In any manufacturing business, the safety and welfare of your employees is the top priority. It’s inherently a dangerous place to work. Making things is always going to be a hectic environment. Your workers are using heavy equipment, hand tools and moving large pieces of material around. You’re bound to get a few accidents here and there. However, something that is very often overlooked as a threat to their safety and well being, is the temperature. Naturally, manufacturing facilities are hot, as many different tools when being used will create heat and some parts of the production line will need to use a lot of lighting. But what about when you have a heatwave in spring, what can you do then?
Port doors and windows
Every manufacturing facility has port doors. These are used to load up the products onto freight trucks as well as allowing large bits of machinery into the building. During a heatwave these should be kept closed unless being used. It’s normal to keep them open for good air circulation as well as allowing drivers to back up and not have to wait to be allowed in. however, the ground is going to be very hot during a heatwave and the air outside is only going to make the working conditions worse if it were to flow into the facility. You should also shut windows as hot air naturally rises pretty quickly and it will be caught and rebounded into the facility by the window angle.
Personal cool air
Sometimes the old methods are simply the best. Giving each of your employees a fan to put at their workstation is a good idea. You can also have larger industrial fans which can be strategically placed in the facility to shower many employees with cool air. Personal cool air is so important to the health and mental well being of your employees. It’s been proven that hot days dramatically slow down the rate of work and negatively impact productivity. Keeping your employees cool is for their benefit and your profit margin.
Cooling your equipment
During a heatwave, your equipment is going to suffer. Made out of metal, your drills, stamps and plasma cutters are going to need extra water cooling. Using a mixture of water and oil, you can keep your tools cool but lubricated as well. It prevents increased wear on your tools and equipment but you do need to have some kind of OWS System. Above grade oil water separators remove non-emulsified hydrocarbons. Flush with grade oil separators are for greater gravity flow areas. Below grade, oil separators are for deep burial with drive over conditions, a more high-quality product. The choice you should make really depends on your facility design.
Allow frequent breaks
Giving employees multiple 5-minute breaks to cool down during the working day is very beneficial. Not only do they get to revamp and rejuvenate with a drink of water or getting some shade, but this also keeps your business operating despite others closing for the day or not opening.
Working during a heatwave is inherently dangerous and even more so, in a manufacturing facility. Take these precautions and you won’t be putting you and your employees in any danger.
