If you want someone to come and talk to your team about workplace hydration and all the latest cooling PPE it’s worth getting hold of Luke! Without giving the whole game away….
Did you know
- We have 2.8 million sweat glands????
- Depending on your size and body fat your body is 60 – 70% water and your brain is 75% water
- If you lose 11% of your body’s total water content you will be dead
- If you lose 4% of your body’s you will have a headache, muscle cramps and your performance decreases by 30% (you might as well be drunk)
Hierarchy of Controls
- Eliminate: Remove worker from the hot environment
- Engineer: Ventilation / AC
- Administer: Electrolytes and water
- PPE: Cooling caps, Cooling necktie/scarfs, cooling vests…all worth looking into on the Safety 1st website (it’s going to be a scorcher this summer in Central).
What else can you do to encourage Workplace Hydration?
- Dehydration starts before work. Drink a glass of water when you get up, have a solid breakfast and another glass of water just before you leave home and then sip water on the way to work.
- The maximum amount of water the body can process is 1 litre per hour BUT we can sweat up to 2.5L per hour
- Our drinks need sodium and other electrolytes in them, not sugar or caffeine
- Have an additional water bottle set aside to sip on the way home from work
As always, if you have anything to add to the discussion on workplace hydration please call Sarah on 0272 007 680 or email sarah@employmenow.co.nz.
Have a safe and productive week,
SB
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