Safety In The Sun
When working outdoors the effects of the weather in this environment can potentially have a very serious impact on an employee’s welfare if the risks have never been previously considered or managed properly. This impact may be immediate or it can occur over a long time period of time.
For example, exposure to the sun can cause skin damage including sunburn, blistering and skin ageing and in the long term can lead to an increased risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the UK with over 50,000 new cases every year.
Each year many people suffer, unnecessarily, from sunburn and over 2300 people die from skin cancer caused by sun exposure.
Advice and Expertise
Whatever advice your company requires, our consultants are on hand to provide it. We speak your language and work with you to deliver a service that meets the needs of your business.
We can assist with the:
- development,
- maintenance and
- implementation of safety management systems that will meet your company’s needs
We can:
- Provide you with an easy to understand report.
- Identify areas of weakness and provide practical recommendations for compliance and good working practices.
- Prepare a detailed action plan to ensure compliance in a practical and timely manner.
- Give you peace of mind that your company is operating safely.
Our consultants can provide you with information relating to any Health & Safety issue you may have.
"A good service at a fair price. Excellent background knowledge. LRB are keen to help and provides us with solutions to our problems." Rivendell Building Contractors Limited
- Reschedule work to cooler times of the day
- Provide more frequent rest breaks and introduce shading to rest areas
- Provide free access to cool drinking water
- Look to provide shade in certain work
- Ensure your staff always wear a safety helmet on site (if required), which also provides sun protection for your head.
- Educate workers about recognising the early symptoms of heat stress
- Include sun protection advice in routine health and safety training.
- Wear sun cream. Sun cream is particularly useful as a supplement to the protection offered by clothing, especially for those parts of the body that are less easily protected (such as the face and the hands). A sun cream of at least sun protection factor (SPF) 15 is recommended.
- Check their skin regularly for any unusual moles or spots. See a doctor promptly if they find anything that is changing in shape, size or colour, itching or bleeding.
- Take their breaks in the shade and refrain from sun bathing.
Download a pdf of the Outdoors Safety Advice given on this page.
