Australia has been experiencing unusual and record breaking heat as temperatures rise over 37 degrees Celsius. With temperatures like these it is no wonder wildfires are burning spontaneously. As of Tuesday, January 8, 2013, nearly 741,000 acres have burned across Australia.
With this heat affecting all of us, there is a clear safety issue with people working outdoors, but many people working indoors or in confined spaces are also at risk from heat or fatigue.
Everyone has to play their part to make sure we all stay safe during this heat wave.

 

Lisa Sturzenegger from WorkSafe Victoria said "Workplace health and safety laws require the working environment to be safe and without risks to health and safety, including illness from working in heat". "If there is a risk of a heat-related illness it must be controlled," she said.

Below is a list providing ways to be heat smart during this extreme period.

• Access to water for everyone at all times is essential and rest breaks may have to be increased to avoid danger
• Some workers will need protective clothing whilst still providing air flow and shelter to keep the direct sun off them while keeping communication is a priority with those working on their own
• Employers, supervisors and workers need to understand who and what they are responsible for so people don't put themselves at risk
• It is not unusual for work to be rescheduled or change location due to the heat just like work is sometimes rescheduled due to rain or other bad weather
• Reducing the time spend doing hot tasks with more breaks or shorter shifts
• Having more workers doing the job or using mechanical aids to do the job creates a lighter work load
• Provide workers with cool drinking water to help control their temperature
• Training and information for workers is one of the best ways for identifying risks associated to heat and methods for dealing with those risks.

For more information on how to prevent ilness from wokring in heat visit your states or territories WorkSafe website.