Why Cooling Is Important

Heat stress is a serious problem for industry

Heat stress is an indicator of unsafe, unhealthy work conditions. Like other unsafe work conditions, heat stress lowers productivity and morale, allowing accidents and errors to occur. All of which contribute to excessive costs of doing business.

The initial purchase of either cooling fans, circulator fans or exhaust ventilation type fans may seem cost prohibitive in the beginning, but will soon pay for themselves in work productivity. Productivity lost to high temperatures is easily documented. As the from NASA report CR-1205-1 indicates, when temperatures in the work environment rise to 90 degrees, productivity output drops 29% and errors increase 300%!

Cooling fans, circulator fans or exhaust ventilation type fans help make a more comfortable work environment, which directly contribute to increased productivity, quality and ultimately profitability.

Safe working conditions keep workers compensation rates down minimizing disruptions and down time.

As illustrated above, errors increase which may compromise good safety practices, leading to more accidents.

Low morale can be a direct result of heat stress in the workplace. Low morale causes high employee turnover, absenteeism and work slow-down. Businesses cannot afford the costs of temporary employees to make up for lost productivity caused by heat stress.

Today's managers, supervisors and business owners should be trained to watch for signs of heat stress. Personal protective equipment including cooling and or circulation type fans, clothing materials appropriate rest periods, liquids and modified work practices can help reduce the risk of heat stress. Employees must understand the need to replace fluids and salt while watching for signs of dehydration, fainting, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.