Working outdoors during the summer months using Personal Protective Equipment can be challenging.

Workers in the construction, gas, energy, steel and cement industries, among others, are often faced with rising temperatures in the workplace. Risks such as heatstroke, overexposure to the sun and dehydration can be a reality for those working in PPE during the hottest season of the year.

Portugal is known for its mild climate. Winter, although cold for most Portuguese, doesn’t reach such significant negative temperatures as in other European countries.
In the summer, which begins on June 21 and lasts until September 23, the average temperature range is between 20º Celsius (68º Fahrenheit) and 40º Celsius (104º Fahrenheit). In some southern regions, temperatures have been recorded as high as 50 degrees.

Work gloves, jackets, helmets and other PPE can cause workers to perspire more and discomfort to increase, so attention to detail and concentration during work decreases, making the danger of an accident greater.
The temptation to remove the PPE, just briefly, to try and get some relief is very great, but the dangers won’t disappear just because the worker is hot and removing the PPE will greatly increase the risk of incidents.

Given the greater discomfort, it’s easy to have a more laissez-faire attitude towards wearing Personal Protective Equipment during the summer, so it’s very important to know the right PPE to help you stay cool while maintaining the necessary level of protection.

Examples of measures you can take to keep cool while wearing PPE:

• Take breaks to drink fresh water and breathe in the shade/air conditioning. Make sure you put all your PPE back on after the break.
• Choosing to wear clothes with lighter, looser fabrics can help with air circulation. The color of the clothing can also help, with dark colors absorbing more heat from the sun and lighter-colored clothing drawing heat away.
• Choose PPE designed for hot weather, such as hats with sweat liners, cooling bandanas, anti-fog glasses, etc.

Safety doesn’t take breaks during the heat, but you can put the heat on pause! Don’t overload your work.

Cooler alternatives are needed to cope with the heat and ET has just what you need! Contact our specialized technical team!