Heat Exhaustion

Outdoor workers include any workers who spend a substantial portion of time outdoors. These workers are at risk of heat-related illness when the heat index is high. Window cleaners are more prone to heat illness than other kinds of jobs due to heat reflection off glass & long periods without access to water.

HEAT ILLNESS CAN BE DEADLY: The body normally cools itself by sweating. During hot weather, especially with high humidity, sweating isn't enough. Body temperature can rise to dangerous levels if you don't drink enough water and rest in the shade. You can suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. In 2014 alone, 2,630 workers suffered from heat illness and 18 died from heat stroke and related causes on the job. Heat illnesses and deaths are preventable.

Employers must protect workers from excessive heat. Under OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety hazards. This includes protecting workers from extreme heat. An employer with workers exposed to high temperatures should establish a complete heat illness prevention program.

• Provide workers with water, rest and shade.
• Allow new or returning workers to gradually increase workloads and take more frequent breaks as they acclimatize, or build a tolerance for working in the heat.
• Plan for emergencies and train workers on prevention.
• Monitor workers for signs of illness.

To prevent heat related illness and fatalities:

• Drink water every 15 minutes, even if you are not thirsty.
• Rest in the shade to cool down.
• Wear a hat and light-colored clothing.
• Learn the signs of heat illness and what to do in an emergency.
• Keep an eye on fellow workers.
• "Easy does it" on your first days of work in the heat. You need to get used to it.
• Working in full sunlight can increase heat index values by 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep this in mind and plan additional precautions for working in these conditions.

Who is affected?

Any worker exposed to hot and humid conditions is at risk of heat illness, especially those doing heavy work tasks or using bulky protective clothing and equipment. Some workers might be at greater risk than others if they have not built up a tolerance to hot conditions, including new workers, temporary workers, or those returning to work after a week or more off. All workers are at risk during a heat wave.

What to do if a worker becomes ill? Call a supervisor for help. If a supervisor is not available, call 911. Have someone stay with the worker until help arrives.

Two primary sources of heat for workers: Workers become overheated from two primary sources: (1) the environmental conditions in which they work and (2) the internal heat generated by physical labor. Heat-related illnesses occur when the body is not able to lose enough heat to balance the heat generated by physical work and external heat sources. Weather conditions are the primary external heat sources for outdoor workers.

Using the Heat Index: A Guide for Employers. 

Outdoor workers who are exposed to hot and humid conditions are at risk of heat-related illness. The risk of heat-related illness becomes greater as the weather gets hotter and more humid. This situation is particularly serious when hot weather arrives suddenly early in the season, before workers have had a chance to adapt to warm weather.

For people working outdoors in hot weather, both air temperature and humidity affect how hot they feel. The "heat index" is a single value that takes both temperature and humidity into account. The higher the heat index, the hotter the weather feels, since sweat does not readily evaporate and cool the skin. The heat index is a better measure than air temperature alone for estimating the risk to workers from environmental heat sources.

Heat-related illness can be prevented.

OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in hot environments. Nonetheless, under the OSH Act, employers have a duty to protect workers from recognized serious hazards in the workplace, including heat-related hazards. This guide helps employers and worksite supervisors prepare and implement hot weather plans. It explains how to use the heat index to determine when extra precautions are needed at a worksite to protect workers from environmental contributions to heat-related illness. Workers performing strenuous activity, workers using heavy or non-breathable protective clothing, and workers who are new to an outdoor job need additional precautions beyond those warranted by heat index alone.

Workers new to outdoor jobs are generally most at risk for heat-related illnesses. For example, Cal/OSHA investigated 25 incidents of heat-related illness in 2005. In almost half of the cases, the worker involved was on their first day of work and in 80% of the cases the worker involved had only been on the job for four or fewer days. That's why it's important to gradually increase the workload or allow more frequent breaks to help new workers and those returning to a job after time away build up a tolerance for hot conditions. Make sure that workers understand the risks and are "acclimatized".

Window Cleaning Employers/Employees Despair

Red Rock Window Cleaning was founded in 1998 by Coby Powell (center) starting out as a one man operation.

ICE Going After Businesses Who May Have Illegal Workers, LAS VEGAS: The federal government is paying much more attention these days to illegal workers, and if an employer makes a simple paperwork error, it can really cost them. Over the past four years the number of businesses in the U.S. being audited by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has more than quadrupled. ICE is cracking down on Las Vegas businesses who hire illegal workers, but also some just failed to accurately fill out forms. Across the country, ICE has fined businesses roughly $9 million just this fiscal year. Some of the companies that are in trouble are knowingly breaking the law, but others who work hard to stay in compliance say something as simple as missing a signature is costing them big.

"We were scared at first. Some authority with a badge came in, so we were scared at first but we thought we were in compliance and had all our documents in place," said Coby Powell (pictured) with Red Rock Window Cleaning. It was a costly visit Powell never expected. Without notice, an officer from ICE just walked into his office and said his window washing business was being investigated. "They didn't give any reason as to why they came, they just came in. She was very polite, they talked to us and said get the information for this investigation," he said. Immediately Powell turned over all the I-9 forms requested by ICE. Every employer, like Red Rock Window Washing, is required by law to fill out I-9's when hiring workers to verify their identity and employment eligibility. Powell thought he had everything in order.

"Though we had all the information, almost all the information needed to fill out the I-9's, we didn't transfer that information on the I-9 and sign it and sign the dotted line at the bottom that we verified everything and everything was in compliance with the form," he said. Powell was fined $25,000 -- $1,000 for each form, for each employee. "The employers are always shocked. They have no idea why this is happening, they don't understand what's going on," said immigration attorney Gus Fountas.

Fountas says he's seen the number of U.S. businesses being investigated and fined by ICE rise dramatically over the last two years. "They are taking it more seriously that employers should not be violating the law at all and that employers will be held accountable," he said. "Go through your HR files, ensure your I-9's are filled out, verify employees with cards and expiration dates that you re-verify those," said Powell. The president of Red Rock Window Cleaning shared his story because he wants to let other businesses know that ICE means business, and even if you think you're in compliance, go over your records with a fine-tooth comb. The enforcement is all part of President Barack Obama's policy to crack down on immigration issues.

Employer: ‘We can’t hire 99 percent of the people who apply’ - Today, we explore the other side of the unemployment issue and how hard it is for employers to find qualified, competent and, as you will see, reasonably intelligent employees to join the workforce.

‘This is what we’re up against’ Another company’s owner allowed me to go behind the scenes in his hiring process. I viewed application after application and came away shaking my head in disbelief. Mistakes. Misspellings. Misdemeanors. I couldn’t believe they were genuine applications, but they were. “We can’t hire 99 percent of the people who apply. I’d be out of business in a heartbeat,” said Don Markovich, owner of Bren-Mark Window Cleaning Service in Valparaiso. “The applications we receive on a daily basis are a sight to behold.”

His company uses an online hiring system for applications, including about 20 minutes of questions, explained to me by office manager Candy Smith, who has the daunting task of interviewing some of the knuckleheads who apply — if they even show up for the interview. “We can always upgrade our staff, and we’re interviewing every week, but this is what we’re up against,” she said while guiding me through the website’s application system.

The incredibly detailed system shows red boxes for “warning” or “weak” and green boxes for “clear” or “interested.” I saw many more red boxes than green ones on most people’s application. I literally laughed out loud at some of the applicants’ responses and they had to be rejected even though the company could receive a sizeable tax break if they were hired. For instance, under the question, “What SKILLS do you bring to this job?” one woman responded, “My smile.” In the comment section of her (rejected) application, Markovich wrote, “Smiles don’t clean windows.”

“I’m tired of hearing about how nobody’s hiring,” he told me. “It’s important that the general public understand there ARE businesses hiring and willing to pay good wages.” “We, like many other businesses, are limited not by our skills or motivation, but by the number of quality employees we can find,” he added. “Every time the president and Congress extend the unemployment benefits, our labor market keeps sitting on their collective ass. Why should they start a job that starts them out at what they are collecting on unemployment? Even though they can make two to three times that within three to four months, they don’t care. They will wait until the benefits run out before looking for a job.”

The downside to today’s column is obvious: “There is an incredible amount of people who are, for all intents and purposes, not employable,” Markovich said flatly. (On Monday, between noon and 1 p.m., Markovich will offer first-hand tips and insights for job-seekers on my weekly radio show on WVLP, 98.3-FM, www.wvlp.org.)

The upside of all this incompetance? This should inspire all those other job-seekers who are honest, credible, qualified, competent, intelligent and professional. And, if anything, the Darwinian culling of the job-applicant herd should eventually work in your favor if you learned anything today from Markovich and Pearman. “Sorry, America. I was never in favor of the ‘everybody gets a trophy’ mentality,” Markovich said. “Just because you helped clean up a work site for $12 an hour doesn’t qualify you as a carpenter. And if your education and skills say you are only able to stock shelves, then you are a stocker.” My suggestion to job seekers: For starters, review your resume, personalize your application approach and provide intelligent responses, spelled correctly. And save your smile for the interview, not the application.

Please Report Your Dead Window Cleaning Maid

Note: if your maid dies you need to report this to the Manpower Ministry within 12 hours of finding her.

Maid dies in fall from sixth-floor flat:  A maid died on Thursday after falling out of a sixth-floor window of her employers' flat. The 25-year-old Indonesian is believed to have been standing on a stool while cleaning the window in one of the bedrooms. Her employer had her back turned but heard the stool topple over, The Straits Times understands. When she realised the maid was no longer at the window she looked out and saw her lying at the bottom of the block in Toh Guan Road. The maid suffered head injuries and was pronounced dead shortly after the fall. When The Straits Times visited the flat last night, no one came to the door.

Maid survives 9-storey fall from Bukit Panjang flat: A maid survived a nine-storey fall from her employer's flat in Bukit Panjang on Friday afternoon, a day after another maid died when she fell from a sixth-floor window while cleaning it. Police confirmed the Friday incident, saying they responded to a call at 1.35pm that day about a woman who had fallen nine storeys at Block 534, Jelapang Road. She was found lying at the foot of the block, and was taken to the National University Hospital with fractures to her legs and pelvic bone, said a police spokesman. When The Sunday Times visited the employer's flat yesterday, the family declined to be interviewed, but said that the maid was not alone in the flat at that time. Shin Min Daily News reported that the maid was a 23-year-old Indonesian who was hired just over a month ago to work for the family. An eyewitness told the evening daily that the maid was found on the ground with bamboo poles and clothes beside her, and that she could have fallen out of the window while trying to retrieve laundry when it started to rain in the afternoon.

'Idiot' employers still making maids like this, clean windows - this way: A 'stomper' has but only harsh words to spare for employers who subject their maids to such dangerous acts like these, in spite of numerous reports of accidents happening, where maids hurt themselves or die when they fall from such great heights. Danny said, "I saw this maid cleaning window pane with a ladder...her body would sometimes lean out of the window so she could clean the out facing plane." "So many mishaps happen and yet those idiot employers still ask their maids to perform these dangerous tasks?"

A spate of fatal falls a few years ago involving maids who were cleaning windows, hanging laundry or even watering plants, prompted the Manpower Ministry to introduce a slew of initiatives to improve safety awareness. These included offering safety awareness courses and taking action against errant employers who failed to provide a safe working environment for these maids. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, errant employers can be fined $5,000 and jailed up to six months. They will also be disallowed from hiring another foreign domestic worker.

Foreign Domestic Workers (FDW) have to attend a compulsory half-day course to raise their awareness of home safety and safety precautions to take when carrying out routine household chores such as cleaning of windows. The cost of the course is SGD 20.00 ($15). Note: if your maid dies you need to report this to the Manpower Ministry within 12 hours of finding her.