7/15/2021
Postal Employees Guidelines: Safe Work at Extreme Temperatures
With the onset of the summer heat, the Post of Serbia has adopted the guidelines for safe and healthy work in open space at extreme heat, which is particularly important for employees who perform their assignments in the field: postmen, delivery staff, drivers. The purpose of guidelines that regulate the work in the open, at extreme temperatures is to reduce the risk for the employees’ health when the air temperature exceeds 36°C, in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
All the employees have been timely familiarised with the guidelines and informed through all internal communication channels, but the information is particularly directed to all the members of the delivery staff. Together with the recommendation for what to do before starting the operations in the open and for adaptation to the outdoor temperature conditions, the operations have been redistributed so as to complete more difficult assignments in the part of the day when the temperatures are lower, with more frequent breaks in the cool space and regular consumption of water and non-alcoholic beverages. Drivers are recommended to ventilate their vehicles and cool the surfaces they touch before entering the vehicle parked in the sun, to set AC systems to temperatures a few degrees lower than outside and drink a lot of liquids. In addition, the guidelines cover other measures and recommendations for staying in the open in the heat – drinking water every 20-30 minutes, proper nutrition advice, getting informed about symptoms of illnesses caused by extreme heat and high air humidity, so as to be able to react adequately at the onset of the first symptoms, as well as with the difficulties caused by high temperatures. The guidelines also offer an overview of symptoms and conditions caused by extreme heat, recommendations how to act properly and description of first-aid measures applied for each of the health issues caused by extreme temperatures.
As a socially responsible company, the Post of Serbia takes permanent care of the safety and health of the employees and applies all the organisational, technical and health measures to provide safe operations at the workplace within working environment. During the summer months, the Post takes additional care that its employees working outside at extreme temperatures are safe, by applying mandatory measures and adopting recommendations which reduce influence of the outside factors – such as solar irradiation, temperature or air humidity – on the health and occupational ability of the employees.