairs, you’re probably smart enough to reach out and hang onto the handrail. But the biggest threat are slippery conditions, like a thin sheet of ice, that you can’t see and even though it’s already March, there are still many places around the country that are experiencing freezing temperatures, and this is the time of year when people start to let their guard down.

It's Important to Stay Vigilant to Protect Your Staff and Customers

A thin sheet of ice may be completely invisible, but it can turn a walkway, roadway, or set of stairs into a frightening scene of multiple slip-and-fall accidents. America’s Funniest Videos (AFV) has shown dozens and dozens of video clips, from doorbell cameras, of people innocently walking out their front door just to discover the porch and stairs are an unexpected slippery booby trap. It may be moderately funny on AFV, but the reality is not funny because every year thousands of people are seriously injured when they slip-and-fall, or in ice caused traffic accidents.

As a business owner or safety manager you can prevent these slip-and-fall accidents in and around every worksite by simply installing IceAlert® Monitoring Devices. These high-tech low cost tools make icy conditions visible. Whenever ice may be present IceAlert® displays turn Blue and a quick glance at an IceAlert® will immediately inform people if extra caution is needed.

Piles of snow are a nuisance, but a thin sheet of ice can be deadly. Don’t take chances with the safety of your workforce or your guests. Install IceAlert® near exit doors, along walkways, near outdoor stairwells, on internal roadways and bridges, and in all your parking lots.

If you already use IceAlert® but your displays are more than 5 years old, they should be replaced to make sure they continue to provide accurate information.

Get more information about IceAlert® products on our IceAlert® page .

May 21, 2022 Dangerous Heatwave Slams the Northeast

Sun, 22 May 2022 20:33:16 GMT

Half the population of the US is under a heat warning and it’s only May 2022, according to NOAA , The Guardian , CNN , and other outlets. These unseasonably hot temperatures threaten the health and well-being of over 120 million residents and workers, and the weather service estimates that as many as 130 temperature records could be broken in the next few days.

OSHA calls heat illness the silent killer because it is the #1 most deadly weather phenomena, exceeding floods, tornadoes, snowstorms, and hurricanes. Heat illness sneaks up on its victims, and early spring heatwaves are the most dangerous, because people have not had time to acclimate to the rising temperatures. People most vulnerable are the elderly, urban poor, outdoor laborers, employees working in environments that are already super-heated by equipment, machinery, or production processes, and warehouse workers.

What do you know about heat Illness?

Can you list five symptoms of heat illness?
Does your workforce know how to recognize the early warning signs of heat illness?
Do you know what OSHA defines as a dangerous heat index?
What can your workers do to lower their risk of heat illness?
Do you have an SOP that defines how your company manages extreme heat?

This May 2022 heatwave is a stark reminder that now is the time to train your staff to recognize the symptoms of heat illness and to review your Heat Illness Mitigation SOP. If your company doesn’t have an SOP to mitigate heat illness you can download our free guideline here .

This heatwave will be over in a few days, but the weather service is forecasting as many as 20 or 30 extreme heat events this year, up from the typical number of 5 or 6. The best protection you can give your workers is to install HeatAlert ™ Monitoring Devices in every indoor and outdoor work environment to alert them when the heat index reaches a dangerous level.

Learn more about OSHA’s Campaign to reduce heat Illness, but don’t wait. Extreme heatwaves are already threatening 120 million Americans right now with more extreme weather on the way.

Tools to Reduce Workplace Injuries

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 20:15:47 GMT

If you are like most employers, you’re willing to do everything necessary to protect your staff from workplace injuries, not because you’re worried about Workmen’s Comp claims but because you sincerely care about your workers. So, if I told you that you could install a few simple tools to help prevent injuries would you do it?

These tools are designed to alert your staff when dangerous weather conditions could threaten their safety. These tools work 24/7 wherever they are installed, in and around your work environments.

Icy Conditions

IceAlert® devices are designed to monitor freezing temperatures and icy conditions, which cause thousands of “slip and falls” injuries every year. These monitoring devices make freezing temperatures visible so your staff and customers know that walkways, stairwells, sidewalks, and roadways could be slippery. Knowing beforehand that slippery conditions exist will help them take the necessary precautions to walk or drive more carefully to prevent falls and accidents.

Heat Safety is a Growing Concern

A HeatAlert™ monitoring station is the other tool you can install in your indoor and outdoor work environments. These tools monitor and calculate the heat index and alert employees when the index exceeds OSHA’s safety standard. OSHA has called excessive heat the silent killer because heat stress (heat illness) kills more people every year than any other weather event. OSHA is now enforcing new heat illness alleviation policies to reduce on-the-job heat illness, injuries, and deaths. And OSHA recently lowered their threshold for the cautionary and dangerous workplace heat index to 80 degrees or above, because even at 80 degrees heat stress can be deadly. Therefore, OSHA is now aggressively focusing their attention and enforcement resources on this deadly workplace hazard. HeatAlert® monitoring stations will help you be OSHA compliant.

Like icy sidewalks, a hazardous heat index is invisible. Heat stress usually builds up gradually and workers are like the frog in the slowly heated pot of water. Neither the frog nor the workers are aware of the growing danger until it’s too late. And like the frog, the first indication your worker might be suffering from heat stress could already be a full blown medical emergency. Every year over 600 people die from heat illness and many thousands more suffer from non-fatal, but debilitating, heat injuries.

Heat illness threatens more and more workers worldwide, as the climate heats up and workplace temperatures continue to rise. It doesn’t matter if the dangerous heat index is caused by the weather or originates from radiant heat sources attributable to work processes or equipment, the hazards of heat stress are the same. Even the engine room of a submarine, cruising under the polar ice cap, can expose sailors to deadly heat stress.

But you can make all these dangerous environmental hazards VISIBLE to your workforce so they can exercise caution in icy conditions or implement your heat illness mitigation policy when the heat index rises to a dangerous level.

IceAlert® devices turn blue when freezing temperatures and icy conditions exist.

HeatAlert™ monitoring stations display flashing strobe lights when the heat index reaches “caution, “extreme caution” or “dangerous levels”, as defined by OSHA.

If you’re like most employers, you sincerely care about your workforce and want to protect them from workplace injuries. Installing IceAlert® and HeatAlert ™ monitoring devices in and around your worksites and training your staff to careful watch for dangerous conditions will give them the tools they need to proactively prevent extreme weather related injuries.

Ice Can Trip You Up

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 18:46:37 GMT

Just when we thought another winter was behind us, a huge wave of arctic air swept across the eastern half of the country and buried all the beautiful spring blossoms under several inches of snow and ice on March 11, 2022. This early spring storm caused a 73-car pile-up in Pennsylvania, power outages across huge sections of urban and rural New England, downed trees and power lines, caused blizzard conditions in West Virginia, and resulted in hundreds of needless falls and injuries, because ice can trip you up.

This storm was a reminder that we can’t let our guard down and assume it’s clear sailing into summer from here on out. If you’re in charge of any commercial property it would be prudent to install IceAlert® products all around your buildings and parking lots to make dangerous icy conditions visible. Don’t let your staff and customers slip and fall because they were caught off guard and were not expecting sidewalks and streets to be slippery. IceAlert® products change color when icy conditions may be present, and your staff and customers can see at-a-glance that the temperature has dipped below freezing.

It makes you wonder how many people slipped, fell, and sustained an injury, in just this one brutal weekend storm. Don’t let that happen to anyone on your property. And even if the freezing weather is finally in our rear view mirrors for this year, next fall will bring it all back again, and your IceAlert® products could already be installed and ready to use. Now is the time to install IceAlert® devices near stairwells, exit doors, parking lots and sidewalks.

And if spring is actually here to stay, then that means the blistering heat of summer is right around the corner. To prevent workplace heat illness, you can install HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations in all your indoor and outdoor work zones to make the presence of a dangerous heat index visible. In the case of HeatAlert™ a strobe light of either amber or red flashes as long as the heat index exceeds a safe level. NOAA/OSHA has assigned specific danger levels to different heat indexes and all that data has been calculated into HeatAlert® Monitoring devices.

HeatAlert™ Stations like IceAlert® Devices are easy to install, work 24/7, and make dangerous weather conditions visible so your workers and guests can take the necessary steps to protect themselves. Knowing that conditions are dangerous is the essential information your staff needs to protect themselves from workplace injuries.

Don’t delay. Weather related workplace injuries occur every day. Don’t let that happen to any of your staff.

Check out www.IceAlert.com/HeatAlert

What is Heat Illness & Why Does It Matter Now?

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 21:26:22 GMT

Heat illnesses can occur when people are exposed to extreme heat for an extended period of time. It may produce a range of physical symptoms from headaches, nausea, and disorientation, to severe physical conditions including, long term disability, unconsciousness, organ failure, and even death.

So why are we talking about heat illness at the beginning of March, when half of the country is in a deep freeze? Not all heat illnesses are the result of extreme outdoor temperatures. Many work environments are excessively hot year around, due to the equipment or processes that are part of the work environment. People who work near smelters, furnaces, ovens, forges, engine rooms, or even in some food packaging plants, are often exposed to excessive, prolonged heat. To further exacerbate this problem, many of them must also wear protective clothing and their work requires continuous physical exertion. Both factors will further elevate the employee’s internal body temperature. Just because it’s freezing outside doesn’t mean workers are safe from heat illness.

The other reason we are talking about heat illness in March is because summer is right around the corner. If your workforce will be impacted by excessive heat this summer, now is the time to develop your standard operating procedures (SOP) to mitigate the dangers of excessive heat.

As the climate warms, NOAA/OSHA is more focused on combatting this growing workplace hazard, and they’re holding employers accountable for excessive heat in both indoor and outdoor work environments. Having a defined SOP in place, and training your staff to recognize hazardous conditions, so they know when to implement your heat mitigation policy, demonstrates that your business is taking this potential hazard seriously. If you need help with a heat mitigation policy, you can access our free report here and read more about OSHA’s policies at this link .

In addition to developing a new heat SOP you can install HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations in all your work zones to provide a visual notification whenever the heat index reaches moderate or dangerous levels.

It may be early spring right now, but excessive summer heat is right around the corner. Act NOW! Don’t wait until it’s 105+ degrees outside

• to develop your Heat Mitigation SOP

• to train your staff to recognize the hazardous conditions

• to install HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations in every work environment

Plan Ahead - Summer is Right Around the Corner

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:44:19 GMT

As I am writing this, the weather service is forecasting a dangerous “bomb cyclone Nor’easter for the East Coast. So why talk about heat illness now?

Because even in extremely cold weather some work environments are dangerously hot year around. Either because of equipment or work processed, these work zones never cool off.

It could be the room where dough rises in a bakery, the furnace room in a commercial building, a food processing plant, a steel or aluminum smelting plant, or even the lower levels of a nuclear submarine. Regardless of where or why a work environment is excessively hot, workers in those zones must be afforded protection, according to OSHA.

This quote is from the OSHA’s website .

“Under OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety hazards. This includes protecting workers from extreme heat. An employer with workers exposed to high temperatures should establish a complete heat illness prevention program.”

Perhaps your work environments are not hot year around, but your workers do suffer from extreme heat in the summer. If you struggle with excessive workplace heat constantly, or intermittently, you still need to find ways to monitor and manage your workers exposure. And now is a great time to plan ahead.

HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations are the best way to monitor all work environments for dangerous levels of heat. These monitoring stations work around the clock, measuring both the temperature and the humidity to calculate the actual heat index. When the index reaches a dangerous level, the monitoring devise displays either an amber or red strobe light to make the danger visible to all employees. It also sends an email to a supervisor that dangerous heat exists in a specific work zone.

Act now while the Nor’easter is bearing down on the East Coast because before you know it, spring will turn to summer and your employees will once again be threatened by dangerous workplace heat. If you install HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations now you’ll be ready for next summer’s dangerous heat waves, if your heat problem is seasonal, and workers in environments that are hot year around, will be able to see when they are in danger.

OSHA inspectors are cracking down on excessive workplace heat, be prepared.

Perpetually Hot - Industrial Plants

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 18:26:50 GMT

Work Environments Not Effected by Outside Weather

Now that the weather across the US is headed for the big freeze, it’s easy to forget that many work environments remain excessively hot year around, due to ovens, smelters, boilers, engines, furnaces, or other heat producing equipment and operations. In these work zones, the danger of workers suffering from a heat illness is just as high in December and January as in the middle of summer. The hazards are present every day, because these heat generating processes drive the heat and humidity to dangerous levels even when the ground outside is covered in snow.

Dangerous Hot Work Zones Need to be Monitored

NOAA and OSHA are drilling down on these dangers because heat illnesses are serious. They may be debilitating, or even deadly and work environments need to be monitored. If the industrial processes in your facility generate excessive heat, your employees need to know when the heat index reaches a dangerous level so they can follow your SOP to mitigate their exposure. The best way to alert them to these conditions is with HeatAlert ™ Monitoring Stations in all your perpetually hot work zones.

Simple Solution to Alert Employees

HeatAlert ™ Monitoring Stations are easy to install, 24/7 monitoring devices, that alert all employees whenever the heat index reaches a dangerous level so workers can take steps to reduce their risk of succumbing to heat illness. These tools provide visible information to employees and sends an email to a supervisor whenever the index reaches a moderate or dangerous level.

Heat Illness is Possible Even When It’s Freezing Outside

It seems almost counterintuitive that employees could suffer from a heat induced illness when there’s snow on the ground outside, but some packaging facilities, bakeries, foundries, and other production facilities, are dangerously humid and hot year around. If you have one of these dangerous work zones it should be outfitted with HeatAlert ™ Monitoring Stations.

…And When It’s Freezing Outside…

In addition to providing HeatAlert ™ Monitoring Stations inside your facilities you may need to outfit your outdoor stairwells, sidewalks, and parking lots with IceAlert® Safety Products when it’s freezing outside, to let people “see” that dangerous icy conditions are present. Preventing an injurious fall on icy steps or a collision on a slippery roadway, is better than paying for an employee’s recovery.

Industry Leaders in Weather Safety Systems

IceAlert® HeatAlert™ is an industry leader in designing and distributing safety systems for extreme weather conditions. Whether it’s an excessive heat index or freezing roadways HeatAlert™ IceAlert® has the perfect safety system to inform your staff and clients when dangerous conditions exist.

Safety Products Lets You “SEE” Dangerous Weather Conditions

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 19:45:43 GMT

HeatAlert™ Products

It doesn’t matter if there’s two feet of snow outside or not.

Some indoor work environments are always excessively hot, and the humidity and temperature must be monitored constantly to be sure employees are working within a safe heat level, or if the index is too high, that they are taking all the necessary precautions to avoid heat illness. Food manufacturing and packaging operations, foundries, and any other business with heat generating equipment must be vigilant regardless of the season. Additionally, employees working in outdoor environments that remain hot and humid for most of the year, will need to be protected, as well. It’s not uncommon for parts of the South to remain in the 90s, with a similar humidity, well past Halloween. In these environments, construction workers, roofers, farm laborers, and other outdoor workers, are still going to be subject to heat illness.

If your team is exposed to dangerous heat, indoors or out, there is one way to know for sure when the index reaches a dangerous level and that is by installing a HeatAlert™ Monitoring Station. These tools let workers “see” when the heat is dangerous so they can take steps to prevent illness or heat injuries.

But as dangerous as heat illness is, there is another threat looming on the horizon; freezing, icy conditions, and extreme cold weather are just around the corner.

IceAlert® Products

On October 10 2021, 87 Ultra-marathon runners had to be rescued from the mountains outside of Salt Lake City, because near whiteout conditions and unseasonably cold weather exposed them to life threatening hypothermia. In these regions winter has already arrived. While in the Northeast, the trees are in a dazzling display of color, which attracts leaf peepers from around the world, but locals know this beautiful display is a sure sign that ice and snow are just around the corner. The locals are getting their snow blowers and plows tuned up and ready. Businesses need to be doing the same thing, by installing IceAlert® signs all around their exterior walkways, stairwells, parking lots, and driveways.

IceAlert® signs have been warning people about icy conditions for over 20 years. They let people “see” the weather before they slip and fall on the ice. They alert employees and customers when sidewalks and parking lots may be slippery, so pedestrians and drivers are not surprised by the icy condition, and they can walk and drive with the appropriate caution.

You may be enjoying the pleasant fall weather right now, but snow, ice and freezing weather are on the horizon. Now is the perfect time to order and install IceAlert® products around your business. If you already have them installed, but they are more than 5 years old, they should be replaced for maximum functionality.

Don’t let your customers or employees fall on the ice because they didn’t know that slippery conditions are present. Let them “see” the danger with IceAlert® products before they hurt themselves or someone else.

On-the-Job Injury Caused by Icy Conditions

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sat, 25 Sep 2021 20:11:43 GMT

IceAlert® Helps Reduce Workman’s Compensation Claims

It’s already fall, and some regions of the country are experiencing shorter days and much cooler nights, signaling that winter is just around the corner.

Ice related, on-site injuries suffered by customers and vendors creates significant liabilities for all businesses. Additionally, workman’s comp claims skyrocket every winter for these same businesses. On-the-job injuries caused by extreme weather are every bit as significant as an injury caused by carelessness, faulty equipment, ignoring safety protocols, or even improper lifting. Employees who are injured when they fall on the ice, will file workman’s compensation claims because a simple fall may result in broken bones, a permanent disability, or even death, and in the right conditions a parking lot may be transformed into a hazardous destruction derby and a walkway into an ice rink.

The best way for employers to protect their employees, and business owners to protect customers and vendors, is to install IceAlert® products everywhere, so they are clearly visibly in parking lots, along walkways, near building doorways, and stairwells. When people see the blue pattern displayed on the IceAlert®, they know that icy conditions may be present, so they need to exercise caution, and take steps to protect themselves.

Fall is quickly giving way to winter, when IceAlert® products will be in greater demand. Now is the time to install IceAlert® products; while the weather is still warm, maintenance staff can safely use a ladder, and IceAlert® products are readily available .

On-the-Job Heat Injury - Employer Liability

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 20:00:14 GMT

Reduce Workman’s Compensation Claims

Some regions of the country are experiencing cooler nights, signaling the beginning of fall, but many regions in the US are still suffering from excessive heat and a dangerous heat index. (read more on OSHA website) In these hot spots, the need for workplace heat awareness is still critical. Additionally, there are many work environments that are perpetually dangerous due to excessive heat which is created by equipment or work processes. Some of these dangerous environments include foundries, mills, wood product industries, concrete plants, food packaging enterprises, and others.

For employers, on-the-job injuries due to heat illness are every bit as significant as an injury caused by carelessness, faulty equipment, or ignoring safety protocols. Employees may file workman’s compensation claims, if they suffer from any of the harmful effects of heat illness, which include fatigue, headaches, impaired eyesight, nausea, confusion, dizziness, unconsciousness, or even death.

It’s not enough to just measure the temperature in a work zone. High temperatures, of course, are dangerous, but OSHA defines the real danger as the combined measurement of air temperature and humidity. This combined calculation is called the heat index and it is a very real threat to worker safety. The best way for employers to reduce their liability and to be sure their workers are safe, is to continuously monitor the heat index in every work zone.

HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations are the best way to monitor the heat index in any work zone. These tools continuously measure the temperature and humidity, calculate the heat index, and displays an amber or red strobe light when the heat index reaches a moderately dangerous, or extremely dangerous level. All employees are made aware of the danger simultaneously, so they can implement their company’s heat mitigation policy. The HeatAlert™ Monitoring Station can even send an email to a supervisor advising them that the heat index has reached a dangerous level.

Protect workers and reduce liability by installing HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations in every work zone.

I Quit!

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 21:18:54 GMT

People are Quitting Their Jobs at Record Rates

Of all the people who were separated from their jobs in June 2021 over 69% of them left their jobs voluntarily. There are many reasons why voluntary separations are on the rise: including opportunities for better pay, a desire to continue working remotely, or employees are rethinking their life choices and priorities after the disrupted they experienced in the pandemic.

Employees who were mildly dissatisfied with their jobs before, are now finding more reasons, and more opportunities, to make a change for the better.

As an Employer, You Pay the Price for These Separations

The employment change may be better for the employee, as an individual, but from your standpoint it’s extremely disruptive when any of your staff quits their jobs. These sudden departures can leave gaping holes in your teams, and each departing employee take valuable knowledge and expertise with them. Your firm may have invested thousands of dollars in your human resources and losing even one or two employees can have a disastrous impact on your production or output.

Work Environments are Oppressively Hot

Now there may be another factor motivating your workers to seek alternative employment. With rising temperatures around the globe and repeated persistent heat domes hovering over large swaths of the continent, the conditions in many work environments have become so uncomfortable and oppressive it’s forcing workers to look for alternatives that offer safer working conditions.

Two Reasons to Monitor Heat Index

Consequently, there are now two compelling reasons to monitor each work zone’s heat index.

First, you’re communicating to your employees that you are taking their safety seriously which might be all it takes to keep an employee from quitting and,

Second, monitoring the heat index in every work zone complies with OSHA’s standards which could lower your liability and risk.

Protect Valuable Assets

You many have spent thousands of dollars to recruit, test, select, hire, and train a new employee. Doesn't it seem prudent to protect these valuable business assets from Heat Illness. On the job injuries are even more costly than having an employee quit, so keeping your entire workforce safe from heat injuries is just good business, plus it demonstrates to the employees that their safety is your top priority.

Monitor Heat Index

The most efficient way to monitor the heat index (not just the air temperature but the temperature combined with humidity) is to install a HeatAlert™ Monitoring Station in every work zone. They keep working around the clock, day-in and day-out provide an accurate timely warning to all staff if the heat index poses a moderate or dangerous risk. The employees are warned, and the monitoring station sends an email to the supervisor so they can ensure that all employees are following your standard procedures to manage excessive heat. The supervisor can monitor your employees for signs of heat illness and reiterate the need for water, shade, rest, and candid communication.

Temperatures Don’t Need to be 100+ to be Dangerous!

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 18:33:34 GMT

“The Heat Index is what the temperature feels like when considering relative humidity and air temperature,” according to OSHA.

The Heat Index is the measurement OSHA uses to determine when a workplace has reached a moderate to high risk level. As you can see in the chart below, it doesn’t have to be that hot to be dangerous. Even at moderate temperatures people can experience heat stress, heat exhaustion, and other heat illnesses and these illnesses can be serious, even deadly. Heat illness often sneaking up on unsuspecting people, and the first indication that a person is suffering from heat illness may already be a full-blown medical emergency. Fatigue, nausea, dizziness, confusion, weakness, rapid heart rate, unconsciousness, organ failure, and death can all be caused by heat illness.

But when does a workplace become dangerous?

OSHA requires employers to implement mitigating procedures when the temperature reaches 80 degrees, regardless of the humidity. Just 80 degrees! Most places in the US have summertime temperatures at or above 80 degrees, and many regions of the country far exceed that temperature for many months every year. OHSA’s recommended procedures at 80 degrees are to provide access to abundant water, and access to cooler environments which could be natural shade, or artificial shade created by tents, misting stations, or even the shade from a fixed structure. These cooling environments must be in close proximity to the work zone and employees must be given ample opportunities to seek shelter and fluids.

At 90 degrees, as shown in the chart above, regardless of the relative humidity, the Heat Index rises to the Extreme Caution level, and at that point OSHA requires that employees be given 10 minutes of rest, in a cooler environment, every 2 hours. They should also be monitored by their supervisor for signs of heat stress.

Add a few more degrees, or a bit more humidity and the Heat Index can soar to 110 to 137 degrees. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that working in those conditions is going to be dangerous. In these more extreme conditions OSHA requires employers to take active steps to protect their employees. Employers should monitor workers, communicate with them, observe their demeanor and affect, provide fresh cool water, encourage elevated water consumption, provide extra rest periods, and sheltered places for employees to get into a cooler environment. These dangerous heat conditions may occur in outdoor and indoor work environments, and both should be monitored.

The biggest problem is not knowing

The biggest problem, however, is that most workers don’t know what the Heat Index is in their work environment. It is, after all, a mathematical computation of both the air temperature and relative humidity, and employees are not equipped to measure and calculate the Index. Frankly, many employers are not even equipped to accurately measure the Index. Remember adding just a few degrees of temperature or a few percentage points of humidity can have a dramatic and dangerous impact on the Heat Index, so both the temperature and humidity must be closely monitored.

Some employers use entry level personnel to roam through all the work zones, measuring these two variables, computing the Index, and recording the results, but that doesn’t provide meaningful feedback to the employees. Frankly, that methodology is costly, inefficient, inaccurate, and plagued with potential errors: errors in measurement, errors in calculation, errors in recording, errors in reporting and errors in properly communicating the dangers of heat stress, in a timely manner with the employees.

BETTER ALTERNATIVE

There is a better way. HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations measure both the temperature and humidity and calculate the Heat Index continually. When the index reaches a moderate risk level an amber strobe light alerts all employees of the danger. If the Heat Index reaches a high-risk level the light changes to red. There is no error in measurement, calculation, recording, reporting, or in communicating the danger to the employees. The entire workforce is simultaneously alerted to the dangerous conditions, so they can implement the company’s heat policy. Additionally, an email message is sent to the supervisor informing them that the Heat Index has reached a moderate or high risk, so they can confirm that heat illness mitigation procedures are being observed.

The secret to keeping a workforce safe from dangerous heat illness is knowing when dangers exist. HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations provide an accurate and timely warning system. Learn more about installing HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations in your work environments to protect your human resources from heat illness.

What Are You Doing to Prevent Heat Illness?

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 17:35:03 GMT

We all know the story of the frog in the pot of water which is heated to a boil. The frog slowly acclimates to the rising water temperature but never realizes it’s in danger.

In many work environments the same thing is happening to your employees and before they know they’re in danger they are already suffering from heat illness. Unfortunately, the first indication that an employee is in trouble, may already be a full-blown medical emergency.

If you don’t have a documented policy, which complies with OSHA’s guidelines, and train your staff in the recognition and mitigation of the dangerous conditions, you could be liable for their injuries. It’s bad enough to lose the productivity of a worker but knowing that you are responsible for their injury or death would be almost unbearable.

The biggest danger is not knowing that the Heat Index has risen to a dangerous level.

The Index is more than just temperature. The Heat Index is computed from a formula which includes both humidity and temperature. The higher the humidity the lower the temperature needs to be to reach a dangerous level. Temperatures in the low 80s with high humidity results in an index over 100 and is classified as cautionary. But temperatures in the low 90s with high humidity reaches the highest warning level and is classified as EXTREME DANGER. Just 10 degrees difference in the temperature increases the danger from Cautionary to Extreme.

In some parts of the US, right now, temperatures are reaching 100 degrees by 8 AM and even if it’s dry heat, (relatively low humidity) working in that environment is classifies as DANGEROUS to EXTREMELY DANGEROUS depending on the humidity.

So, what are you doing to reduce the hazards in these dangerous working conditions?

At the very least, you need to continuously monitor the temperature and the humidity and calculate the heat index throughout the day. If/when the index reaches a cautionary, dangerous, or extreme danger level, you must notify your staff and give them opportunities to lower their body temperature. This includes access to shade or a cooler environment, misting tent, ample cool water, and extra rest periods. OSHA has established these guidelines as the bare minimum to reduce the risk of heat illness but even this may not be adequate for some vulnerable employees. An individual worker’s reaction to extreme heat may also depend on other variables like air circulation, employee health, the need to wear heavy protective apparel, direct sunlight, heat generating machinery, and their work assignments.

But the biggest danger to your staff is not knowing….

HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations continually measure the temperature and humidity, calculates the index, and warns employees (with a visible warning light) as soon as the environment crosses the threshold to a dangerous level. Employees are warned before they suffer a debilitating injury, so they can follow your SOP to lower their body temperature.

If you don’t have a written Heat Illness Mitigation SOP you can download a FREE REPORT which will help you define and implement your own company policy. In the report, you’ll learn….

What information to stress in employee training
What OSHA recommends for worker safety
What the real dangers are
Who is at risk &
Access valuable links to tools and information

Download your FREE REPORT to reduce your liability and prevent on-the-job heat injuries.

Every year over 3000 workers are injured or die from heat illnesses.

a 30 year old mason
a 35 year old foundry worker
a 42 year old roofer

ALL DIED FROM HEAT ILLNESSES!

Don’t let your employees become a sad statistic!

Download this FREE REPORT .

It will help….

Reduce your company’s liability and

Protect your workers from heat injuries

Construction Workers - Heat Illnesses on the Rise

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 24 May 2021 03:20:05 GMT

It doesn’t have to be over 100 degrees for construction workers to suffer from heat illnesses and injuries

The real problem is not just the temperature but the heat index which is a combined calculation of both the temperature and humidity. OSHA has defined what heat index level poses a moderate or dangerous risk. But construction workers may suffer from heat stress and heat illnesses in either the moderate or dangerous level of the heat index.

Any worker may suffer from heat stress, but which employees are most vulnerable will depend on individual characteristics, exactly where they are working, what heat producing equipment is nearby, how they are dressed, if they are working directly in the sun, if they are hydrated, or dehydrated, or have other aggravating personal conditions. If a worker has not had time to acclimate to the heat, they are more vulnerable, but any worker could suffer heat stroke, or other heat illness and every year several workers die due to heat related illnesses.

Working around heavy equipment comes with certain risks that must be recognized and managed. In the same way, the dangers of working in excessive heat must be managed, whether the heat is a direct result of excessive heat emanating from equipment, processes, or a high heat index. Construction workers are a vital part of your company’s success and protections must be provided for every type of danger in the work environment.

OSHA has defined dangerous heat index levels and what procedures must be followed to mitigate the effects of heat stress before workers are overwhelmed. But the challenge is to know when to implement those procedure. Workers are often unaware they are in danger until it’s too late. The first indication that a worker is suffering from heat illness may be when they collapse, convulse, or lose consciousness. At that point, it is a medical emergency and the time for mitigating interventions is long past.

However, there is a way to know the exact heat index in any indoor or outdoor work environment.

HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations can be installed in any work zone, and they monitor the heat index in real time, 24/7. The device displays either a flashing amber (moderate risk) or flashing red (high risk) light, depending on the heat index. Employees are immediately aware that the heat index has reached a level where mitigating procedures must be implemented. Additionally, the HeatAlert™ Monitoring Station can send a text message to the supervisor that dangerous heat conditions have developed in a work zone, so they can ensure that standard operating procedures are implemented and followed.

Now supervisors don’t have to wait for a medical emergency to manifest before they detect that their workers are in danger. Heat illnesses injure thousands and kill hundreds of workers every year, but these injuries and deaths can be prevented. It is time to start being proactive, instead of reactive, for the safety of your workers.

HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations provide a real time warning that construction workers are laboring in dangerous heat conditions.

The monitoring stations are affordable, accurate, efficient, and vital for your worker’s safety.

To learn more about HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations visit our website

www.IceAlert.com/Heat-Alert

Or call Michael toll free 1-800-831-4551 or in Oregon 503-692-6657

Sports Boosters Can Help Reduce Exertion Heat Illnesses

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 24 May 2021 03:05:45 GMT

Booster, You can help your team minimize the dangers of exertion heat illnesses!

Booster Clubs want to see their favorite sports teams excel and they are willing to invest in their team’s success. Now there’s a way to contribute to the team’s success and to protect the athletes from exertion heat illnesses using HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations.

Every year eager young athletes show up on practice fields around the country to hone their skills. Whether it’s track & field, baseball, soccer, or summer football practice, amateur and professional athletes, all turnout with a dedication to their sport and a deep desire to improve their skills. But this devotion and willingness to push themselves to their limits often has dangerous and sometimes, deadly consequences.

Exertion heat illnesses threaten thousands of athletes annually, some of these dedicated young people have even died as the result of heat illness. Heat stress sneaks up on the athletes like the frog in the pot of gradually warming water. The frog acclimated to the rising water temperature until it’s too late to jump out and save itself. Athletes, focused on building their skills, are like the frog. They are often unaware of the dangerous heat in their environment, until it’s too late.

Exertion heat illness may start out as excessive sweat, a rapid heart rate, cramps, and muscle weakness. But the athletes are so focused on their activities and training, that they are simply unaware of the growing danger. Before they realize it, they may feel weak, vomit, faint, convulse, or lose consciousness. Exertion heat illness is serious and may result in long term disabilities and in severe cases, even death.

It is not a sign of weakness to take steps to reduce heat stress. Booster clubs must insist that trainers and coaches incorporate specific mitigating protocols into their practice routines since many athletes may feel a competitive urgency to push themselves to dangerous levels of exertion. All athletes must be given time to rest, receive cool water frequently, spend rest time in the shade or under a misting tent, and be monitored for the early warning signs of heat illness.

But booster clubs can do more….

A high Heat Index is the source of most exertion heat illnesses. The heat index is more than just rising temperatures. The heat index is a combined calculation of the temperature and humidity. Your best solution to monitor the heat index on a practice field is with a HeatAlert™ Monitoring Station.

These cutting-edge monitoring stations can be installed indoors or out. They monitor the heat index continually and when the index reached a moderately high danger level (as defined by OSHA) an amber flashing light is displayed on the device. If the heat index reaches a dangerous level, the warning light flashes red. At the same time, a text message can be sent to the coach or trainer, informing them that the athletes are in danger of suffering from heat stress.

Imagine if the frog received a warning that the water was approaching a dangerous temperature.

As a booster you know your team can’t succeed if the athletes are injured. Now, you have a chance to make a meaningful contribution to their success and you can protect them while they’re training or even during an actual game or match. Sports booster clubs everywhere should invest in HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations for their team’s practice field and stadium, to eliminate exertion heat illnesses and heat stress injuries.

Learn more about HeatAlert™ Monitoring Stations on our website or call Michael toll free 1-800-831-4551 or in Oregon 503-692-6656 .