As extremely hot temperatures continue in Arizona, some can’t avoid working outside. Construction workers are busy building in a booming metropolitan area that includes homes and businesses.
“It’s one of a kind. Arizona’s heat is definitely its own monster,” said Nate Ash, a superintendent for Performance Contracting, Inc (PCI).
Ash has been in the trade for more than 25 years. He’s spent 10 of those years in Arizona, where he says he has acclimated to the heat. He’s more worried about those who are not from here and working for hours in temperatures 110 degrees and higher.
“Water, rest and shade is the number one to stay safe from heat illness in the Valley,” Ash said.
PCI gives its workers different PPE from sun shields to use with their hard hats, to cooling caps they put underneath the hard hats, neck gaiters and cooling towels.
Water, of course, is also the biggest hot commodity.
“We go through a lot of water. A lot of job sites go through multiple pallets a week,” Ash said. “With addition to the water, we have electrolyte packs. So, these electrolyte packs provide a little bit of salt, a little bit of electrolytes to the guys and the employees throughout the day.”
Taking multiple breaks is also essential for construction workers in the heat.
DPR Construction, which also builds for commercial projects, says workers take breaks often in the shade, under cooling tents and also with air conditioning.
“Living in this beautiful state that we live in, the heat is something we have to plan for,” said Sally Correa, a safety manager with DPR Construction. “It comes every summer.”
Their safety teams plan and coordinate ahead of time and know when and which projects and plans will be done on a certain day and time.
“For example, concrete, usually concrete in Arizona does not get poured in the middle of the day. Those activities are usually happening between midnight and 2 o’clock in the morning,” Correa said.
Shifting hours of work is also common for construction workers in the summertime.
Ash said crews usually start around 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. during the cooler months. However, in the summer, they start around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Sometimes, they may even work starting at midnight.
“Due to the fact that the sun comes up earlier anyways, we can get the guys out there and be productive and be safe at the same time,” Ash said.
When the sun does come up and moves throughout the day, both Ash and Correa say their crews follow that shade and try to work on different projects away from the sunshine.
