Summer is here, which means we’re all about to field the inevitable question from staff and senior leadership: “What’s the maximum legal temperature before we can stop working?”
We all know the answer: there isn’t one. But instead of getting stuck in that annual compliance loop, how do we pivot that conversation to drive actual health and safety outcomes?
The biggest trap with heat safety is issuing alerts that read like it’s all down to the employee homework (e.g., “remember to drink water and take regular breaks”). It shifts the burden of risk to the worker. But are site managers providing water and allowing for extra breaks? If we want better safety outcomes, we need to shift the conversation toward leadership accountability and operational engagement.
Here is how we can rewrite the script with our managers and teams this week:
- Don’t just give managers a safety alert to deliver to staff - ask them how they plan to accommodate for extra breaks, rescheduling of work, etc.
- Rather than wait for someone to faint, or be sick, train supervisors to look for behavioural shifts—sluggish responses, sudden irritability, or missed cues.
- Focusing on the secondary risks - walk the floors with supervisors and look for the quick fixes that compromise safety. Are they overloading electrical sockets with portable fans? Are they wedging open fire doors for airflow? Are they leaving windows open at night and compromising site security?
A signed attendance sheet won’t stop heat stroke. Real safety outcomes happen when management owns the environment and supervisors own the conversation. Even without a ‘maximum temperature’ we can still manage thermal comfort.
How are you coaching your line managers to move past the compliance debate and actively lead their teams through the heat this week? Let’s share some strategies below.