One of the most exciting parts about working at Qore Performance is learning about the vast array of industries our products serve. From Quick Serve Restaurants to Airlines, Food Processing Facilities to Oil and Gas, each of these groups have slightly different pain points surrounding one common theme - environmental conditions (heat and cold) put a strain on productivity, performance, and their company's bottom line.
In steps our ICEPLATE EXO® HiVis Cooling Safety Vest, the ultimate year-round solution to mitigating heat and cold risk. Our Vests harness the energy storing capacity of water, creating a powerful cooling or warming device that neutralizes extreme environmental conditions. The implications of equipping your workforce with our Vests: retention goes up, safety increases, and productivity and job satisfaction rise.
Today I had the opportunity to chat with the Safety Director at a lead battery recycling facility who purchased our Vests for their employees this past summer. After learning about our Vests at a safety show, they started out small, ordering twelve Vests split across two sites. The response to the Vests was overwhelming and the program quickly expanded, bringing ten more Vests into the fold with a ninety Vest delivery in early 2020.
JL: Tell me a little more about your facilities and the flow of people in and out.
A: Our employees work within a molten lead environment so dealing with decontamination of PPE is a constant consideration. Every piece of equipment our employees use has to stay in the plant. It takes an employee between ten and fifteen minutes to decontaminate before leaving work.
Above: Workers operating a battery recycling line in protective gear.
Photo: Monty Rakusen / Getty Images
JL: How does heat fit into this equation?
A: For perspective, the melting point of lead is 621.5°F. Our employees work in areas of potential heat, which means they have to wear coveralls and full face respirators. Their bodies are protected from the molten lead, and all of the protective equipment means increased heat. Employees take 50 minute breaks regularly. We also have cool down rooms within the operations areas for additional 15 minute breaks as needed.
Above: Metal plant worker working in a high heat environment.
Photo: Kateryna Babaiev / Pexels Images
JL: So you needed a way to keep your employees cooler and safer within this heat-stressed environment. Talk me through the logistics of how you put our ICEPLATE EXO® HiVis Cooling Safety Vests into practice.
A: The first thing we had to figure out was how we were going to freeze ICEPLATES® and whether the freezers would be located on the clean or dirty side of the facilities. We purchased a simple Insignia Freezer and decided to keep the freezer, Vests, and ICEPLATES® on the contaminated side. Our northern facility is more space constrained, so they had to be a little more creative about finding a place to freeze ICEPLATES®.
The next consideration was whether the Vests would be worn inside the coveralls or externally. Because our employees were going to share the equipment, they felt more comfortable wearing the Vests externally. We decided to first implement the Vests in Departments with the highest heat exposure. On average, the Vests provide approximately 1.5 hours of cooling before needing to be swapped out, which fit in well with our preexisting break schedule.
Above: ICEPLATE® Gen 3 and ICEFLASK® stacked inside of a freezer to recharge their cooling capabilities.
Photo: Austin Pitsch / Qore Performance
JL: Was it difficult to get your employees to buy into using this new equipment? How did you evaluate the success of the program?
We are very lucky. Our employees are eager to try new things and were quite excited about the Vests. We also got our PPE Committee involved from day one. They made a checklist to evaluate employee response to the Vests. When it was evident that the equipment was increasing comfort and meeting the demands of our high heat environment, it was a no brainer to expand the program.
Interested in learning more about how our ICEPLATE EXO® vest programs and how they can benefit your organization? Contact us here.
You can also check out the full Qore Performance Safety Collection here.
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