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If you can't stand the heat, seek help in the kitchen
by Alan Gow Healthy Working Lives Advisor
As we head towards the height of summer, many of us are already enjoying warmer days and lighter nights but not everyone will be looking forward to the seasonal change in temperatures. For some people, the discomfort of working long shifts in hot conditions can result in overheating, commonly known as heat stress.
Alan Gow, offers some tips on how to avoid heat stress in the kitchen.
The hot summer months may increase the risks of heat stress for some people, but in many jobs this is an issue all year round. In the catering industry, working in hot conditions is frequently the norm, but seasonal changes in outside air temperature can be a significant contributor to heat stress.
The condition occurs when the body's means of controlling its internal temperature starts to fail and it can affect individuals in different ways, with some people being more susceptible than others. Some of the symptoms to look out for include:
- An inability to concentrate
- Muscle cramps
- Heat rash
- Severe thirst
- Fainting
- Heat exhaustion (including fatigue, giddiness, nausea, headache or moist skin)
- Heat stroke (hot dry skin, confusion, convulsions and eventual loss of consciousness). This is the most severe disorder and can be serious if not detected at an early stage.
However, it's not just an increase in air temperature that can bring on heat stress .There are many other potential contributory factors that include work rate, humidity and clothing. Heat stress may be potentially very serious but it is also easily preventable, so it's important that people working within high-risk industries can identify and treat it if it occurs.
Over time, people adapt to hot conditions by sweating more and by changing their behaviour to try and cool down. This may include, for example, taking cool drinks, fanning themselves, sitting in cooler areas during breaks, or reducing their work rate. However, during a busy restaurant shift, for example, such changes may not be feasible and where there is a possibility of heat stress occurring, employers and/or managers should carry out a risk assessment. The major factors to look out for include:
- Work rate: the harder someone works, the greater the amount of body heat is generated
- Working climate: this includes air temperature, humidity, and the effects of working near a heat source such as a hot stove
- Employee clothing which may impair the body's efficiency for sweating
- Age, body mass and medical factors which may affect an employee's tolerance of these factors
If your workplace is affected by hot conditions, there are many steps you can take to prevent heat stress occurring: Ensure that kitchen fans are working efficiently, and regulate the length of exposure to hot environments by providing periodic rest breaks in cooler conditions. Prevent dehydration by making sure that staff drink plenty of water, and provide training for your employees to better detect any early warning signs of heat stress. It's also worth remembering that if ventilation is to be provided naturally, you must ensure that all doors and windows are screened to prevent entry of pests or other sources of contamination into the kitchen.
For further information on what you can do as an employer to tackle heat stress in the workplace, you can download a free information sheet from www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/whswindx.htm
This article has been edited from the original. To view the feature in full, please see Catering in Scotland magazine. To join our database, go to Media Pack on this website and click on Subscribe.
