Vent: That one August week in Birmingham that nearly cooked my crew

Last summer we had a 5 day stretch where the heat index hit 108 every single day. On day 2, I had a guy go down from heat exhaustion while we were chipping a big oak in a backyard with no shade. We got him inside and cooled off, but by day 4 I had to send two more home early because they were getting dizzy. If you work in the South, what do you do when the humidity is that brutal and you've got deadlines?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa82016d agoMost Upvoted

Deadlines don't care about the heat. You knew July and August in the South were gonna be brutal when you took the job. Plan better. Start at 5 AM, knock out the hardest work by 10 AM, then take a long break inside during the worst of it. Come back at 4 PM and work till dark. If you're losing guys on day 4, you're pushing them too hard and not respecting the limits of the human body in 108 heat index. Send everyone home early on day 2, let them rest up, and you'll save yourself from losing a whole crew on day 5.

richard_west516d ago

@lisa820 I get where you're coming from but starting at 5am doesn't always work when the humidity stays over 80% even then, and some crews have to travel to sites that lock you in with no AC break option. What do you do when the customer won't let you pause mid-day because the whole yard is torn up and they want it done in one visit?