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Jake  
#1 Posted : 02 December 2010 12:29:30(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Jake

We are reviewing our policy relating to freezer workers (-18 - -24 C). I was hoping to identify the policy that other companies have regarding rest breaks in the absense of any firm guidance!

HSG76 states "suitable and sufficient breaks based on a risk assessment...." and states further information can be obtained in BS 7915 (which we do not have access to, and Im doubtfull a figure is provided?)

I remember reading somewhere that the industry norm was 10 minutes out of every hour? (i.e. 50minutes worked, 10minute break etc).

However currently I can find no "official" guidance on what constitues an appropriate work / rest period.

Our problem is that 10 minute standalone breaks do not work, due to the size of the warehouse, it takes pickers and FLT operators 5 minutes to travel from the freezer to the rest area and change out of their freezer gear. 20 minute breaks work OK as this gives the operatives time, after travelling and changing, to have a warm drink etc before they are due back.

If this is applicable to your industry, what policy do you operate?

Do you operate a 10 minute break every hour? a 20 minute break every 2 hours? 10 minutes taken back-to-back therefore 20 minute breaks but 10 minutes within each hour worked?

Thoughts much appreciated.
Steve Sedgwick  
#2 Posted : 02 December 2010 14:29:28(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Steve Sedgwick

Jake
I have read through the BS, you were right there is no suggested rest period.
The 10 mins per hour came from "The Warehouse Management Handbook"
You seem to have done your research on this, its a difficult problem that you have, all the guidance tells you to do is do a risk assessment.
Hope someone can come up with examples of good policies for you.

I will pm you some RA templates for this that maybe of use
Steve
MB1  
#3 Posted : 02 December 2010 14:43:22(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
MB1

Jake,

I expect you need to refer to your risk assessments and work with HR regarding this.

What is the purpose of the rest period... recover from fatigue, break away from intensively concentrating tasks?

Other areas to consider is a change from a repetitive task required... change the task regularly?
Like DSE where there is evidence that breaks from prolonged screen work is well know... but the break doesn't necessarily mean rest as this can also mean changing the task, e.g. filing, photocopying etc.
Steve Sedgwick  
#4 Posted : 02 December 2010 14:59:34(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Steve Sedgwick

With this scenario a risk assessment needs analysis would surely point towards the risks to people working in -18 to -34 degrees c temps. I am sure that the DSE and Manual Handling Assessments will not be a problem and will distract attention away from the initial point of the thread.

The rest breaks are obviously to give the staff a rest from the extreme temperatures to allow the body to recover.
Steve

Jake  
#5 Posted : 02 December 2010 15:02:51(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Jake

Steve Sedgwick wrote:
Jake
I have read through the BS, you were right there is no suggested rest period.
The 10 mins per hour came from "The Warehouse Management Handbook"
You seem to have done your research on this, its a difficult problem that you have, all the guidance tells you to do is do a risk assessment.
Hope someone can come up with examples of good policies for you.

I will pm you some RA templates for this that maybe of use
Steve


Thought so! And therein lies the problem.. I am conducting the risk assessment, for this I need some infomration / guidelines (or just be happy to pick a figure from thin air!). By benchmarking we can then move forward with a suggestion on break time.

MB1 wrote:
Jake,

I expect you need to refer to your risk assessments and work with HR regarding this.

What is the purpose of the rest period... recover from fatigue, break away from intensively concentrating tasks?

Other areas to consider is a change from a repetitive task required... change the task regularly?
Like DSE where there is evidence that breaks from prolonged screen work is well know... but the break doesn't necessarily mean rest as this can also mean changing the task, e.g. filing, photocopying etc.


I am completing the risk assessment, so I can't refer to it!

Im a little confused with yopur response, the purpose of the rest period is purely as a break from the cold conditions. The work is stock picking and forklift operations within the freezer. There is no DSE etc and the task is not repetative.

We have got all other information together re freezer workers, just trying to pinpoint and work out our policy for breaks from the cold.
Jake  
#6 Posted : 02 December 2010 15:07:48(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Jake

Steve Sedgwick wrote:
With this scenario a risk assessment needs analysis would surely point towards the risks to people working in -18 to -34 degrees c temps. I am sure that the DSE and Manual Handling Assessments will not be a problem and will distract attention away from the initial point of the thread.

The rest breaks are obviously to give the staff a rest from the extreme temperatures to allow the body to recover.
Steve



Beat me to it...! But, yes, hopefully someone can offer up thier policy regarding breaks from the cold as an example.

Another way we could look to analyse the task (but with 100s of workers in multIple sites would make this tricky) would be to survey / assess the time it takes for an average person to start to go numb (as HSE guidance states break periods should be designed to prevent this) then set that time minus x minutes as the maximum work time.

However this would not cater for everyone and could be easlily critsised!

Indeed the level of PPE provided would have an impact, ours is inline (or better than) the guidelines in HSG76. If going down the technical route, we would look to benchmark a maximum work time assuming HSE guidlines for PPE were met, to err on the side of catuion.
pilot150  
#7 Posted : 02 December 2010 16:31:15(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
pilot150

I was a forklift driver in a 8000 pallet coldstore for 16 years at -18, for the first 10 until we were given heated reach trucks. We used to have a 10 minute break after 30 minutes, time taken to re-locate unloaded pallets from outside. The cold tends to effect people in different ways in a coldstore and the operational environment can also be a factor.

We used to feel the cold more at night when you are tired and also when the cooling fans were on as on a reach truck, you were driving into the blast sideways as you drove towards the exit doors. With conditions as are now and dependant on the site location, it can be as cold outside with an open loading dock.

With regard to warming, we were fortunate to have a warming room on the side of the loading dock and so a quick warm was not a real problem. We found it a fine line between management moaning that to many warm breaks were being taken, understandable in the summer but not in the Winter. Depends on your workload and if KPI's are involved to some degree.
leadbelly  
#8 Posted : 02 December 2010 16:50:55(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
leadbelly

Jake

The ACGIH TLV book used to have a section on cold stress; you may be able to find something on their website (http://www.acgih.org/home.htm) although you will probably have to pay for it.

LB
bob youel  
#9 Posted : 02 December 2010 16:57:25(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
bob youel

There are few if any reality figures quoted so work in the cold store yourself along side the staff with some HR present and you will all soon establish a 'reality' rest period policy

The above is not a glib statement I mean it; as time and again risk assessors/policy makers do not have a full understanding and are reluctant to make stand alone decisions without referencing guidance created by others that may not fit their environment e.g. Arbourists working on clearing trees from across roads in this cold weather work until the job is done irrespective of the cold nor breaks but their situation is different so their break/work parameters are not the same as yours and only a good RA will accomplish what you need
best of luck
johnmurray  
#10 Posted : 02 December 2010 17:05:01(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
johnmurray

descarte8  
#11 Posted : 03 December 2010 09:15:03(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
descarte8

Table 5.2 of BOHS guidance document 12 Thermal Environment has work rest regimes for different temperatures including wind speeds and work rates. As well as other general guidance for risk assessing cold or hot tasks
drussell  
#12 Posted : 03 December 2010 12:28:18(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
drussell

The BS does not contain any suggested rest period but if you buy the ISO standards it refers to as well and do the calculations it does become clear that at really low temperatures, no matter how much protective clothing is worn, you still need to have some time out of the cold to allow recovery. The table below is based on a German DIN standard - DIN Standard 33403-5 'Climate at workplaces and their environments - Ergonomic design of cold workplaces' (1997). It shows their recommended work/ rest patterns where the correct PPE has been provided.

Exposure periods


Table 1 Exposure to cold and recovery periods:



Air temperature Maximum Recommended Recommended
o C uninterrupted recovery period recovery period
exposure to as a percentage min.
cold min. of cold exposure

– 5o to – 18 90 20 15


– 18 to - 30 90 30 30


below – 30 60 100 60



Note; Recommended recovery periods (column 4) has been rounded off using the percentages in column 3.

As has been said, there are no hard and fast rules in this country but the British standard and the German DIN standard do provide a basis for discussion.
drussell  
#13 Posted : 03 December 2010 12:35:00(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
drussell

Sorry the table hasn't come out clearly in the posting. Basically the DIN standard suggests

For temperatures from minus 5 to minus 18 degrees C, maxiumum uninterrupted exposure should be 90 minutes. Recovery should be 20% of that time (i.e. 15 minutes) So after 90 minutes exposure a 15 minute break.

For minus 18 to minus 30 degrees C, exposure time should be 90 minutes with 30% of that as recovery time (30 minutes).

And below minus 30 degress C, exposure time should be no more than 60 minutes with 60 minutes recovery time.
David Bannister  
#14 Posted : 03 December 2010 15:31:37(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
David Bannister

drussell, my very limited experience of working in a very cold climate (Central Europe chemical plant in January) suggests to me that I never, ever want to do the job again, especially given the times from the DIN standard.
Am I right in thinking that a rapid transition from extreme cold to very warm may result in a blood rush from the body core to the surface, with possible fainting?
Also, is it considered good practice to train all exposed workers in recognising symptoms of hypothermia so that they can alert a colleague of impending danger?
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