Cold Weather Working Strategy
This Winter, many people in UK construction will have to work in cold conditions, potentially putting their health and safety at risk.
PPE is an important element of any cold weather working strategy, but what else can your site do to stay safe?
Read on to hear OnSite Support’s top tips for keeping safe while working on construction sites this winter.
How can you and your team stay safe on site?
Along with generally uncomfortable working conditions, there are many health risks that accompany cold weather working, without a proper cold working working strategy in place. This includes:
- Hypothermia
- Frostbite
- Chilblains
- Freezing injuries
Cold weather working conditions can also increase the accident rate, due to decreased sensitivity in hands, reduced muscle strength and negative impact on mental alertness. In order to avoid injury and illness on site, a cold weather working strategy should be put in place to protect your team. Important factors for keeping warm include:
- Food/fluid intake
- Regular Breaks
- Heat Retention
Food/Fluid Intake:
Cold weather working often means wearing heavier PPE, such as winter jackets, boots and thicker trousers. While a proper PPE layering system can help to limit the bulkiness of your clothing, your body will still be required to use up more energy to keep your body warm. Ensuring your body is properly fueled, will help provide energy – which is essential for maintaining your body temperature. This means eating frequent and balanced meals; foods containing complex carbohydrates such as porridge, grains and fruits will help your body to produce heat across longer periods of time.
On top of this, ensuring you keep hydrated is imperative to your safety on site, meaning you should drink fluids often. Hot beverages can help to warm you, however, caffeinated drinks, such as tea and coffee can contribute towards dehydration and heat loss, so we would suggest keeping away from caffeine. Instead, why not try a decaf tea, hot chocolate or some soup to stay warm and hydrated.
Regular breaks:
Taking regular breaks, in a warm building can help to keep outdoor site workers warm. By encouraging recovery in between time spent outdoors, you could help to regulate your bodies temperature. While indoors, all wet clothing should be removed to help prevent heat loss and where possible damp clothing should be replaced by dry clothing before returning to the outdoor site. Regular breaks also provide an opportunity to re-fuel and re-hydrate, providing vital energy, while working on site.
Heat Retention:
While we often think of winter PPE as a barrier against the harsh conditions, it is also important to consider how we can retain warmth too. Clothing should be worn in multiple layers (minimum 3) which provide better protection than a single thick layer, as the air between the layers provides better insulation than the clothing itself. We suggest including a base, mid and outer layer as well as thermal accessories, such as thermal gloves, specially designed beanies and thermal socks (view our Autumn/Winter catalogue to find out more). Properties to look for in each of the layers, are as follows:
Base layer – moisture wicking material, that wicks away the sweat from the body to keep it dry and therefore prevents heat loss. Top performing base layers will draw the moisture through the garment allowing it to evaporate.
Mid layer – insulator layer that retains the heat, something like a sweatshirt, fleece or softshell. A garment that interacts with the outer layer can make it more practical to wear.
Outer layer – provides protection from the elements whilst allowing breathability to minimise perspiration. Highly waterproof, highly breathable jackets will be marked EN343 3:3 or higher.
View our Winter PPE Checklist below:
For more information on how we can help you team with your cold weather needs, email [email protected] or call 01293 744444.
