Protecting employee health and ensuring workplace safety has become a priority for businesses across the United States. Several weather events, such as the poor air quality caused by wildfires, have led to a shift in demand for industrial hygienists across different industries. What is an industrial hygienist, what is their role, and how can they work with AccuWeather For Business to enhance workplace safety?
What Is an Industrial Hygienist?
Industrial hygienists are trained professionals responsible for identifying and mitigating workplace hazards that could harm employees' health. Their primary focus is to prevent occupational illnesses, injuries and accidents including those from weather-related events. These individuals work across industries to create safe working environments and protect employees from exposure to weather risks, harmful substances and hazardous conditions.
What are some examples of things that Industrial Hygienists help mitigate?
Industrial hygienists keep an eye on several different weather events and help protect employees and businesses. Here are some examples:
- Extreme Heat: Industrial hygienists assess heat stress hazards and recommend hydration and shaded rest areas.
- Cold Weather and Winter Storms: They evaluate cold exposure risks and suggest appropriate protective measures.
- Thunderstorms and Lightning: Industrial hygienists implement lightning safety protocols and educate employees on lightning dangers.
- Floods: They develop flood preparedness plans and educate employees on evacuation procedures.
- Tornadoes and Severe Weather: They recommend establishing tornado shelters and conducting tornado drills.
- Air Quality Impacts (Wildfires, Air Pollution): Industrial hygienists monitor air quality and provide guidance on respiratory protection when needed.
How can partnering with AccuWeather For Business benefit your business?
As a result of the increase in extreme weather events, more businesses are adding Industrial Hygienists to their safety team. By partnering with AccuWeather For Business, we can help your business better prepare for weather risks.
- Hazard Assessment: Industrial hygienists assess workplace risks related to weather events, including extreme heat, cold, thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes and air quality impacts like wildfires. AccuWeather's SkyGuard® Warning system can deliver advance warnings and superior forecasts directly to industrial hygienists.
- Hazard Mitigation: They develop strategies to mitigate weather-related hazards, recommending shelter during storms, cold-weather protective gear and respiratory protection for poor air quality conditions. AccuWeather's expert meteorologists can speak one-on-one with your industrial hygienist to evaluate the potential risks to employees.
- Training and Education: Industrial hygienists ensure employees are well-informed about weather-related safety protocols, recognize signs of weather-related stress and respond to weather alerts promptly. AccuWeather For Business can walk you through a tabletop exercise to identify risks and vulnerabilities to better prepare your business.
- Compliance Management: They stay informed about weather-related regulations and standards, helping businesses comply with safety requirements and reducing legal risks. AccuWeather For Business can help you develop an emergency plan to include these guidelines.
- Emergency Response Planning: Industrial hygienists assist in creating emergency response plans tailored to weather events, ensuring employees know how to react effectively. If you don't have an emergency plan, AccuWeather For Business can help you develop one.
The AccuWeather Advantage
Industrial hygienists can benefit by partnering with AccuWeather For Business. Whether it’s hurricanes, snow and ice, flooding rains and mudslides, high winds, cold waves and heat waves or polluted air, AccuWeather forecasts have been proven more accurate and more detailed. They are also often issued earlier than all other sources.
The benefits of AccuWeather go beyond protecting the lives of your employees and customers. They will also reduce your operational costs through better planning, better mitigation efforts and allow you to make better weather-impacted decisions. AccuWeather forecasts will help you make the right decisions sooner and faster, keeping your people safer, saving you money overall, eliminating angst and stress, reducing your risk and liability, reducing losses and better protecting your reputation.
Serving more than half of the Fortune 500 companies and thousands of businesses globally, AccuWeather is recognized as the most accurate source of weather forecasts, advanced warnings and data in the world.
Want to learn more about how AccuWeather For Business can help your company better prepare for weather threats and better protect your employees? Contact us today.