Cold is one of the risks to which workers may be exposed in the workplace. Do you know what clothing and footwear should be worn in the workplace to prevent the adverse effects of low temperatures? In this post we talk about cold clothing and footwear and good practices in cold environments.
Thermal stress usually occurs in outdoor work (agricultural and fishing sector, construction, forestry sector, diving activities...) and in artificial cold environments (cold rooms, freezers, cold stores, slaughterhouses, work related to the food industry...). Protection through clothing and footwear, together with other preventive factors, is crucial.
The importance of protective clothing against the cold
Working in cold environments requires the worker to be well equipped and not to be exposed to this cold for too long, which should always be measured and controlled.
At Reysan we offer a wide range of protective clothing for the cold in order to avoid the problems that can be caused by being exposed to it with insufficient clothing. Jackets, vests, polar linings and thermal underwear are some of the basic elements for this type of work.
The head, where a person can lose up to 50% of body heat, is another of the points that we should keep warm with a Thinsulate hat or double insulated helmets.
The hands are one of the parts where you also lose a lot of heat and where you begin to feel discomfort before. The appropriate protective equipment for this are gloves for protection against the cold, available for a wide variety of jobs and allow greater or lesser mobility.
When working in cold rooms, protection plays a key role. For this reason, in our section of clothes for cold storage there is an extensive range of clothes to work in conditions of intense cold as divers.
Low-temperature work footwear
As with clothing, footwear should be adapted to work at low temperatures. They are generally insulating and slip-resistant. You will find a selection of these boots in our cold safety footwear section.
Consequences of working at low temperatures
Low temperatures at work can cause everything from simple discomfort to hypothermia, which is the most serious consequence. These are some of the problems that can be caused by continuous exposure to cold, from minor to greater severity:
- Discomfort
- Musculoskeletal problems
- Deterioration of the physical and manual execution of tasks
- Freezing of fingers, toes, cheeks, nose, and ears (local cooling of the body)
- Hypothermia: the body loses more heat than it can generate and the temperature begins to drop below 35º C.
Some preventive measures
In addition to good equipment, what else can be done to avoid these symptoms? We conclude with some preventive measures to avoid possible damage caused by the cold:
- Use several layers to adapt the wardrobe to the outside temperature.
- Protect hands, feet and head well.Keep waterproof garments dry.
- Respect the regulatory pauses and interrupt exposure to cold in order to warm up.
- Avoid being inactive and working alone.
- Inform workers of preventive measures and injuries caused by exposure to cold.
If you have any questions about our protective clothing and footwear against the cold, do not hesitate to contact our team.