World Fence News

WORLD FENCE NEWS • JULY 2019 • 43 accustomed to sweating in the sum- mer, this would not be the case in the Southwest as the humidity was so low that the perspiration simply evaporat- ed from their bodies. Further, I suggested to them that they, along with their husbands, should wear lightweight long sleeve shirts, a hat with perhaps a handkerchief or perhaps some kind of cloth to protect the back of their neck and, addition- ally, the usual need of some kind of sunscreen on the face and nose area. The ladies thanked me for my time and information and promised to relay it to their husbands, and won- dered if I were available should they need to talk to me again. Of course I said yes, thanked them and moved on. Two weeks later I got a call from one of the wives telling me that their husband was in the hospital and he had suffered heat prostration, while the other husband had been diagnosed with heat stroke. Why you say? In a word, they didn't listen or they didn't believe me, or both. Shades of "The weather is afraid of me syndrome" as I call it. The point is, you don't need to be in the work- place to get any one of these condi- tions that we are talking about. Simple ounce of prevention strat- egies go a long way toward preventing disaster in the work place. Since most of the people I talk to on a regular basis have told me of the shortage of qualified help and their availability to you and your daily operations, it would seem to me that the most prudent thing that you can do during the course of the summer months is to try to prevent this situa- tion from occurring. Perhaps at this juncture we might make some suggestions to help make prevention simpler for you to imple- ment into your day to day activity. First, let's start by listing some occupational factors that may contrib- ute to heat illness in general: 1. High temperature / humidity. 2. Low fluid consumption. 3. Direct sun exposure with no shade, or if temps are extremely high. 4. Limited air movement (no breeze or wind). 5. Physical exertion. 6. Use of bulky protective cloth- ing and equipment. Now, once having laid out the occupational factors, perhaps we can devote a few minutes to listing a pre- vention program that has key elements in it. Those key elements include: 1. A person designated to over- seeing the heat illness prevention pro- gram. 2. Hazard identification. 3. Water, rest, shade message. 4. Acclimatization. 5. Modified work schedules. 6. Training. 7. Monitoring for signs and symp- toms. 8. Emergency planning and re- sponse. We will deal next time with clari- fications of these programs, and men- tion how to implement them in the work place. While these suggestions have been pointed out basically by OSHA and at times may seem cum- bersome to some of you, realistically the old adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" seems to me to be an amazing grasp of the obvious. Many of you are already engaged in some way or another particularly in modified work schedules for sure in the Southwest, but we need to explore other ways and will do so next time. Again, many of you continue to tell me how difficult it is to get decent qualified help in these times. It would be a shame to have any member of our crew go down with any of these terri- ble heat illnesses if it can be prevented in the first place. Kindly remember to plan ahead; summer is no time for surprises! As always, these ideas or any oth- ers that I present regarding other is- sues hopefully will help you realize that Profit Is Not A Dirty Word!™ World Fence News contribut- ing editor Jim Lucci is president of Management Motivational Associ- ates of Freeport, N.Y., and for many years has written a monthly column on business management and issues which affect fence company owners and managers. See the ad for Man- agement Motivational Associates in this month's issue. Heat stroke is the most serious heat related health problem. Heat stroke occurs when the body's temperature regulating system fails and body temperature rises to critical levels (greater than 104 degrees F). This is a medical emergency that may result in death! The signs of heat stroke are confusion, loss of consciousness, and seizures. VINYL FENCING SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE WOOD. PERFORMS LIKE PVC. Now available in four contemporary wood-grain tones. CONTACT US TOLL-FREE AT 866-423-2385 or CUSTOMERSERVICE@WESTECHBP.COM DRIFTWOOD RUSTIC BIRCH ESPRESSO PECAN NEW COLORS Beautiful color variation mimics real wood grain Easy installation Superior strength and durability Low maintenance, no staining or sealing needed Impervious to warping, moisture, rot, and pests Lifetime transferrable warranty Subscribe to World Fence News Today! For subscription info, visit our web site at www.worldfencenews.com Click on the "Subscribe Now" button at the bottom of the front page. Or contact us at 800-231-0275

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