When it’s Important to Stay in the Know.

Health and Safety Concerns Amid Climbing Temperatures

Summer’s arrival introduces more than staffing obstacles for companies scheduling work around employee vacations. It leads to increased health and safety risks as workers navigate their everyday jobs in surging heat.

Even teams whose primary work takes place indoors can find themselves at risk during one-off tasks or office power outages, and companies can be held liable for not offering adequate protections. Here, BCH’s risk management professionals offer insights to help you spot and address heat-related illness on the job — and keep your people and operations protected when it matters.

Know the Signs and Symptoms of Heat-Related Illness

Proper vigilance and quick action can save lives when emergencies arise. Review the various heat-related illnesses below to learn more about how to identify and prevent them.

• Heat Cramps: Occur during strenuous activities in an environment with mild to hot temperatures. Signs include muscle cramps, spasms, stiffness — especially in the abdomen area — nausea and dizziness. Those affected by heat cramps are generally in a coherent mental state. This type of muscular pain is often associated with dehydration from excessive sweating or loss of salt.
   
• Heat Exhaustion: A serious condition caused by fluid loss or extreme dehydration. Victims experience decreased blood flow to vital organs resulting in flu-like symptoms such as excessive perspiration, weakness, disorientation, headaches, cold sweats, dizziness and dilated pupils.
   
• Heatstroke: A life-threatening illness caused by the body’s inability to regulate its internal cooling system. Symptoms include increased body temperature, incoherent thoughts, excessive dryness of the skin, small pupils and possible seizures. The effects of heatstroke can result in permanent brain damage or death, so it’s important for everyone on your team to recognize these symptoms and react with urgency.

BCH’s Risk Management Center Offers a Wealth
of Safety Insights

With access to thousands of safety and risk management guide sheets, training videos in English and Spanish, and streamlined tracking support when incidents arise, your Risk Management Center (RMC) helps you create safer, more productive workplaces.

Does Your Company Have a Plan in Place for Business Continuity?

Insurance coverage provides security against the unexpected, but a company’s resiliency often depends on how quickly it resumes operations after a business interruption or emergency. In fact, FEMA reports that nearly two-thirds of small to mid-size businesses fail within a year of a disaster situation. Your BCH team is here to help you stand prepared.

Our Business Continuity Quick Sheet offers tips for assessing your business risks and creating a recovery plan to get quickly back on track following an incident. Download your copy and remain ready to respond.

Have Additional Questions?

RISK MANAGEMENT  |  BUSINESS INSURANCE  |  EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
10055 West Gulf Bank | Houston, Texas 77040  |  713.688.1500  |  bch-insurance.com