This year, we have been engaged in Abu Dhabi City Municipality’s Heat Stress Awareness Campaign and participated in the Heat Stress Workshop in May 2013. During the workshop, we demonstrated how the TWL-1S Heat Stress Detector can help site managers comply with new regulations both effectively and efficiently. Many participants invited us to their project sites for live demonstrations.
Over 400 HSE officers and managers attended the workshop. In his speech, the Abu Dhabi Municipality EHS Inspection Team Leader, Mr. Ibrahim Khalid, emphasized that mitigating practices, such as proper hydration, supplement of electrolytes and frequent short rests, must be taken to prevent serious heat illness at worksites with high heat conditions.
Mr. Darren Joubert from Health Authority Abu Dhabi elaborated on the importance of heat stress management and the legal requirements companies should follow, particularly the Code of Practice (EHS RI-CoP 11.0 – Safety in the Heat) published by Abu Dhabi EHSMS in April 2013. In the code of practice, it states “Employers that have employees working in high temperature environments shall develop a worksite specific heat stress program that includes a process for assessing environmental conditions utilizing the Thermal Work Limit (TWL) to determine work/rest breaks and water consumption requirements for employees.”
Mr. Brent Choate from ODEBRECHT shared his practical experience of heat stress management in the field. He provided a rule of thumb to quickly identify the symptoms of dehydration and heat illness and urged the audience to implement measures that are required by the new regulation.
