Terry DeRise is the Manufacturing Director for Portacool, LLC, where he oversees all Portacool portable evaporative cooler manufacturing. With 27 years of experience, he leads a team of 130 at Portacool’s East Texas manufacturing facility where he is a believer in proactive planning to reduce workplace risks for all employees. For more information or to submit questions, send your email to: support@portacool.com.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), thousands of workers become sick from occupational heat exposure each year. However, heat-related illnesses are preventable.
Every year, thousands of workers are exposed to heat on the job created by environmental conditions, clothing and workload. This heat exposure can lead to costly mistakes, time lost due to illness and even death in extreme heat illness situations. Government organizations, like OSHA, implement guidelines and regulations to ensure that heat-related prevention practices are in place to protect these workers.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2015 there were 2,905,900 recordable cases of workplace injuries and 4,836 workplace fatalities. All companies should have an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) to help identify hazards in the workplace and protect all employees.
