As global temperatures rise to record levels, employers urgently need to develop strategies to protect workers from excessive heat or face a loss in productivity as heat stress and dehydration can impair decision making and increase risk taking by employees, according to a new report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
In the report, “Adapting industry to withstand rising temperatures and future heatwaves” the Institution looks at the importance of preparing for a warmer world to ensure buildings and equipment continue to operate efficiently and avoid shutdowns, while protecting workers against high temperatures.
This will require updating existing infrastructure, revamping design codes and safety policies and a commitment to net zero outcomes, sustainability and resilience.
The Institution is calling for guidance related to heat impacts on the workforce to be updated urgently to help companies to develop strategies and implement changes to their workplaces.
In the UK, for example, the Health and Safety Executive has set minimum workplace temperatures for the indoor workplace but does not have similar upper temperature limits.
Dr Laura Kent, Public Affairs and Policy Advisor at the Institution said:
“We acknowledge that it would be difficult for the Health and Safety Executive to set a meaningful upper temperature limit due to variations between industries in both working conditions, required PPE and workload. However, HSE guidance needs to be updated to support sectors and industry in the development of appropriate strategies.
“Thermal comfort is very important in a workplace and if it is not achieved morale, productivity, health and safety will all likely deteriorate. People need safe spaces to work and be productive.”
If people feel too hot, they are more likely to behave unsafely and make poor decisions. For example, in hot environments workers may be tempted not to wear personal protective equipment properly leading to greater safety risks.
Heat may also affect a worker’s ability to concentrate on a given task through decreased cognitive function, increasing the chances of errors and reducing productivity.
A report in March from the Climate Change Committee said the UK had made little progress in making the adaptation needed to fully prepare for climate change risks.
The report notes that one of the main challenges will be to adapt existing building stock to the warmer climate which saw temperatures hit a new record of over 40 degrees last summer in the UK.
Owners and operators of facilities need to take climate change risk seriously and carry out audits of heat risk for infrastructure, said Ruth Shilston, a Fellow of the Institution who contributed to the report. Companies face massive financial risk if factories and plants have to shut due to heat, she added.
Speaking on the eve of publication, Dr Tim Fox, former Chair of the Institution’s Process Industries Division and lead author of the report, said:
“The impacts of a warmer world on industry will be complex and broad, including technical, economic and health related, and the implications of the findings of this report are applicable across the globe. Adapting industries to, and preparing them for, a warmer world will be essential for the future successful functioning of societies of all nations.”
