Effect of Cold Temperatures on Health and Safety of Construction Workers

Cold weather conditions create serious safety and health hazards in outdoor working populations. Construction sector is highly streamlined toward outdoor activities. Laborers involved in construction sector are often exposed to extreme weather events, risking their health and safety. Worker productivity decreases, exposed individuals are at risk of developing several health problems, and workplace injuries and workplace safety are compromised. This creates a need to explore the various health problems and safety issues experienced by outdoor construction workers. A predictive model that can identify workers who are more susceptible to various health issues caused in cold environment has to be developed to identify and protect workers at risk. Toward this goal, a thorough literature review was conducted to identify the potential health challenges followed by developing a questionnaire survey. The survey distribution yielded 100 responses in total. The gathered data was used to analyze the health, safety challenges experienced by construction workers and to predict susceptible workers in cold weather conditions by taking various demographic factors into consideration. The results of the study revealed that the construction workers experiencing cold weather injuries like freezing of body parts varied based on demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, and type of sector the workers are involved in. Respiratory issues, which are one of the most common problems during cold weather, varied with gender and work environment. The results obtained will help professionals and senior associates in construction area to develop preventive measures for workers performing in cold weather.